So Microsoft just delayed the February Patch Tuesday to March 14

Posted on Friday, February 17 2017 @ 13:22 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
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Two days ago I wrote Microsoft delayed Patch Tuesday due to an unspecified last-minute issue. We still don't know the reason why the software giant postponed its monthly security update rollout for the first time ever, and much to our surprise Microsoft just announced these updates will be delivered as part of the March Update on Tuesday, March 14, 2017.

Among other things, the February patches were suppose to fix a security flaw in Microsoft's SMB file-sharing protocol. This bug is exploited in the wild but so far there's no evidence it can be used to compromise a system:
SMB should, of course, be blocked at the firewall, so the risk of remote exploitation of the SMB flaw should be relatively low. It's currently believed to only permit crashing of affected systems, so while it's inconvenient, it should not lead to system penetration or compromise. Nonetheless, being forced to wait another month for a fix for something so publicly known is an uncomfortable position to be in.
As stated above, there's no official word about why Microsoft made this unusual decision. ZD Net's Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley heard some speculation that there may be a sudden issue with Microsoft's build system but the company refuses to go into the details.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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