Microsoft has released its Tuesday Patch for October – the patch is a record of sorts as it comprises 13 security bulletins to address as many as 34 vulnerabilities in the different components of Windows, Internet Explorer and Office.

The patch also fixed two zero-day flaws in Microsoft’s Server Message Block (SMB) protocol and FTP Service, which largely enable hackers to initiate malicious attacks on PCs.

Eight of the 13 updates, with Microsoft’s highest alert level – a ‘critical’ security rating – included fixes for components in Windows Media Player, Runtime, Internet Explorer software, Active Template Library, .NET and GDI Library. 

Suggesting users to first install the Internet Explorer patch to prevent attack, Wolfgang Kandek - Chief Technology Officer for Qualys - said: “It's all versions of IE. Everything is vulnerable. It's very widely used. We also think it should be easily patchable.”

Meanwhile, the remaining five bulletins, which had been given an 'important' risk level rating, included two fixes for remote code execution flaws, along with a couple of patches for denial of service vulnerabilities, an elevation of privilege vulnerability, and a spoofing flaw.

In addition, the latest Tuesday update also includes four updates for the forthcoming Windows 7 OS - while three of these updates have been rated as ‘important,’ one was rated ‘critical.’

The security update is available for download via the Microsoft Update application and the Microsoft download site.