In its statement on TechNet blog, Microsoft says the delay is due to “a last minute issue” but the company is being quiet on what the issue is. Although, Mary Jo Foley from ZDNet did report that Microsoft was having problems with its patch build system. However, in a later update, Microsoft had no further comment other than what it posted on its blog post. This is a rare decision from Microsoft and it leaves organizations without a patch for a memory corruption bug in handling SMB traffic which could allow a remote DoS attack. The current workaround for this is for IT professionals to block SMB connections via the firewall. Our top priority is to provide the best possible experience for customers in maintaining and protecting their systems. This month, we discovered a last minute issue that could impact some customers and was not resolved in time for our planned updates today. After considering all options, we made the decision to delay this month’s updates. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this change to the existing plan. While the SMB exploit is aimed more at IT professionals than home users, this does leave Microsoft Edge exposed to new vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash Player. Supported browsers like Chrome or Firefox that have their own auto-updating mechanisms should already be patched. But Microsoft Edge only gets updated by its normally regular Patch Tuesday. As a side note, to verify you have the latest patched version Adobe Flash Player, in the Chrome address bar type: chrome://components and verify you have version 24.0.0.221 – if the version is lower, click the button to check for update.

If things change or as more information comes in we’ll keep you updated. And yes Homer (to quote you badly) “…Microsoft have been good to me and for the first time in my life, everything is absolutely perfect just the way it is. So here’s the deal: You freeze everything the way it is and I won’t ask for anything more. If that is ok, please give me absolutely no sign. (pause) Deal. In gratitude, I present you this offering of cookies and milk. If you want me to eat them for you, give me no sign. (pause) Thy will be done.” Comment

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