Microsoft is starting to roll out its July 2023 Patch Tuesday for its software. On the program, 132 fixes including 9 reviews, but also some new features for Windows 11 via the integrated update to Moment 3.
Unsurprisingly, Microsoft released its traditional Patch Tuesday on Tuesday, July 11, this famous set of patches that the publisher releases on the second Tuesday of each month, to fix bugs, but also, and above all, to fill recently identified security vulnerabilities. and sometimes already exploited by hackers. The July 2023 edition is no exception to the rule, bringing together some 130 “band-aids” for Windows 10 and Windows 11, including 9 concerning vulnerabilities qualified as critical and even 6 called zero-day, that is to say actively exploited by hackers. Needless to say, it is better not to delay downloading and installing these patches to avoid any risk. Even if there is currently no guarantee that this Patch Tuesday will not cause subsequent problems by itself, some recent Microsoft updates having done more harm than good for some users (see our article).
Even if it does not only concern Windows, but all Microsoft software in general, Patch Tuesday mainly results in the installation of a “cumulative update” materialized by a new version of the system associated with a “code” KBxxxxx which varies according to the version of Windows used on a PC (see our article on Builds and KB). The July 2023 edition thus offers the KB5028166 for Windows 10 21H2 and 22H2, the KB5028182 for Windows 11 first edition, also known as 21H2, and the KB5028185 for Windows 11 22H2. And, as always, these updates are made through Windows Update, which offers them either automatically or after a manual search with the appropriate button.
Patch Tuesday July 2023: Moment 3 update included as standard
This time, Microsoft has clearly focused on security by filling an impressive number of flaws of all kinds. In his safety guideconstantly updated, the editor lists the identified and corrected vulnerabilities, which can be found under their still clear and poetic references: CVE-2023-35366, CVE-2023-35365, CVE-2023-35367, CVE-2023-32057CVE-2023-35315, VE-2023-35297, etc. A list as long as it is cryptic and indigestible, which will only interest experts. You just have to know that it concerns various technical problems (remote code execution, elevation of privileges, circumvention of Windows SmartScreen protection, etc.) and that it affects many Microsoft products in addition to Windows (Office, in particular Access, Excel and Outlook, Paint 3D, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Dynamics, Power Apps, PostScript and PCL6 print drivers, but also the DNS server, Windows Installer, or the Windows kernel). So classic!
However, what changes with the July delivery – and this is a small surprise – is that the cumulative update for Windows 11 immediately installs a new functional version of the system: namely the so-called Moment update. 3, which introduces several new features (see our article). Nothing major, but little extras that improve the system in its daily use. This version was already available independently since the end of May, but Microsoft obviously wanted to impose it on everyone by combining it with Patch Tuesday, which is quite unusual. After all why not ? Nothing to report, however, on the side of Windows 10, which should in theory no longer receive functional innovations before its abandonment, even if Microsoft did the opposite a few weeks ago (see our article). We have said it over and over again, the publisher’s strategy has been quite difficult to follow for some time…
As usual, the procedure for installing Patch Tuesday is very simple. Just go to Windows Update, via Windows Settings, look for the availability of updated months if they are not offered immediately, then click on the Install button. A reflex to adopt on the second Wednesday of each month, even in summer!