Apple releases 'huge' Mac OS X update

Apple has released an update to Mac OS X patching over 40 security holes, as detailed in Security Update 2008-003/Mac OS X 10.5.3.

The update, released on Wednesday, plugs flaws that render OS X Leopard users vulnerable to systems compromises including denial-of-service attacks, information disclosure and remote code execution.

Included in the update is a patch for multiple vulnerabilities in the Adobe Flash Player plug-in. Currently at least 20,000 websites have been infected with code that exploits the flaws, which occur when Flash Player processes a malicious Shockwave Flash (SWF) file. Normally, SWF files contain animations or interactive applications.

Security research and training organisation the Sans Institute commented in a blog post that the Apple update was "huge", and wished everybody "happy patching".