As Microsoft begins rolling out its list of patches today, Adobe has decided to sneak in a Flash Player update, too. Usually, Flash updates are posted a few days after Microsoft's Patch Tuesday, making IT Pros crazy from the nonsense, having to halt patching processes briefly to include Adobe's updates. So, it's actually refreshing to see Adobe release their patches at the same time. Hopefully, they can make this a regular thing.
The latest Flash update is for version 12.0.0.70 and earlier versions for Windows and Mac and version 11.2.202.341 and earlier for Linux.
Because Flash is now so deeply integrated with Google Chrome, IE10, and IE11, those browsers will update automatically. However, the Windows and Mac computers not running the listed browsers will need to update manually.
The full Adobe Security Bulletin is here: Security updates available for Adobe Flash Player
UPDATE: A bit of a clarification. I was contacted by Adobe and learned that the company's intent is to release all known security updates during the regularly scheduled Microsoft patching cycle. Per a blog post...
We are shifting to a model that more closely aligns with the familiar "Microsoft Patch Tuesday" cadence. We will continue to publish a prenotification three business days before we release a security update to Adobe Reader and Acrobat. We will continue to publish security updates on the second Tuesday of the month. We will continue to be flexible and respond "out of cycle" to urgent needs such as a zero-day attack.
Sadly, a lot of what Adobe is forced to release seems to be "out of cycle."
