Patch Tuesday
The second Tuesday of each month, when Microsoft releases its scheduled security updates.
The predictable cadence lets organizations plan testing and deployment. It also gives attackers a known starting gun, since analyzing a patch reveals the flaw it fixes and exploitation of unpatched systems follows quickly.
Out-of-band releases happen when something is serious enough not to wait, and those deserve immediate attention rather than the normal cycle.
Where this comes up
Patch Tuesday sits inside our networks and infrastructure work. If you are trying to work out what this means for your own environment rather than in the abstract, that is the page worth reading next, and a short call will get you a straight answer faster than either.
Related terms
Patch management The ongoing process of finding, testing, and applying software updates across every system you run. Third-party patching Updating the non-Microsoft software on your machines, which is where a large share of exploited vulnerabilities live. Exploit Code or a technique that takes advantage of a vulnerability to make a system do something unintended.