Bug fixes for Mac 0SX 10.5 codenamed "Leopard"

The latest security updates fix a 11 of bugs in the Mac Operating system, including eight bugs in the recently released Mac OS X 10.5, known as "Leopard." Apple released the security fixes in conjunction with an 10.5.2 update to Leopard, which includes dozens of other updates.

Some of the security flaws are extremely serious, and could be exploited by hackers to run unauthorized software on a victim's computer, although Apple did not report any incidents of this occurring.

The patches include fixes for Safari, Mail, Launch Services, the Mac OS Directory Services, Open Directory and Parental Controls. There are also patches for several Unix components that ship with Apple's software, including a recently patched flaw in the Samba file-and-print software.

"The Samba bug was expected, since all the open-source distributions released fixes a while ago," said Andrew Storms, nCircle's director of security operations, via instant message.

It's been a busy time for software developers working on some widely used software products.

Apple's patches come a day before Microsoft is set to issue a massive set of updates itself. Last week, the software vendor said it expected to release 12 security updates for a variety of products including critical updates for Windows, Internet Explorer and Office.

Last week other critical patches were also released for Adobe Reader and Apple's QuickTime media player.