The Department of Homeland Security’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) periodically releases comprehensive security risk updates for public review in an attempt to keep end-users as secure as possible.  The complete report can be found here, including links to updates, but notable – as designated by US-CERT – excerpts are listed below:

Microsoft released multiple updates in July.

• Security Bulletin MS10-046 addressed a critical vulnerability affecting Microsoft Windows. This vulnerability is due to the failure of Microsoft Windows to properly obtain icons for shortcut files. By convincing a user to display a specially crafted shortcut file, a remote attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code.
• Microsoft has released Security Advisory 2269637 indicating that it is aware of a remote attack vector for a class of vulnerabilities related to how applications load external dynamic link libraries (DLLs). See the Security Highlights section for further details.
• The Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for August 2010 addressed vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer, Office, and Silverlight. These vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code or operate with elevated privileges.

Adobe released updates for Shockwave, Reader, and Acrobat.

• Flash Player 10.1.82.76 addressed multiple vulnerabilities that may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial-of-service condition. This vulnerability also affects Adobe Air 2.0.2.12310 and earlier versions. Refer to Adobe Security Bulletin APSB10-16 and US-CERT Vulnerability Note VU#660993 for additional details.
• Adobe Security Bulletin APSB10-17 addressed multiple vulnerabilities in Reader and Acrobat. Exploitation of these vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to cause a denial-of-service condition or execute arbitrary code.
• Adobe security bulletin APSB10-20 addressed multiple vulnerabilities affecting Shockwave Player 11.5.7.609 and earlier versions. These vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code.

Apple released updates for QuickTime, iOS, and multiple applications.

• QuickTime 7.6.7 for Windows addressed a vulnerability regarding a stack buffer overflow that exists in QuickTime error logging. By convincing a user to open a specially crafted movie file, a remote attacker could execute arbitrary code or cause a denial-of-service condition. Additional details are provided in Apple article HT4290.
• Monthly Activity Summary – August 2010 3
• iOS 4.0.2 for the iPhone and iPod touch and iOS 3.2.2 for the iPad addressed vulnerabilities in the FreeType and IOSurface packages. Exploitation of these vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code or gain system privileges. Additional information regarding the vulnerability affecting the FreeType package can be found in US-CERT Vulnerability Note VU#275247 and Apple article HT4291.
• Apple security update 2010-005 addressed multiple vulnerabilities affecting the ATS, CFNetwork, ClamAV, CoreGraphics, libsecurity, PHP, and Samba applications. These vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code, obtain sensitive information, cause a denial-of-service condition, or impersonate hosts within a domain. Refer to Apple article HT4312 for details.

Cisco released multiple Security Advisories in August.

• Security Advisory cisco-sa-20100804-fwsm addressed multiple vulnerabilities in the Cisco Firewall Services Module. Exploitation of these vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to cause a denial-of-service condition.
• Security Advisory cisco-sa-20100812-tcp addressed a vulnerability affecting IOS Software Release 15.1(2)T. This vulnerability may allow an attacker to cause a denial-of-service condition by sending a specially crafted packet through normal network traffic.
• Security Advisory cisco-sa-20100827-bgp addressed a vulnerability in the Cisco IOS XR Software Border Gateway Protocol feature. Exploitation of this vulnerability may result in the continuous resetting of BGP peering sessions, which may cause a denial-of-service condition for affected networks.
• Cisco released Security Advisory cisco-sa-20100825-cucm and Security Advisory cisco-sa-20100825-cup to address vulnerabilities in Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco Unified Presence. These vulnerabilities affect the processing of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) messages. Exploitation of these vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to cause a denial-of-service condition, which could cause an interruption of voice services.

Google released two updates for Chrome.

• Chrome 5.0.375.126 for Linux, Mac, and Windows contained an updated version of the Flash plugin, which addresses multiple vulnerabilities. Exploitation of these vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code.
• Later in the month, Google released Chrome 5.0.375.127 for Windows, Mac, and Linux to address multiple vulnerabilities that may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code, cause a denial-of-service condition, or conduct spoofing attacks. Additional information can be found in the Google Chrome Releases blog entry.