Windows 8
Shown is a Hewlett-Packard computer tablet with Windows 8 software. REUTERS

Microsoft is releasing a critical security patch for Windows 8 and security update for Windows RT on Tuesday, Nov.13 as part of its monthly Patch ritual.

Though Microsoft has not divulged details of the problems the patches are meant to fix, about six patches are being released – three each for 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 8, ThinkDigit has reported.

Apparently, the Windows RT patch is likely to neutralize issues caused by a glitch that sometimes unexpectedly mutes audio in the tablet, whenever users employ the Touch Cover. Windows RT the operating system for tablets such as Microsoft's Surface gets two different updates positioned as “critical” and “important.”

The Windows 8 patches are likely to patch over the zero-day exploit discovered by the French Security company, VUPEN. The security fixes were announced in a recent bulletin.

Apart from Windows 8 fixes, critical updates are also being released for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 and Windows RT.

Microsoft will also issue several "important" updates for its Office productivity suite for Windows and Mac platforms.

Several theories abound as possible reason for the bug that mutes audio on the Surface device randomly. Some point to faulty hardware that may necessitate complete replacement of the Touch Cover, ThinkDigit has pointed out adding, while a few seem to believe that the bug is a software issue that may get resolved via a software update.

It is not clear if the yet-to-be-released patches will address the issue, but "Patch Tuesday," already seems to have cornered attention among Microsoft users.

The security update is also likely to fix vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, various versions of the Office Suite, and Windows Server. The server was released in September this year, and it needs a patch to run at maximum efficiency.