Microsoft has issued seven security bulletins covering 10 vulnerabilities in components of Windows and Internet Explorer.

The monthly Patch Tuesday release includes three fixes rated 'critical', Microsoft's highest security alert level.

Three additional bulletins address issues rated as 'important', while the remaining bulletin deals with an ActiveX security issue rated 'moderate'.

The three critical patches all address issues which could be exploited by an attacker to remotely execute code on a target system.

They include a flaw in the Bluetooth component in XP and Vista, as well as a vulnerability in the DirectX components for Windows 2003, XP, Server 2003 and Vista.

The third critical fix addresses a pair of vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer 6 and 7 which could be exploited by an attacker to remotely execute code on a user's system through the browser.

The three important fixes include two denial-of-service vulnerabilities in the Pragmatic General Multicast and Active Directory components of Windows.

A third bulletin addresses an information disclosure flaw in the Windows Internet Name Service component.

Because many of the fixes go beyond the normal browser-based exploit, McAfee security research and communications manager Dave Marcus said that the monthly update should provide users with a warning about other dangers.

"Patch Tuesday this month is all about fixing security vulnerabilities in Windows," he said.

"Cyber-crooks continue to turn to new ways launch attacks, and it is important for computer users to realise that media files can also be malicious. "