Story updated Tuesday, Jan. 18: Microsoft announced on Monday an out-of-band update to address issues with its January Windows update released nearly a week earlier. Users reported numerous bugs shortly after the Jan. 11 Patch Tuesday release, and the updates posted Jan. 17 addresses issues with VPN connectivity, Windows Server Domain Controllers, Virtual Machines and ReFS-formatted removable media.
After releasing updates Jan. 11 for Patch Tuesday, reports of numerous bugs for Windows Server updates began popping up online, which were then picked up by the media.
Users reported problems after installing the updates, causing domain controllers to reboot, broke Hyper-V and made ReFS volume systems unavailable. Domain controllers respond to security authentication requests; Hyper-V can create virtual machines running Windows; and ReFS stands for Resilient File System and is designed to “maximize data availability.”
The bug-prone updates released Tuesday were Windows Server 2012 R2 KB5009624, the Windows Server 2019 KB5009557 and Windows Server 2022 KB5009555. ThreatPost reported that Microsoft confirmed it’s aware of the reports and directed users to a customer guidance page for known issues. Bleeping Computer reported that Microsoft pulled the January Windows Server updates, but Windows 10 and 11 updates that are reportedly breaking L2TP VPN connections are still available.
Customers took to Twitter with the issues they faced after installing the updates. Many replied to a Jan. 11 post by the @WindowsUpdate account announcing the latest updates. Here’s a sampling of their replies:
- “U breaked all da VPNs :(“ - @rising_cyber
- “Please correct issues with VPN - how in the world could you release this update during a pandemic and then break VPN connectivity!” - @jtuinstra
- “Windows Update KB5009624 breaks Hyper-V Servers on Windows Server 2012 R2. Be careful!” - @balboa41
