Latest Patch Tuesday updates brings new headache for Windows IT admins

Microsoft rolled out Patch Tuesday updates for supported operating systems less than a week ago. Windows 11 received a bunch of fixes while Windows 10 pretty much netted a simple security update, which is expected given that the OS is now under the extended support updates (ESU) program. However, it seems like Redmond's latest updates may have broken a component in Windows 10 and older Windows Server installations too.

According to the Windows Release Health dashboard, the Message Queuing (MSMQ) functionality has broken on Windows 10, Windows Server 2019, and Windows Server 2016 installations after installing December's Patch Tuesday updates (KB5071546). Users affected by this bug will encounter some or all of the following errors:

• MSMQ queues becoming inactive
• IIS sites failing with “Insufficient resources to perform operation” errors
• Applications unable to write to queues
• Errors such as "The message file 'C:\Windows\System32\msmq\storage*.mq' cannot be created” when creating message files
• Misleading logs like “There is insufficient disk space or memory", despite sufficient disk space and memory being available

For those unaware, MSMQ is an optional Windows component that allows different applications to communicate with other networks and systems, even when they are offline. It does so by sending messages which are placed in a queue - hence the name - after which receiving applications read the messages from the queue after they come online. It is used in both synchronous and asynchronous environments where guaranteed priority-based routing of messages through a secure pipeline is critical.

Microsoft says that MSMQ is breaking because some changes were recently made to its security model and NTFS permissions on C:\Windows\System32\MSMQ\storage folder, after which users now require write access to this folder. Right now, write access on this folder is exclusive for administrators only, which is why this process is breaking. That said, the Redmond tech giant has assured customers that it is investigating the bug further, which means that a mitigation should land soon. MSMQ breaking is a significant problem for some IT admins considering it's an optional component which means that it was explicitly turned on for a purpose by affected customers.

Source

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Posted Tuesday 16 December 2025 at 4:07 am AEST (my time).

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