Microsoft release out-of-band fix for January Patch Tuesday which caused severe Windows Server bugs

Last week we reported that Windows Server admins were struggling with severe issues with their servers following the release of the January Patch Tuesday, which includes KB5009624 for Windows Server 2012 R2, KB5009557 for Windows Server 2019, and KB5009555 for Windows Server 2022.

Admins were complaining of Hyper-V no longer starting on servers,  main controllers going through an endless reboot loop and ReFS volumes becoming inaccessible and showing as RAW file systems.

Following these reports, Microsoft appears to have removed the Cumulative Updates from Windows Update, though they re-released them with warnings attached.

Now Microsoft has released an out-of-band fix for the issues, saying:

Out-of-band update to address issues after installing the January Windows update

Microsoft is releasing Out-of-band (OOB) updates today, January 17, 2022, for some versions of Windows. This update addresses issues related to VPN connectivity, Windows Server Domain Controllers restarting, Virtual Machines start failures, and ReFS-formatted removable media failing to mount. All updates are available on the Microsoft Update Catalog, and some are also available on Windows Update as an optional update. Check the release notes for your version of Windows for more information.

Updates for the following Windows versions are available on Windows Update as an optional update. For instructions, see the KB for your OS listed below:

• Windows 11, version 21H1 (original release): KB5010795
• Windows Server 2022: KB5010796
• Windows 10, version 21H2: KB5010793
• Windows 10, version 21H1: KB5010793
• Windows 10, version 20H2, Windows Server, version 20H2: KB5010793
• Windows 10, version 20H1, Windows Server, version 20H1: KB5010793
• Windows 10, version 1909, Windows Server, version 1909: KB5010792
• Windows 10, version 1607, Windows Server 2016: KB5010790
• Windows 10, version 1507: KB5010789
• Windows 7 SP1: KB5010798
• Windows Server 2008 SP2: KB5010799

Updates for the following Windows versions are available only on Microsoft Update Catalog. For instructions, see the KB for your OS listed below:

• Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2: KB5010794
• Windows Server 2012: KB5010797