Optional Windows 10 updates out for versions 2004 and newer with a ton of fixes

Microsoft has begun rolling out optional updates for the latest Windows 10 versions as part of its C/D release week rollouts. These updates are preview versions of the updates that will eventually roll out to the corresponding Windows 10 versions during the Patch Tuesday update next month. As is always the case, those that choose to install these updates will be served only the additional fixes added to the Patch Tuesday package. However, those that choose to skip today’s update will be offered all these fixes as one.

Today, Windows 10 versions 2004 and newer are receiving optional patch KB5005611. These versions include versions 2004, 20H2, and 21H1. As usual, the packages heading to all these versions are identical as these are built on the same codebase and are served the same updates. The patch bumps up the build numbers to 19041.1266, 19042.1266, and 19043.1266 for versions 2004, 20H2, and 21H1 respectively. The update should also head to users running 21H2 in the Release Preview channel soon, as that version is also going to be delivered in the way of an enablement package to version 21H1.

As for the patch itself, there are a ton of bug fixes and improvements. The highlights include fixes that address Outlook issues, more fixes for the News and Interests flyout, fixes to faulty clock synchronization, and much more. Here are the highlights of the fixes made in today’s patch:

• Updates an issue that causes the system clock to be wrong by one hour after a daylight saving time (DST) change.

• Updates an issue that causes applications, such as Microsoft Outlook, to suddenly stop working during normal use.

• Updates an issue with the Microsoft Outlook Add-in that prevents you from typing a reply.

• Updates an issue that causes blurry News and interests icons when you use certain screen resolutions.

• Updates an issue that causes News and interests to appear when you right-click the taskbar even if you have turned off that feature on your device.

• Updates an issue that might cause distortion in the sound that Cortana and other voice assistants record.

• Updates an issue that causes your device to stop working after you restart it.

• Updates an issue that prevents you from providing input to apps when the taskbar is not at the bottom of the screen.

As usual, the firm has posted a detailed list of all the fixes made in this update, which apply to all three fully supported Windows 10 versions. Here is the complete list:

• Addresses an issue that changes the device’s current UI language. This occurs during an unattended out-of-box experience (OOBE) language pack installation scenario on a desktop.

• Addresses an issue that causes the system time to be incorrect by one hour after a daylight saving time (DST) change.

• Addresses an issue that causes the Server Manager application to disappear after you use it to remove Hyper-V features on Windows Server 2022.

• Addresses an issue with parsing time formats in event logs. This issue occurs when you exclude milliseconds.

• Addresses an issue that causes the DnsCache service to increase the CPU usage to 100% utilization. As a result, the device stops responding.

• Provides administrators the option to reset the zoom to the default for HTML dialogs in Microsoft Edge Internet Explorer mode.

• Addresses an issue with Enterprise Mode Site List redirection from Internet Explorer 11 to Microsoft Edge. In certain circumstances, the redirection opens a site in multiple tabs in Microsoft Edge.

• Addresses an issue with PropertyGet in JScript9.dll.

• Addresses an issue that stops calls to the Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) minidriver for Windows Portable Devices (WPD) devices that you access using WIAMgr.

• Addresses an issue that causes applications, such as Microsoft Outlook, to suddenly stop responding during normal use. This occurs if the application created and removed UI elements on a background thread that is no longer receiving messages.

• Addresses an issue with the Microsoft Outlook Add-in that prevents you from providing input after you select Reply.

• Addresses an issue that fails to keep the NumLock state after a Fast Startup restart.

• Addresses an issue with sharing a screen using Microsoft Teams. Protected content, such as a digital rights management (DRM) email, appears black for the presenter, but appears transparent for everyone else.

• Addresses an issue that might prevent drawing on the screen using Windows Context::UpdateRgnFromRects from working.

• Addresses an issue that always reports the update build revision (UBR) as zero (0) on a device during enrollment to mobile device management (MDM) service.

• Addresses an issue that might cause distortion in the audio that Cortana and other voice assistants capture.

• Removes the limitation of 25 maximum Traffic Selectors in the Windows native Internet Key Exchange (IKE) client and server.

• Addresses an issue that fails to display the smart card PIN dialog when you are connected to a virtual private network (VPN). This issue occurs after upgrading to Windows 10, version 2004.

• Addresses an issue that causes a memory leak in lsass.exe when the pTokenPrivileges buffer is not released.

• Addresses an issue with a non-paged pool (NPP) leak from the UxSF pool tag. This leak occurs when lsass.exe stops processing asynchronous Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI) calls.

• Addresses an issue that prevents the xhunter1.sys driver from loading. As a result, some games cannot run when you enable Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity (HVCI).

• Addresses an issue that causes Windows to stop working if you deploy a Code Integrity policy without user mode rules.

• Improves the performance of MsSense.exe in environments with User Datagram Protocol (UDP) applications that require high amounts of bandwidth.

• Addresses an input method editor (IME) mode instability in the RemoteApp scenario. You must install this update on the Remote Desktop server and Remote Desktop client.

• Addresses an issue that causes blurry News and interests icons when you use certain screen resolutions.

• Addresses a paged pool memory leak of the registry keys for the Virtual Desktop ID that occurs in explorer.exe.

• Removes a hyperlink that might cause the Input app to stop working when you first enter fuzzy pinyin content.

• Addresses an activation issue for the Input application.

• Addresses an issue that causes LogonUI.exe to stop working because Direct Manipulation fails to start.

• Addresses an issue that causes News and interests to appear in the context menu even when you have disabled it on a device.

• Addresses an issue that causes the configuration for multiple artifact DB support across datacenters to fail for Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) artifacts.

• Addresses an issue that causes the LsaLookupSids() function to fail. This occurs when there are security identifiers (SID) for users that no longer exist in a group that contains cross-domain trusted users.

• Addresses an issue that fails to apply the post_logout_redirect_uri= parameter when you use an External Claims Provider.

• Addresses an issue with a deadlock in the WebDav redirector that occurs when it attempts to read a file from the local TfsStore. As a result, the system stops responding.

• Addresses an issue that causes a stop error after a restart.

• Addresses an issue that causes apps to lose focus when the taskbar is not at the bottom of the screen.

• Implements a Group Policy setting for the following registry value:

• Registry location: HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers\PointAndPrint

  Value name: RestrictDriverInstallationToAdministrators

  Value data: 1

  For more information, see KB5005010.

• Adds the ability to configure period or dot (.) delimited IP addresses interchangeably with fully qualified host names in the following Group Policy settings:

  • Package Point and Print - Approved Servers

  • Point and Print Restrictions

Lastly, the firm has listed the known issues, which haven’t changed from the Patch Tuesday updates earlier this month. It will be interesting to see if that changes with the final update next month. Those interested can head to the Update Catalog here to manually download this update.

As mentioned earlier, these fixes will be rolled into the Patch Tuesday updates that will head out to all users on October 12. With Windows 11 slated to roll out starting October 5, it is possible that the next Patch Tuesday update will be the first one for Microsoft’s next-gen OS as well.