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March 2021 cumulative updates cause printing bluescreens on Windows 10 devices

Microsoft published security updates for all supported versions of Windows 10 yesterday on the March 2021 Patch Day. It appears that the updates are causing issues on some devices; specifically, the attempt to print may result in bluescreen errors on affected devices.

The updates patch security issues, all with the second-highest severity rating of important. One of the additional issues that these updates patch is a printing to FILE ports vulnerability. The issue is patched in updates for all versions of Windows, from Windows 7 to Windows 10.

The following updates include the FILE port printing fix:

It is unclear if pre-Windows 10 systems are affected by the issue as well.

Windows Security Updates Image

The new patch is not the first attempt to resolve issues related to File ports and printing. In the patch notes, Microsoft confirms that users may run into printing errors after patch installation, but these are limited to print jobs that are in the queue prior to the installation of the update. The already-in-queue print jobs cannot complete after the installation and need to be deleted and pushed again to the queue.

Several reports have been published on the Internet about printing related bluescreens after installation of these updates on Windows 10 devices. Günter Born has published a few links on his site (in German).

According to the reports, updates may cause bluescreens in win32kfull.sys when printing after update installation. Some appear to have mitigated the issue by deinstalling and reinstallation printers on systems, but it does not seem to work for everyone. Others resolved the issue by updating printer drivers.

The update may not be offered anymore to all devices via Windows Updates. It is still available for download on the Microsoft Update Catalog website.

Microsoft has not acknowledged the issue yet, the support articles, e.g. KB5000802 or KB5000808, have not been updated.

Administrators may consider delaying the installation of updates to avoid running in the issue.

Now You: have you updated your systems? Did you run into printing issues?

 

 

This article was first seen on ComTek's "TekBits" Technology News

 

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