Microsoft: September updates cause RDS failures on Windows Server
Microsoft confirms September 2026 Patch Tuesday updates break Remote Desktop Services on Windows Server 2012+; Group Policy mitigations and rollback workarounds available.
Microsoft confirmed that September 2026 Patch Tuesday security updates cause Remote Desktop Services failures on Windows Server 2012 and later, plus Windows 10 and Windows 11. Symptoms include unstable RDS, RDP connection failures after several minutes, sign-in issues, servers hanging at 'Please wait for the Remote Desktop Configuration,' and unresponsive MMC, RDS Licensing Diagnoser, and File Explorer. Microsoft published per-version Group Policy mitigations (covering KBs such as KB5124008, KB5122880, KB5122878, KB5122871, KB5122882, KB5122876, KB5123099, KB5123065, KB5123066) and suggests restarting affected VMs. Rolling back the updates restores RDS functionality but removes this month's security fixes.
Windows Server 2022 reaches end of mainstream support next month
Microsoft says Windows Server 2022 ends mainstream support on October 13, 2026, entering extended security updates through October 14, 2031.
Windows Server 2022, the September 2021 Long-Term Servicing Channel release, will receive its last mainstream support update with the October 2026 security patch. After October 13, 2026, it transitions to extended support with free monthly security updates through October 14, 2031. Microsoft also extended hotpatching for Datacenter: Azure Edition until October 2027 and recommends upgrading to Windows Server 2025, the current LTSC release.
Microsoft: Windows Server 2025 changes causing app crashes
Microsoft warns Windows Server 2025 memory-management changes crash AWE apps, including SQL Server with Lock Pages in Memory; disable LPIM as workaround.
Microsoft confirmed a known issue where Windows Server 2025 memory-management changes cause access violations, memory corruption, or unexpected termination in applications using Address Windowing Extensions (AWE). SQL Server running with the Lock Pages in Memory (LPIM) policy is affected, with symptoms including 0xC0000005 access violations, DBCC CHECKDB failures, crash dumps, and services stopping or restarting unexpectedly. Microsoft's temporary workaround is to disable the LPIM policy for the SQL Server service account or disable AWE in other affected apps, with a permanent fix promised in a future Windows update.
Microsoft’s September 2026 Patch Tuesday addresses 964 CVEs (CVE-2026-81963, CVE-2026-85880)
Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes a record 964 CVEs, including two zero-days actively exploited in the wild.
Microsoft patched a record 964 CVEs in its September 2026 Patch Tuesday release, with 101 rated critical and 824 rated important, making it the largest Patch Tuesday to date. The release includes fixes for two zero-days that were exploited in the wild, with CVE-2026-81963 and CVE-2026-85880 highlighted in the release. Affected products span Windows core components, Office, Exchange, .NET, Visual Studio, Active Directory services (including AD CS and AD FS) and numerous Azure services. Tenable notes the release surpasses July's as the biggest ever.
Remote Desktop Services Failures on Windows Servers Following September Update
September 2026 Patch Tuesday updates cause Windows Server 2019/2022/2025 RDS sessions to freeze, forcing administrators to roll back.
Cumulative updates KB5122876 (Windows Server 2019), KB5122882 (2022), and KB5122871 (2025) trigger Remote Desktop Services freezes hours after boot, with RDP connections hanging at 'Connecting…' and Event ID 20498 logged. Administrators trace the fault to an apparent deadlock in RDPSERVERBASE!WDLIB_Close during session teardown; only hard resets restore service and the issue recurs. The same September release patched roughly 973 vulnerabilities, including two actively exploited zero-days (CVE-2026-81963, CVE-2026-85880, both in CISA's KEV) and a critical RDS RCE, CVE-2026-69525 (CVSS 9.8). Workarounds include DISM-based removal of the update or an unofficial FeatureManagement registry key disabling the suspected audio-redirection code path; Microsoft has not yet confirmed the bug.
Windows Remote Desktop Client Vulnerability Allows Attackers to Execute Remote Code
Microsoft patched CVE-2026-69485, an 8.8 CVSS RCE flaw in the Windows Remote Desktop Client affecting Windows 10/11 and Server 2016-2025.
Microsoft's September 2026 updates fix CVE-2026-69485, an Important-rated remote code execution vulnerability (CVSS 3.1: 8.8, temporal 7.7) in the Windows Remote Desktop Client caused by use of an uninitialized resource. An authenticated attacker with low privileges could send a specially crafted network request to execute code on an affected server, with no user interaction required. Microsoft says the flaw was not publicly disclosed before patching and rates exploitation as 'Less Likely' with no evidence of active exploitation. Affected products span Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2025 and Windows 10 (1607-22H2) and Windows 11 (23H2-26H1), with fixes delivered via KBs including KB5123099, KB5122876 and KB5122882.
August updates trigger 0xc0000409 errors on Windows Server 2016
Microsoft says the August 2026 security update causes recurring CompatTelRunner.exe 0xc0000409 crashes on Windows Server 2016 with Compatibility Appraiser enabled; no functional impact.
Microsoft confirmed a known issue in which the August 2026 Windows security update generates recurring Application Error events (Event ID 1000, exception code 0xc0000409) in CompatTelRunner.exe on Windows Server 2016. The issue affects physical and virtual machines, including VMware and Azure environments, and per Microsoft does not affect device functionality. A permanent fix is planned for a future update, and the event log entries can be dismissed temporarily.
2026-007: Critical Vulnerability in Windows Netlogon
Actively exploited CVSS 9.8 Windows Netlogon flaw lets unauthenticated attackers execute code with SYSTEM privileges on domain controllers.
Microsoft's May 2026 advisory describes CVE-2026-41089, a stack-based buffer overflow in Windows Netlogon (CVSS 9.8) that allows unauthenticated remote code execution with SYSTEM privileges on domain controllers via specially crafted packets. The Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium reports the flaw is currently being exploited by threat actors. All Windows Server versions from 2012 through 2025 acting as domain controllers are affected and require the May updates.
Microsoft releases emergency Windows updates to fix RDS failures
Microsoft released emergency out-of-band Windows updates fixing Remote Desktop Services failures and Hyper-V issues caused by September 2026 security patches.
Microsoft issued out-of-band updates on September 14, 2026 to fix Remote Desktop Services instability introduced by the September security updates, which caused RDP connection and sign-in failures and unresponsive servers. Updates include KB5129194 (Windows 11 26H1), KB5129195 (Windows 11 24H2/25H2), KB5129236 (Windows 10), KB5129235 (Windows Server 2025), and KB5129237 (Windows Server 2022). The Windows 11 updates also fix a Hyper-V Plan9 shared folder issue and some USB Audio Class 1.0 multichannel problems, though remaining USB audio issues await a fix. Admins had previously used Group Policy mitigations or uninstalled the security updates, which removed security protections.
Microsoft September 2026 Patch Tuesday Fixes 973 Vulnerabilities and 2 Exploited Zero-Days
Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes 973 vulnerabilities, including two zero-days already exploited in the wild.
Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday addresses 973 vulnerabilities across Windows, Office, and Azure components, including two zero-days already exploited in the wild. CVE-2026-81963, an elevation of privilege flaw in the Windows Update Stack, is flagged as an exploited zero-day. The release includes numerous remote code execution and information disclosure fixes for Microsoft Excel and Word, plus patches for the Windows kernel, ALPC, Print Spooler, ReFS, Entra ID, and Azure CLI.
September Windows Server updates break Remote Desktop Services
September 2026 Windows Server cumulative updates cause Remote Desktop Services failures on Server 2019, 2022 and 2025, forcing some admins to roll back.
Admins report Remote Desktop Services failures after installing September 2026 Patch Tuesday updates KB5122876 (Server 2019), KB5122882 (Server 2022), and KB5122871 (Server 2025), with connections hanging, sessions failing after logout, and some systems requiring hard resets. One administrator debugging Server 2022 observed an apparent deadlock between RDP and the Local Session Manager, though Microsoft has not confirmed a root cause. Rolling back the updates restores RDS functionality but removes this month's security fixes. Microsoft had not responded to inquiries at publication time.