MICROSOFT’S January 2017 PATCH RELEASES

MICROSOFT’S January 2017 PATCH RELEASES

MICROSOFT’S January 2017 PATCH RELEASES

Microsoft have released 4 new Patch Tuesday releases for deployment this month of January. Quite a small deployment of updates this month 🙂

January 2017 Patch Tuesday

See how you can remove the risk of patch deployment by adding SnaPatch to your SCCM patching infrastructure?

MS17-001 – Important

Security Update for Microsoft Edge (3199709)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Edge. This vulnerability could allow an elevation of privilege if a user views a specially crafted webpage using Microsoft Edge. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain elevated permissions on the namespace directory of a vulnerable system and gain elevated privileges

MS17-002 – Important

Security Update for Microsoft Office (3214291)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Office. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Microsoft Office file. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

MS17-003 – Critical

Security Update for Adobe Flash Player (3214628)
This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash Player when installed on all supported editions of Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows RT 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows Server 2016.

MS17-004 – Important

Security Update for Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (3216771)
A denial of service vulnerability exists in the way the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) handles authentication requests. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could cause a denial of service on the target system’s LSASS service, which triggers an automatic reboot of the system. The security update addresses the vulnerability by changing the way that LSASS handles specially crafted authentication requests.


Now that you have made it this far, a quick shameless plug for our software portfolio. 🙂

SnaPatch – Patch Management Addon for Microsoft’s SCCM.

SnapShot Master – Take control of your virtual machine snapshots, works with both Hyper-V and Vmware.

Azure Virtual Machine Scheduler – Save money and schedule the shutdown and power on of your virtual machines within Microsoft’s Azure Cloud.

Azure Virtual Machine Deployer – Deploy VMs to Microsoft’s Azure cloud easily, without the need for powershell.

KB3209501 Update for SCCM 1610

KB3209501 Update for SCCM 1610

How to update to KB3209501 for Microsoft SCCM 1610

If you’re experiencing issues with Microsoft SCCM 1610, the recently released update KB3209501 might just be the fix you need. This update resolves various problems related to Configuration Manager version 1606 to version 1610 upgrade, Software Center, BITS for Windows Express Update Files, Task Sequences, and more. In this article, we’ll guide you through the process of updating SCCM 1610 to KB3209501, step-by-step.

KB3209501 FAQs

Question Answer

What is KB3209501?

KB3209501 is an update for Microsoft SCCM 1610 that was released in December 2016. It fixes various issues with SCCM 1610.

What issues does KB3209501 fix?

KB3209501 fixes issues such as the SMS Agent Host process using 100% of available CPU time, Task sequence deployments failing, and more.

How do I update to KB3209501 for Microsoft SCCM 1610?

To update to KB3209501, open your SCCM console, navigate to Administration > Cloud Services > Update and Servicing, and follow the steps.

Should I install updates in preproduction prior to production?

It is always good practice to install any updates in preproduction prior to production.

Is KB3209501 installation time-consuming?

Yes, KB3209501 installation may take some time to finish, so be prepared to be patient.

 Update to KB3209501

So now that you know what KB3209501 fixes now just follow the below tasks to update your SCCM environment.

Open your SCCM console and navigate to Administration, Cloud Services and highlight Update and Servicing

KB3209501 Installing


Next, highlight update KB3209501, then right click and choose Run Prerequisite Check.

KB3209501 prerequisite check


Give the prerequisite checks sometime to complete.

KB3209501 checking prerequisites

Keep refreshing the console to see when it has completed.

KB3209501 prerequisite passed


Once the KB3209501 prerequisite checks have passed, again highlight the update and then right click and choose Install Update Pack.

KB3209501 Install


You are now presented with the Configuration Manager Updates Wizard. Select whether you want to ignore any prerequisite check warnings if you received them or not and then click Next.

KB3209501 Install 2


On the Client Update Options tab, you can select to update without validating against your preproduction environment before updating your production environment. As this is one of our many labs, I have chosen to go ahead without validating. While this is a lab, not everyone can has his luxury, so remember It is always good practice to install any updates in preproduction prior to production.

KB3209501 Install 3


On the License Tab page, confirm you accept the license terms and privacy statement and then click Next.

KB3209501 Install 4


Confirm what is shown is on the Summary Tab is correct and then click Next.

KB3209501 Install 5


The installation will no be performed in the background, so on the Completion Tab click Close.

KB3209501 Install 6


As you can see, KB3209501 is installing in the background. For my lab, it did take some time to finish so prepare to be patient.

KB3209501 Installing

Updating SCCM 1610 to KB3209501 is a straightforward process that can help you resolve a range of issues and improve the overall performance of your Configuration Manager environment. By following the steps outlined above, you can ensure a smooth and successful update. Don’t forget to install updates in pre-production first to avoid potential conflicts

MICROSOFT’S December 2016 PATCH RELEASES

MICROSOFT’S December 2016 PATCH RELEASES

MICROSOFT’S December 2016 PATCH RELEASES

patch tuesday aliens

Microsoft have released 12 new Patch Tuesday releases for deployment this month of December.

See how you can remove the risk of patch deployment by adding SnaPatch to your SCCM patching infrastructure?

MS16-144 – Critical

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (3204059)
This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer. The most severe of the vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted webpage using Internet Explorer. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.

MS16-145 – Critical

Cumulative Security Update for Microsoft Edge (3204062)
This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Edge. The most severe of the vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted webpage using Microsoft Edge. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the current user. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users with administrative user rights.

MS16-146 – Critical

Security Update for Microsoft Graphics Component (3204066)
This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The most severe of the vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user either visits a specially crafted website or opens a specially crafted document. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

MS16-147 – Critical

Security Update for Microsoft Uniscribe (3204063)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in Windows Uniscribe. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user visits a specially crafted website or opens a specially crafted document. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

MS16-148 – Critical

Security Update for Microsoft Office (3204068)
This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office. The most severe of the vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Microsoft Office file. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerabilities could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

MS16-149 – Important

Security Update for Microsoft Windows (3205655)
This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The more severe of the vulnerabilities could allow elevation of privilege if a locally authenticated attacker runs a specially crafted application.

MS16-150 – Important

Security Update for Secure Kernel Mode (3205642)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow elevation of privilege if a locally-authenticated attacker runs a specially crafted application on a targeted system. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could violate virtual trust levels (VTL).

MS16-151 – Important

Security Update for Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers (3205651)
This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerabilities could allow elevation of privilege if an attacker logs on to an affected system and runs a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerabilities and take control of an affected system.

MS16-152 – Important

Security Update for Windows Kernel (3199709)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow information disclosure when the Windows kernel improperly handles objects in memory.

MS16-153 – Important

Security Update for Common Log File System Driver (3207328)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow information disclosure when the Windows Common Log File System (CLFS) driver improperly handles objects in memory. In a local attack scenario, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability by running a specially crafted application to bypass security measures on the affected system allowing further exploitation.

MS16-154 – Critical

Security Update for Adobe Flash Player (3209498)
This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash Player when installed on all supported editions of Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows RT 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows Server 2016.

MS16-155 – Important

Security Update for .NET Framework (3205640)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft .NET 4.6.2 Framework’s Data Provider for SQL Server. A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.2 that could allow an attacker to access information that is defended by the Always Encrypted feature.


Now that you have made it this far, a quick shameless plug for our software portfolio. 🙂

SnaPatch – Patch Management Addon for Microsoft’s SCCM.

SnapShot Master – Take control of your virtual machine snapshots, works with both Hyper-V and Vmware.

Azure Virtual Machine Scheduler – Save money and schedule the shutdown and power on of your virtual machines within Microsoft’s Azure Cloud.

Azure Virtual Machine Deployer – Deploy VMs to Microsoft’s Azure cloud easily, without the need for powershell.

KB3176934 breaks Windows 10 Powershell

KB3176934 breaks Windows 10 Powershell

Windows 10 has been a reliable operating system for many users, but recently, some patches released by Microsoft have caused various issues. One of the latest problems is caused by KB3176934, which appears to break Windows 10 PowerShell. In particular, it affects the Desired State Configuration (DSC) functionality in PowerShell, rendering it useless.

What is KB3176934?

KB3176934 is a security update released by Microsoft in August. The patch was meant to fix some security issues with the operating system, but instead, it caused a problem with PowerShell. The issue is related to a missing .MOF file in the build package, causing the update to break DSC.

The Consequences of the Issue

The missing .MOF file leads to all DSC operations resulting in an “Invalid Property” error. This means that if you are using DSC on any Windows client, or from any Windows client, you should uninstall the update. The PowerShell function will be completely unusable until the KB3176934 update is removed.

what is happening

Other Issues Caused by Recent Patches

This isn’t the only issue caused by the August releases of patches by Microsoft. Two other known issues were caused by security patches, namely Microsoft patches KB3177725 and KB3176493 causing printing issues, and Microsoft Patch KB3179575 causing authentication issues with Windows 2012 servers. Fortunately, a fix for the printing issue problem (KB3187022) has been released. Still, there has been no correspondence regarding the authentication issues, making it unclear whether a fix is coming soon.

How to Fix the PowerShell Issue

If you have experienced this issue on your Windows 10 machine, don’t worry. There is a solution, and it’s relatively easy to implement. The only way to fix this problem is to uninstall KB3176934 from the affected machine. Once you have removed the update, DSC functionality should be restored to PowerShell

Conclusion

If you use PowerShell for DSC, KB3176934 is a patch you need to avoid. While it’s essential to keep your operating system up to date, this update is not worth the trouble. The missing .MOF file breaks DSC functionality, leading to an “Invalid Property” error, rendering it useless. It’s crucial to stay aware of the latest updates from Microsoft and to remove any problematic ones as soon as possible.

 
Microsoft Patch KB3179575 causing authentication issues with Windows 2012 servers

Microsoft Patch KB3179575 causing authentication issues with Windows 2012 servers

Microsoft Patch KB3179575 causing authentication issues with Windows 2012 servers

Seems yet another Microsoft security patch is causing issues this month. KB3179575 which was in the August Patch Tuesday deployment is to fix issues with the Windows 2012 (not R2) operating system.

Oh No Not Again

Taken directly from the Microsoft site, this update includes quality improvements but no new operating system features are being introduced.

The key changes include:

  • Addressed issue that required users to wait up to 30 seconds after booting-up, before the device was available and ready for use.
  • Addressed issue that prevents the automatic deletion of old Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) backup files—Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) transaction logs.
  • Addressed issue that caused Cluster service on remaining nodes to stop unexpectedly when a failover cluster node experiences a power outage.
  • Addressed issue that causes a NFS service to stop responding on a two-node Windows cluster deployment, affecting clients to not be able reach an NFS share.
  • Addressed issue after installing KB3146706 that causes Office 2010 to stop responding when Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) is enabled.

At this stage it seems to be only affecting logons (authentication) to Windows 2012 Domain Controllers, again at this stage the only fix is to uninstall this update, or if you deployed this security update using Microsoft’s SCCM and SnaPatch, you can roll this update deployment back. There is no known fix at this stage.

You may also be interested in some other Microsoft patches KB3177725 & KB3176493 which are known to cause printing issues. These two security patches were also released this month as well as KB3176934 breaks Windows 10 Powershell.