{"id":13239,"date":"2018-08-31T04:30:06","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T12:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2018\/08\/31\/news-7006\/"},"modified":"2018-08-31T04:30:06","modified_gmt":"2018-08-31T12:30:06","slug":"news-7006","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2018\/08\/31\/news-7006\/","title":{"rendered":"Windows and .Net finally get their &#039;D Week&#039; patches, as Intel microcode fixes go wacko"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2018\/03\/microsoft_windows_updates_cycle_arrows_laptop_mobile_phone_3x2-100751944-large.3x2.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Credit to Author: Woody Leonhard| Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2018 05:02:00 -0700<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Time for the final August patching shoe to drop. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Late last night Microsoft released a flurry of patches, posting them on the Microsoft Update Catalog. Some are available through Windows Update, some aren&#8217;t. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As of early Friday morning, the Win10 patches are <em>not<\/em> available through WSUS, the update server service. It\u2019s not clear if that\u2019s a mistake, a hesitation \u2014 or if somebody just went home last night and forgot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s hear it for patching predictability. And transparency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those of you with Win10 <\/span><strong>1803 <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">get\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/help\/4346783\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">KB 4346783<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which brings you up to build 17134.254. I found two of the fixes worthy of note:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Microsoft still hasn\u2019t fixed the months-old bug:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Launching Microsoft Edge using the New Application Guard Window may fail<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and its solution is to uninstall the Aug. 14 cumulative update, install the July 24 cumulative update, then reinstall the Aug. 14 cumulative update. Which, in a cumulative world, makes no sense whatsoever.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Folks who are hanging tight with Win10 <\/span><strong>1709 <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">get<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/help\/4343893\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">KB 4343893<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which brings you up to build 16299.637. There\u2019s a long list of changes, none of which seem particularly noteworthy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re using Win10 <\/span><strong>1703 <\/strong>\u2014<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0that\u2019s still my choice for production machines \u2014 the new<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/help\/4343889\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">KB 4343889<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> brings you up to build 15063.1292. There\u2019s a shorter list of changes. Note that security patches for 1703 will end in October. In six weeks or so, you\u2019ll have to choose between 1709, 1803, or possibly 1809. As you might imagine, I\u2019ll be watching the aging process astutely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.askwoody.com\/forums\/topic\/fourth-tuesday-patches-finally-arrive\/#post-214302\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">@abbodi86 advises that<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as of Friday morning:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Windows 10 Updates did not hit WSUS, although 4346783 (1803) and 4343889 (1703) were delivered as Dynamic Updates (i.e., feature upgrade companions)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s also a cumulative update for Win10 1607\/Server 2016, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/help\/4343884\/windows-10-update-kb4343884\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">KB 4343884<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Same old same old.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><strong>Win7 <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monthly Rollup Preview, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/help\/4343894\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">KB 4343894<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, contains a major bug fix for Internet Explorer 11:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Addresses an issue in Internet Explorer 11 that may cause a blank page to appear for some redirects. Additionally, if you open a site that uses Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) or Single sign-on (SSO), the site may be unresponsive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which is a wonderful way to describe a bug that Microsoft introduced in the Aug. 14 Monthly Rollup, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/help\/4343900\/windows-7-update-kb4343900\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">KB 4343900<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and in the Aug. 14 Internet Explorer Security-only update, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/help\/4343205\/cumulative-security-update-for-internet-explorer\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">KB 4343205<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. As long as you\u2019re installing Monthly Rollups, the sequencing works out al lright, but if you\u2019re manually installing Security-only updates, the only way to fix the bug in the Aug. 14 Security-only patch is to install this Monthly Rollup Preview. Which, again, makes no sense at all. Thx,\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.askwoody.com\/forums\/topic\/fourth-tuesday-patches-finally-arrive\/#post-214271\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">@DrBonzo<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition, the ancient bug with network interface controller drivers is still there:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is an issue with Windows and third-party software related to a missing file (oem&lt;number&gt;.inf). Because of this issue, after you apply this update, the network interface controller will stop working.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not unexpectedly, the Win8.1 Monthly Rollup Preview, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/help\/4343891\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">KB 4343891<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, looks clean as a hound\u2019s tooth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We were, uh, blessed in the middle of the night with three new .Net Previews:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are subsidiary KB articles that provide more detailed explanations of the changes in these KBs. Again, I don&#8217;t see anything earth-shattering.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While you were sleeping \u2014 or intentionally ignoring the increasingly dismal news \u2014 Microsoft has also been piling on Intel microcode updates, directed at Meltdown and Spectre (versions 1, 2, 3, 3a, 4, n for n &gt;=4). There continues to be confusion about why the Intel microcode updates get installed on AMD machines, what bits need to be flipped in which registries, and whether firmware updates trump Windows patches. It\u2019s a mess <em>par excellence<\/em>, with little documentation, and nothing official that\u2019s reliable. We have two active threads on the topic(s) on AskWoody, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.askwoody.com\/2018\/mind-boggled-the-meltdown-spectre-microcode-patches\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.askwoody.com\/2018\/patch-lady-whats-up-with-the-microcode-updates\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t know about you, but I can\u2019t download the key Win10 1803 Intel microcode patch, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.catalog.update.microsoft.com\/Search.aspx?q=KB4100347\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">KB 4100347<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Susan Bradley has been asking Microsoft whether they\u2019ve pulled the patch, and so far <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SBSDiva\/status\/1034882356115456001\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the only response is crickets<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, we still haven\u2019t seen any in-the-wild Meltdown or Spectre infections. When we do, the whole exercise will no doubt turn into a delightful marketing opportunity for a couple of hardware manufacturers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sit tight. The cumulative updates are still too young. And I never recommend that you install Previews. There are no significant security exploits that are patched by the July or August crop of fixes (unless you\u2019re using IE in a Chinese company that\u2019s become a target for North Korea). Let\u2019s see if any undead arise over the long weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most of Microsoft should be back to work by next week anyway. We missed ya.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thx, @abbodi86, @sb, @DrBonzo, @PKCano, @Kirsty.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Join the long march to WinOblivion on the <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.askwoody.com\/2018\/fourth-tuesday-patches-finally-arrive\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AskWoody Lounge<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerworld.com\/article\/3301547\/microsoft-windows\/windows-and-net-finally-get-their-d-week-patches-as-intel-microcode-fixes-go-wacko.html#tk.rss_security\" target=\"bwo\" >http:\/\/www.computerworld.com\/category\/security\/index.rss<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.idgesg.net\/images\/article\/2018\/03\/microsoft_windows_updates_cycle_arrows_laptop_mobile_phone_3x2-100751944-large.3x2.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Credit to Author: Woody Leonhard| Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2018 05:02:00 -0700<\/strong><\/p>\n<article>\n<section class=\"page\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Time for the final August patching shoe to drop. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Late last night Microsoft released a flurry of patches, posting them on the Microsoft Update Catalog. Some are available through Windows Update, some aren&#8217;t. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As of early Friday morning, the Win10 patches are <em>not<\/em> available through WSUS, the update server service. It\u2019s not clear if that\u2019s a mistake, a hesitation \u2014 or if somebody just went home last night and forgot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s hear it for patching predictability. And transparency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"jumpTag\"><a href=\"\/article\/3301547\/microsoft-windows\/windows-and-net-finally-get-their-d-week-patches-as-intel-microcode-fixes-go-wacko.html#jump\">To read this article in full, please click here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[11062,10643],"tags":[714,10525],"class_list":["post-13239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-computerworld","category-independent","tag-security","tag-windows"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13239\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}