ISSUE 18.41.1 • 2021-10-26

By Susan Bradley

It’s not exactly an all-clear.

Normally, this is the time in the update cycle when I give an all-clear. It’s when most, if not all, of the side effects of patches have been identified.

This month, unfortunately, there are still issues. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to install updates. Even though there are documented problems with network printing after the October updates, they are not widespread.

Many system administrators report that printing problems most often occur when the operating system of the server hosting the print server is older — and possibly unpatched — while the workstations are newer platforms that are patched. Therefore, after installing the updates in your peer-to-peer network, Make testing printing your first step. If you can print, leave the updates installed and pat yourself on the back — you survived October.

If you are impacted by the October updates and do have printing issues, consider your situation carefully before you uninstall and block updates. There are several vulnerabilities included in the October updates, one of which, CVE-2021-40449, has been used in targeted malware attacks to elevate privileges on a system. My ongoing philosophy is that when the risk of being unpatched is higher than the risk of applying a patch, it’s time to install updates. I also don’t want to go a month without installing an update unless the reasons for doing so are very clear.

I’ve installed the October updates at my home and office, including a collection of Ricoh network printers as well as stand-alone Brother, HP, Lexmark, and Canon printers (black-and-white as well as color printers). I’ve had no issues printing after installing the October updates, whether at home or office. I have mixtures of server operating systems including Server 2019, Server 2016, and Server 2012 R2 as well as Windows 10, plus a Windows 7 system under extended security patches. In short, just because you read in the headlines that we’re seeing printing issues doesn’t mean that you will have issues.

For those of you in a home setting, install updates now and immediately test for printing issues. My best guess is that you’ll be fine, with no problems. As mentioned above, everything is good at my house.

I’m sorry to say that business users must not be so sanguine — you are more likely to experience problems. If you do, there are several options. The first (which I’d rather you not do) is to uninstall the updates and block them (pause updates) until next month. The second is to install one of the preview updates that Microsoft will be releasing soon, especially if you are having issues deploying printers using Internet Printing Protocol. Microsoft has already released KB5006744 for Windows 10 1809, which includes a fix for:

Addresses a known issue that might prevent the successful installation of printers using the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP).

This month, there’s no clear resolution. You may have no issues at all with the October updates. You may have issues printing. If you are required to patch, and you end up having issues printing, I’d urge you to install the preview updates that I’ll be listing in the Master Patch List. If that doesn’t work, ensure that you understand the risks involved in not being patched this month.

*Edit 10/26/2021 – Microsoft released KB5006738 for 21H1, 20H2 and 2004. It includes printing fixes that may help the issue. If you are impacted, install it and see if it helps.

Bottom line: install the updates, see whether you can print. If you can, pat yourself on the back. If you can’t, prepare yourself for a bit of testing and hassle.

References

Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Alert 18.41.1 (2021-10-26).