KB5034441 and KB5034440

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I’ve been getting some emails regarding our coverage of the Windows Recovery partition problem. One question was whether this applies to Windows 10 on
[See the full post at: KB5034441 and KB5034440]

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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abbodi86, ChrisAVWood, windbg, lmacri, WSmwags48

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…For Windows 11 22H2 and 22H3, the vulnerability noted…

You mean 23H2 instead??  😉

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I always screw that up.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Ah! This post explains why I wasn’t offered the problematic update on my “couch potato” laptop I used as a test bed. I’ve standardized on Win 11 Pro, currently 22H2 across all three of my Windows systems.

I had a fresh Reflect backup, checked the recovery partition and saw that it was a healthy 1.9 gigs with plenty of free space and thought why not.

The machine was offered three updates by WU; MSRT, the January CU KB5034123 and .NET CU for 3.5 & 4.8.1 KB5033920. I’ll note this was a faster, easier install than the last two months updates have been. It just went about it’s business with one extra reboot at 30% and no issues noted at this point.

 

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For Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2, the vulnerability noted in CVE-2024-20666 is being patched as part of the cumulative windows update of KB5034123.

Does the above mean that those of us on Windows 11 22H2 or 23H2 might see the CU update KB5034123 fail to install because the recovery partition does not have enough free space/sufficient size? That would be quite annoying, because even if we decide to hide and skip KB5034123 the problem will manifest all over again with next month’s CU unless MS finds a fix that does not require users to mess with their partitions.

BTW, now I’m wondering if the problems seen by Win10 users with KB5034441 can also manifest when there is no recovery partition at all and thus if having no recovery partition on my Win11 machine actually places me in a better position than having one which is full/too small…

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Berserker79 wrote:

Does the above mean that those of us on Windows 11 22H2 or 23H2 might see the CU update KB5034123 fail to install because the recovery partition does not have enough free space/sufficient size?

Yes.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5034441-windows-recovery-environment-update-for-windows-10-version-21h2-and-22h2-january-9-2024-62c04204-aaa5-4fee-a02a-2fdea17075a8

When you try to apply this update on a PC that has no recovery partition, the update is unsuccessful and you receive the error 0x80070643 ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE.

You do not need this update if the PC does not have a recovery partition. In this case, the error can be safely ignored.

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Alex5723 wrote:

Yes.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5034441-windows-recovery-environment-update-for-windows-10-version-21h2-and-22h2-january-9-2024-62c04204-aaa5-4fee-a02a-2fdea17075a8

Your link refers to Windows 10 (and not a cumulative update), but the question was about Windows 11.

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b wrote:

Your link refers to Windows 10 (and not a cumulative update), but the question was about Windows 11.

I am sure it implies to both.

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Can someone tell me if I’m going to have trouble when I update. I’m so confused. I have Windows 11 pro 23H2.

Windows 11 Pro
Version 23H2
OS build 22631.4890

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I think it’s very unlikely that you will have trouble: The January cumulative update installed on Windows 11 without any issues for me, with a recovery partition of very similar size to yours.

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That is good news. Thank you so much. Will wait for the go ahead from Susan.

Windows 11 Pro
Version 23H2
OS build 22631.4890

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Can someone please clarify?

 

Is microsoft still pushing KB5034441 for Windows 10 HOME?

It seems like this would be a no-brainer to stop since the HOME edition doesn’t include bitlocker.  TY.

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Yes, because the vulnerability affects device encryption which is available on Windows 10 Home:

Windows 10 Home doesn’t include BitLocker, but you can still protect your files using “device encryption.”

How to enable device encryption on Windows 10 Home

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Coldheart9020, curious leo, PL1

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Alex5723 wrote:

b wrote:

Your link refers to Windows 10 (and not a cumulative update), but the question was about Windows 11.

I am sure it implies to both.

but not necessarily with the latest Windows 11 versions like 22H2 & 23H2, Alex

KB5034440 applies to Windows 11 “RTM” 21H2 only
while KB5034441 applies to Windows 10 21H2 & 22H2 (except Windows 10 LTSC 2021, KB5034441 not offered thru WU when using LTSC 2021 as I’ve tested & checked myself)

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curious leo wrote:

Can someone please clarify?

 

Is microsoft still pushing KB5034441 for Windows 10 HOME?

It seems like this would be a no-brainer to stop since the HOME edition doesn’t include bitlocker.  TY.

yes.

Windows Update offered KB5034441 on my late father’s Toshiba 2013 Satellite laptop using Windows 10 x64 22H2 Core/Home edition and I immediately hid/blocked that update with windows update minitool (WUMT)

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curious leo

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Berserker79 wrote:

For Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2, the vulnerability noted in CVE-2024-20666 is being patched as part of the cumulative windows update of KB5034123.

Does the above mean that those of us on Windows 11 22H2 or 23H2 might see the CU update KB5034123 fail to install because the recovery partition does not have enough free space/sufficient size? That would be quite annoying, because even if we decide to hide and skip KB5034123 the problem will manifest all over again with next month’s CU unless MS finds a fix that does not require users to mess with their partitions.

BTW, now I’m wondering if the problems seen by Win10 users with KB5034441 can also manifest when there is no recovery partition at all and thus if having no recovery partition on my Win11 machine actually places me in a better position than having one which is full/too small…

I think you should read the following Eleven forum topic:

KB5034123 Windows 11 Cumulative Update Build 22621.3007 (22H2) and 22631.3007 (23H2)

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Berserker79

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Thanks EP, I went through the whole forum topic, but I didn’t find anything of interest. Still, nobody reported issues with KB5034123 failing to install due to the recovery partition issue, so I take that as good news. Besides, I have no recovery partition at all on my Win11 machine, so hopefully that might help me skip the problem altogether.

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EP wrote:

but not necessarily with the latest Windows 11 versions like 22H2 & 23H2, Alex

Part of KB5034123 CU. It will crash if no recovery partition/too small partition.

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Alex5723 wrote:

EP wrote:

but not necessarily with the latest Windows 11 versions like 22H2 & 23H2, Alex

Part of KB5034123 CU. It will crash if no recovery partition/too small partition.

And yet no known issue is listed for those versions.

What do you know that Microsoft doesn’t?

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Bob99

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Alex5723 wrote:

Part of KB5034123 CU. It will crash if no recovery partition/too small partition.

@Alex5723 –

Exactly where is that written in a document from Microsoft or other authoritative source regarding KB5034123?

In other words, exactly where does it say in documentation from Microsoft or other authoritative source that KB5034123 will fail to install if one’s recovery partition is too small?

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And I may have answered my own question! I remembered Susan having mentioned something about this concept and, sure enough, she has. Here’s a quote from the latest newsletter that was published on January 22nd, under the Patch Watch heading, where she discusses the issues with, predominantly, KB5034441 for Windows 10, BUT, she does reference Windows 11 in her article:

It’s important to remember that updates for WinRE can be included in cumulative updates, as they currently are for Windows 11. When that is the case, and the conditions for the installation of the WinRE update are not met, the entire cumulative update may fail to install.

I added the emphasis above in the quote. So, it is possible for the update to fail to install in that given scenario, according to Susan.

BUT, we’ve yet to hear from anyone using Windows 11 22H2 or 23H2 who has had an installation failure of KB5034123 that’s directly attributable to an undersized recovery partition. Could that be because the patch for those two versions of Windows 11 includes a routine that takes care of partition resizing during the install routine at the right moment, or perhaps the recovery partition in those editions of Windows 11 has, by default/design, much more than 250 MB of extra space?

Food for thought!

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Berserker79

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I believe the update only affects Windows 11 22H1.  I read that somewhere in Microsoft’s documentation.

 

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No such version. Please read the full first post of this topic.

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@b –

Perhaps Mark meant 21H1 and just committed a typo?

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Bob99 wrote:

@b –

Perhaps Mark meant 21H1 and just committed a typo?

No such version!

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Caught red-handed! True, there IS no version 21H1! I did indeed mean to type 21H2 instead! 🙂

Mea Culpa!

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b wrote:

No such version. Please read the full first post of this topic.

Not true.  You should check before you write.

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Mark wrote:

I believe the update only affects Windows 11 22H1. I read that somewhere in Microsoft’s documentation.

Mark-

Did you perhaps mean to type 21H2 instead of what you actually typed above? The original post does not mention a 22H1 version of any Windows OS, only Windows 10 in general, and Windows 11 versions 21H2, 22H2 and 23H2 as shown in the quote below:

As I have previously noted, the problem showed up rapidly on Windows 10 PCs and, so far, rarely on Windows 11 PCs. That accounts for our slightly one-sided coverage. Also note that KB5034440 only calls out Windows 11 21H2. For Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2, the vulnerability noted in  CVE-2024-20666 is being patched as part of the cumulative windows update of KB5034123. We’ll have more on these nuances in next week’s alert.

I added the bolding for emphasis.

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That is true.  I transposed the numbers.  Sorry if I confused anyone.

There are so many versions, it is easy to get things wrong.  Even Susan does this occasionally.  But she does not get rudely called out for it.

You quoted what I originally read.

 

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According to Microsoft, the only released versions of Windows 11 are:

21H2, 22H2 & 23H2.

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That’s interesting, thanks. Looks like I’ll just have to keep (as per usual practice) a backup close at hand and see what happens when I let the update install once we get the “all clear” to install.

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Windows 10 Pro 22H2. BitLocker has never been enabled and I have no plans to change that. I also have Windows RE disabled as I rely on USB rescue media for that courtesy of Macrium Reflect.

That way, I am not only able to access the RE should I encounter issues, but I can also fall back on restoring a full disk image if the issue cannot be rectified with the RE.

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I do not see KB5034441 in the Microsoft Update catalogue as of now.

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Correct, Microsoft has not officially placed this on the Microsoft update catalog site, nor on WSUS.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Any idea when MS-DEFCON will move up with recommendations for the January updates?

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Question:

 

If KB5034441 doesn’t make it to the blocked status and all the other updates come down for windows 10 22h2, can then you pause the February updates or it KB5034441 stops you from pausing because it has the button to retry?

Win 10 Home 22H2

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On W10 you can run WuMgr and click the Search button (1st on the left). This will list available updates and you can then hide any you don’t want to install.

How to use WuMgr: https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/60002-guide-to-using-wumgr-for-windows-10-updates/

cheers, Paul

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That is what I did for the Jan. updates.  Hid 4441, then installed the other updates with WuMgr, not the conventional Win 10 Update utility.  3 computers, super smooth.  4441 has remained hidden since then.

Rightly (or wrongly) I’m confident Microsoft will find a solution for the 4441 problems by  the Feb updates.  It’s hard to believe they will ignore the issue.  It will be interesting.

I’m maintain consistent up to date image backups on all my machines and a recovery partition is not something I’d use as a substitute for an image backup.

Desktop Asus TUF X299 Mark 1, CPU: Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz, RAM: 32GB, GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. Display: Four 27" 1080p screens 2 over 2 quad.

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So it is confirmed by Microsoft that if there is no recovery partition on the disk that Windows is booting from then these two problematic and rubbish updates are not needed.

KB5034440 : Update not required when there is no recovery partition on the disk
KB5034441 : Update not required when there is no recovery partition on the disk

Since this is so, I say that Microsoft should change the update detection so that if Windows Update detects that there is no recovery partition on the disk then these updates should not even be offered.

Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

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James Bond 007 wrote:

Since this is so, I say that Microsoft should change the update detection so that if Windows Update detects that there is no recovery partition on the disk then these updates should not even be offered.

..there is no Windows recovery partition (which is different from OEM recovery partition) or no Bitlocker.

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so current and complex wanted to share …
& I wonder..
time to bail to Linux?
just kidding…hopefully..
Love this service..
GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR TEAM AND FELLOW MEMBERS
SINCERELY,
James Wiggins
Best Wishes for a HAPPY 2024!

[Moderator edit] removed URL, off topic

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ok..gotta show my ignorance of an ol’ Navy Vet Boomer…why use and how to use BBCodes?

 

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This is not the proper forum for your question.
Please post on ‘Frequently asked questions, feedback, suggestions’

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