Newsletter Archives

• February — Same number of patches, fewer bugs

  Posted on February 17, 2025 at 02:43 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  This month we have a more “normal” patch release of 57 vulnerabilities.

  Although that’s a “woo-hoo” for the security researchers, you and I will still see the same old security updates being offered. That is, we will see a Windows security update.

  What also hasn’t changed is my stance toward Windows 11 24H2. If you buy a computer with it, stay there. If you are already on it and see no issues, stay there. But if you haven’t yet installed the 24H2 feature release on your existing Windows 11 23H2 machine, I still recommend holding back, especially for businesses. For consumers, the risk is less — as long as you are not a gamer.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.07.0, 2025-02-17).

  Patch Watch Apple updates, CVE-2025-21194, CVE-2025-21376, CVE-2025-21387, CVE-2025-21391, CVE-2025-24200, KB890830, Netlogon, Newsletters, Outlook (new), Patch Lady Posts, System Guard, Windows 11 24H2

• Updating your Surface

  Posted on February 14, 2025 at 03:00 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  I have several Surface devices (Surfii?) because they are one of the best traveling devices, especially if they have cellular built in and you don’t want to mess with hotel Wi-Fi, VPNs, and other roaming annoyances. But sometimes, their patching behavior is confusing. Case in point: the recent CVE-2025-21194 that patches a unique “Microsoft Surface Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability.” The theory is that it’s related to an IPv6 PixieFail vulnerability.

  As I’m reading it, I should be expecting a Surface firmware update. But as of this moment, no such release has been posted. An update was released in January, but nothing in February. The good news is that it will come down automatically via Windows update. The bad news is I’m not sure whether it’s been received already.

  When it comes to Surfaces, firmware updates do not appear to have any set release schedule. Mind you that’s true for any firmware release. When I’ve decided to move to a Windows feature release, I tend to review whether I’m missing a firmware update, especially if the Windows release is a major one. So, I’ll be reviewing the firmware status of my devices once I decide to move to 24H2. I will remind you to do likewise when it’s time.

  Surface CVE-2025-21194, Patch Lady Posts