New out-of-band updates are now up for grabs

Jan 19, 2022 08:14 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has released a series of new out-of-band updates for Windows devices in order to resolve a bug breaking down certain VPN connections.

The issue was first introduced by the January 2021 cumulative updates and affected all Windows versions, both old and new.

The bug has also been confirmed in Windows 11.

“After installing KB5009566, IP Security (IPSEC) connections which contain a Vendor ID might fail. VPN connections using Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) or IP security Internet Key Exchange (IPSEC IKE) might also be affected,” Microsoft explained earlier this month, adding that the workaround is to disable Vendor ID within the server-side settings.

Needless to say, this wasn’t necessarily a solution that came in handy for everybody, especially because it had to be applied on the VPN server, so Microsoft has been working around the clock on finding a solution and shipping it to users.

New updates are therefore available for download right now, so users are recommended to manually check for updates to get the fix on their devices.

The following updates are now available for the affected Windows versions -

  • Windows 11, version 21H1 (original release) - KB5010795
  • Windows Server 2022 - KB5010796
  • Windows 10, version 21H2 - KB5010793
  • Windows 10, version 21H1 - KB5010793
  • Windows 10, version 20H2, Windows Server, version 20H2 - KB5010793
  • Windows 10, version 20H1, Windows Server, version 20H1 - KB5010793
  • Windows 10, version 1909, Windows Server, version 1909 - KB5010792
  • Windows 10, version 1607, Windows Server 2016 - KB5010790
  • Windows 10, version 1507 - KB5010789
  • Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2 - KB5010794
  • Windows Server 2012 - KB5010797
  • Windows 7 SP1 - KB5010798
  • Windows Server 2008 SP2 - KB5010799
These updates are listed as optional in Windows Update, and users need to manually install them – they will be included in the next Patch Tuesday cycle as automatic updates.