Windows update incident archive

Windows Update Problems in 2023

This archive documents 20 Windows update incidentsreported in 2023, from disruptive bugs to system-breaking failures. Each entry links to its KB number, affected Windows components, fix status, and sources.

7 catastrophic · 0 still marked unfixed

Frequently affected in 2023

Documented incidents

Dec 12, 2023KB5033375CatastrophicFixed
Enterprise Wi-Fi killed at universities
- Wi-Fi
- 802.1x
- WPA2-Enterprise
- Networking
Nov 14, 2023KB5032190BrokenFixed
Install fails block zero-day fixes, Explorer won't open
- Windows Update
- File Explorer
- Security
Oct 10, 2023KB5031354BrokenFixed
File Explorer crashes, Starfield unplayable, VMs won't start
Sep 26, 2023KB5030310BrokenFixed
Black screen on login, search box shows letter C
Sep 12, 2023KB5030219BrokenFixed
Start menu dead, Explorer frozen, .NET apps broken
- Start Menu
- File Explorer
- Search
- .NET Framework
- Gaming
Aug 22, 2023KB5029351CatastrophicFixed
UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR BSOD on MSI motherboards
- Boot
- BSOD
- MSI Motherboards
- Intel
Aug 8, 2023KB5029263BrokenFixed
Explorer freeze loop, network adapters vanish, Defender broken
- File Explorer
- Networking
- Remote Desktop
- VPN
- Windows Defender
Jul 26, 2023KB5028254BrokenFixed
Screen-flash loop makes sign-in impossible
Jul 11, 2023KB5028166CatastrophicFixed
Domain trust broken, Synology NAS severed
- Active Directory
- Domain Authentication
- Synology
- Samba
- Networking
Jul 11, 2023KB5028182BrokenFixed
Explorer.exe crash loop every few seconds
- File Explorer
- Shell
Jul 11, 2023KB5028185CatastrophicFixed
BSODs, SSDs vanish from system, 4-hour install stalls
Jun 13, 2023KB5027231BrokenFixed
Chrome broken for all Malwarebytes users
- Google Chrome
- Malwarebytes
- Web Browsing
May 9, 2023KB5026368BrokenFixed
Explorer crash loops, 32-bit apps can't save files
- File Explorer
- 32-bit Apps
- Microsoft Office
May 9, 2023KB5026372BrokenFixed
VPN speeds drop to zero
- VPN
- L2TP/IPsec
- Networking
- Windows Security
Apr 11, 2023KB5025239BrokenFixed
SSD performance tanks, Explorer crashes, desktop icons die
Mar 14, 2023KB5023706BrokenFixed
SSD speeds tank, BSODs, Bluetooth breaks
Feb 28, 2023KB5022913CatastrophicFixed
Explorer crash loop prevents boot to desktop
- Boot
- File Explorer
- Shell
Feb 14, 2023KB5022842CatastrophicFixed
Secure Boot update bricks VMware VMs and bare metal servers
- Secure Boot
- VMware
- Windows Server
- Virtual Machines
Feb 14, 2023KB5022845BrokenFixed
Apps hang on launch, WSUS broken, SMB copies crawl
- Applications
- WSUS
- SMB
- 32-bit Apps
Jan 10, 2023KB5022303CatastrophicFixed
BSOD 0xc000021a, update meant to fix BSODs causes BSODs