After releasing a Windows 11 update for Insiders with fixes for the Taskbar, Microsoft is now releasing the December Patch Tuesday update with several general improvements to the system. The update is available for computers running Windows 11 22H2 and 21H2 and brings the expected fix for performance degradation in games.
Among the highlights of this version identified as KB5021255 are fixes for the following issues:
- Bug that showed incorrect colors in the Task Manager;
- Windows security holes;
- Problem that prevented some applications from opening;
- Bug that crashed applications when opening the Input Method Editor (IME);
- Unexpected File Explorer closes and high CPU usage;
- Bug in the “Open with” screen that prevented certain applications from working;
- Problem in DPAPI decryption that prevented the use of VPNs;
- Failed to get offline language packs for on-premises Unified Update Platform (UUP) clients;
- Bug in DCOM (Distributed Component Object Model) authentication protection;
- Issue affecting cluster name objects (CNO) or virtual computer objects (VCO). The error message is: “There was an error resetting the AD password… // 0x80070005”.
- Bug in the transparency of layered windows;
- Crash when using Listen feature to route to speaker endpoint, which disables microphones on PC restart;
- Issue that may affect applications running under WLDP (Windows Lockdown Policy);
- Bugs in Windows Defender when using it with another antivirus;
- Crash when printing documents in landscape mode with Microsoft Edge;
- Problem opening the Accounts area in the Settings app;
- Failed to copy files with error “317: ERROR_MR_MID_NOT_FOUND”;
- Bug that causes reduced performance in games and applications;
- Error installing cumulative updates.
The update also brings improvements with storage alerts and support for viewing how much you’ve used in your OneDrive account in the Settings app and File Explorer, Windows Spotlight and themes are now combined in the Settings app to make it easier to use.
In addition, Windows 11 will now recognize files with a .wcx extension as malicious when one of them tries to access a control policy not allowed by the application in use. Quick Assistance app is now available for customer devices, way to authenticate Azure Active Directory joined devices and more.
The update is mandatory for all supported devices, so it will download automatically when your computer is not in use, but you can download it now by going to Settings > Windows Update. You can also obtain the offline update package from the Microsoft Update Catalog via the link below:
- Microsoft Update Catalog – Access
It is worth mentioning that this update has some known issues such as longer delays when copying multi-gigabyte files to a USB stick, use of applications that use ODBC connections, bugs in Direct Access on corporate PCs and failures when using provisioning packages on corporate or school networks.
