Outlook crashing after installing Windows patches? You're not alon

[Guest LilBambi]

Outlook crashing after installing Windows patches? You're not alone - ZDNET

 

It's not immediately clear which of the patches is causing the issue.

However, some on Twitter have pointed to MS15-115 (also known as KB3097877), a critical update affecting all versions of Windows, as the one to blame.

The patch fixes a series of flaws that could allow an attacker to remotely execute code on an affected machine by exploiting how the operating system handles and displays fonts.

Some users have reported that Outlook crashes only when web-formatted (HTML) emails are displayed.

 

This uninstall in in the process of hanging the reboot after uninstall on a client as we speak.

 

This is not good.

[Guest LilBambi]

And that's not all. The above was on a Windows 7 64-bit computer.

 

It's also affecting Windows 10 per the following article:

 

KB 3097877 crashes Outlook, causes network sign-in black screens - InfoWorld

 

Also, the Win7 sidebar and gadgets disappear, and Asus Audio Center dies

The day is yet young, but I'm seeing lots and lots of reports of crashes, hangs, and odd behavior attributed to KB 3097877. As of this moment, Microsoft hasn't acknowledged any of the problems in KB 3097877, and the only surefire workarounds involve uninstalling the patches or rolling back to an earlier system restore point.

Here's the short version.

KB 3097877 is part of security bulletin MS15-115, which is (yet another) critical patch to fix vulnerabilities in OpenType fonts. This KB is specifically for all supported versions of Windows (including Windows RT and RT 8.1) except Windows 10.

There's a lengthy series of network logon complaints on the TechNet forums, led by poster Asomodai who reports:

 

More in the article and links in the article.

[frapper]

It's pathetic when M$ can't even make and test a patch that's compatible with their own software.

[ebrke]

Whew--glad I read this, Fran. I haven't yet applied most recent security patches to my mother's win7 64bit system yet and will now hold off for at least a week to see what's going on. Thanks for the heads-up!

[Corrine]

What is strange is that not everyone has problems with KB 3097877 -- no problems on my 64-bit Windows 7.

[Guest LilBambi]

Yes, Corrine, not everyone was affected and the answer was to uninstall it if it does affect yours.

 

So far the only one that had it happen to my clients, is a Windows 7 64-bit with Microsoft Office 2013 with Outlook 2013.

 

According to Woody, Microsoft reissued this without saying they did. My client got it installed again overnight last night, but it didn't fix his problem. So client computer must have updated about an hour before Microsoft reissued it. Had to uninstall it again and hid it for a few days because Outlook was broken for some emails again after the update last night.

 

Will go back Monday and try again because this is a very important update against remote code execution.

 

BTW: When did you get that update Corrine?

Edited November 12, 2015 by LilBambi

[ebrke]

I was waiting for more problems to show up, but it still seems that issues are related only to Outlook and problems with touchscreen interface and network logins, none of which should affect my mother's system (I have her on Thunderbird and LibreOffice). I may try tomorrow to apply patches. I believe a restore point is created automatically before windows updates--can anyone verify that for me?

[goretsky]

Hello,

 

I haven't tested this myself, but I believe issuing a

 

WUSA /unisntall /kb:3097877

 

from an elevated Command Prompt (filename: CMD.EXE) should uninstall the errant hotfix.

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky

[Guest LilBambi]

Good quick way there Aryeh.

 

Elizabeth, another area where people were having issues is with ASUS Xoner sound card.

 

And, believe it or not, Microsoft Sidebar and Gadgets ... all of which should have been removed and the Gadget Platform disabled long ago in 2012 according to Microsoft, because they, at that time, said they were not going to fix the Gadget Platform security issues ... I believe some of which were the same types of remote execution issues they are attempting to fix now.

 

Security flaws signal early death of Windows Gadgets - ZDNET

Microsoft is pulling the plug on the Windows Sidebar and Gadgets platform ahead of news that security vulnerabilities will be disclosed at this year's Black Hat conference.

...

"Gadgets are comprised of JS, CSS and HTML and are application that the Windows operating system has embedded by default. As a result there are a number of interesting attack vectors that are interesting to explore and take advantage of. We will be talking about our research into creating malicious gadgets, misappropriating legitimate gadgets and the sorts of flaws we have found in published gadgets," the researchers said.

[Guest LilBambi]

There were a lot of remote execution issues being fixed in this patch. Very important and if you do not have any of the items listed that are being affected, it would be wise to try.

 

And since it is purported that the patch has been reissued, maybe there will be no issues at all now. Let's hope.

[ebrke]

Didn't know about the sound card issue, but I did apply all patches to my mother's system on Friday and all is okay. Crossed my fingers when I rebooted though.

[zlim]

After not seeing problems posted, I finally applied this patch to our four Windows 7 computers then made my November images.