Microsoft is currently investigating an issue where Windows 10 security updates, released during this month's Patch Tuesday, are failing to install. Customers have reportedly encountered error code 0x8007000d during the installation process, which initially appears to progress but ultimately fails to complete. This issue affects client platforms Windows 10 21H2 and Windows 10 22H2.
Persistent Installation Errors Reported by Users
According to a Microsoft statement, “Microsoft has received reports of an issue where Windows updates released October 10, 2023 (KB5031356) fail to install. Devices might initially display progress, but then fail to complete installation.” User reports have been surfacing since Tuesday, October 10, indicating that the manual download and installation of the update also fail to deploy. One of the most common errors identified is Error 8007000D (ERROR_INVALID_DATA). This error can be viewed from the Windows Update perspective under System settings, by selecting Update History.
Guidelines Issued by Microsoft Amid Customer Complaints
Microsoft assures users that the error has been addressed through a Known Issue Rollback (KIR). The KIR solution is expected to be automatically propagated to consumer devices and non-managed business devices within 48 hours from 18:14 P.T. 13 October. For users seeking an immediate resolution, Microsoft has provided manual steps to rectify the issue. Recourse to automatic updates in due time can be an alternative if subsequent issues arise post the manual solution.
Patch Tuesday Update
Contained within the release notes of the recent update, Microsoft shares that the latest Patch Tuesday update navigates security issues in Windows. While no known issues were listed in the update, the emergence of Error 8007000D stands in contradiction. Reminiscent of the Patch Tuesday tradition, it's notable that Windows 11 21H2 has discontinued receiving these security updates, underlining the urgency of system upgrades for users still on the said version.
Earlier this week, Microsoft also alerted customers about incorrect BitLocker drive encryption errors in some managed Windows environments. This error only impacts Windows environments where drive encryption is enforced for the operating system and fixed drives. Earlier this year, the company resolved another issue affecting WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) servers that were upgraded to Windows Server 2022, causing them to stop pushing Windows 11 22H2 updates to enterprise endpoints.
In Microsoft's October 2023 Patch Tuesday, the company addressed 104 vulnerabilities, including three actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities. Notably, twelve of these vulnerabilities were deemed as ‘critical,' all of which were Remote Code Execution (RCE) flaws. In addition, another forty-five Remote Code Execution bugs were securely patched.
