Windows: Patchday issues and fixes in May 2023 (Server 2022 effective access query, VPN)

[German]Windows Updates shipped in May 2023 (and previous months has brought new Bugs to Windows. For example, Microsoft is now investigating a degradation in VPN connections. Quite badly, some administrators are no longer able to query permissions for files on Windows Server 2022 in Explorer. Here is a brief summary of issues related to the May 2023 patchday and some changes made in this month.

Query file access permissions on Windows 11/Server 2022

The issue doesn't seem to be well known yet except for some comments on the blog. Windows Server 2022 cumulative update KB5026370 causes collateral damage that one German user describes here like this (I've translated the text):

After installing the KB5026370 update, I can no longer query effective permissions via Windows Server 2022. Windows Explorer loads the CPU, but nothing happens. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Unpatched Server 2022 behaves correctly and as usual.

Another German user confirms this observeration in this comment as: Just tested it on one of our DC with Windows Server 2022 and can indeed reproduce the problem. German blog reader Chris R. writes about the same issue in this comment.

I also encountered the "can no longer query effective permissions" on Monday. But at first I didn't associate it with an update, because I didn't find anything else about the problem.

Also at Microsoft there is nothing about it. Who knows what is still wrong. Maybe it is also somehow due to the name resolution as already written above.

Does anyone know anything new?

Update: I just tested Win11. After the May update, no effective rights can be displayed there either. Windows 10, however, works. Can anyone reproduce this?

So I ask the readers if this can be confirmed. Addendum: Blog reader Tobias L. emailed to say June 1, 2023 and wrote:

Hello Mr. Born,

on 23.05. a Windows admin friend and I noticed that we both have the same bug on a Windows 2022 server. For example, if you want to display the "Effective access" or "effective access" on a file server, it does not work, the server displays "Computing effective access…" in the dialog.

Not only that, in the background the Explorer.exe is slowly climbing up the CPU and has to be restarted in the task manager (even if the effective access window is already closed).

That we found this out was a fluke, at the time I didn't think anyone else had the problem.

obias then posted links to Effective Access Query not responding on Windows Server 2022 at Microsoft and After installing the KB5026370 update, I can no longer query effective permissions via Windows Server 2022 at reddit.com, where the same problem is addressed.

Problems with L2TP VPN connections

Within this german comment, blog reader Manny reported issues with slow L2TP VPN connections in Windows 11 22H2, caused by the May update KB5026372:

Since KB5026372 we have various problems with L2TP VPN connections.

Sometimes they cannot be established, and if they are, they are extremely slow.

After uninstalling everything works as it should. Ev. already someone with the same problems?

German blog reader Jens then confirms that the problem occurred with one of its Windows 11 22H2 clients. On reddit.com there are reports about issues with speed of VPN connections.

KB5025305 causes speed issues on L2TP/IPsec VPN.
Installed update and speed droped to 0.20 Mbps download and 2Mbps upload Uninstalled update and speeds went back to 140Mbps up and down.

Tested on two laptops and exactly same behaviour.

Another commenter wrote that he had KB5026372 break the L2TP/IPsec connections for hundreds of my customers. He was able to fix it with the following PowerShell statement:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Force
Install-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate -Confirm:$False
Import-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate -Force$
BadUpdateList = "KB5026372"
Remove-WindowsUpdate -KBArticleID $BadUpdateList -IgnoreReboot

#REBOOT AFTER UNINSTALL, AND BEFORE HIDING
BadUpdateList = "KB5026372"
Hide-WindowsUpdate -KBArticleID $BadUpdateList -confirm:$false

Bleeping Computer reports here that Microsoft is investigating the issue of slow Windows VPN speeds for L2TP/IPsec VPN connections after May 2023 updates. According to reports from Windows users and administrators, the connection bandwidth issues were already caused by the April 2023 optional KB5025305. Uninstalling the updates solves the problem. v

More issues and fixes

Below I summarize some more issues around Windows 11, where problems with updates occur or some feature is finally implemented, made worse or bugs are finally fixed.

More issues caused by update KB5026361

Neowin.net reports in this tweet and this article about numerous problems that the cumulative update KB5026361 is supposed to cause in Windows 10.

This ranges from the "PROCESS1 INITIALIZATION FAILED" BlueScreen to the error code 0x800f0922 during installation. Further descriptions of real problems can be found in the comments to the following article. However, it probably only affects individual users.

Some other new features

Then there are still some smaller innovations and/or changes, which I would like to touch simply cursorily with reference to articles in the Internet.

Windows 11: Spotify support in clock fixed again

And there is another special "Highlight" from Redmond, which is probably fixed. Microsoft's Windows boss, Panos Panay, (with me somehow, under no longer to be taken seriously) had announced a "groundbreaking" function for the clock of Windows 11 in 2021. One should be able to link the clock with a Spotify account. Once the clock app gets focus, "productivity-oriented playlists" should start playing.

However, this "killer feature" was not usable for many months due to an expired certificate. neowin.net had picked up on this in this article at the beginning of May 2023 and subsequently asked Microsoft. Now, neowin.net reports in this article that Spotify playback in the clock was working again a few weeks after their inquiry with Microsoft. These are then so episodes, why I can take everything from Panoy Panay and from this corner simply no longer seriously.

Controversial change in Windows 11 Start menu back

In November 2022, Microsoft tried to display recommendations for websites in the Start menu, but reaped a storm of indignation from Windows 11 users. After some time, however, these recommendations disappeared again. Now I read at the beginning of May 2023 that exactly this feature was reintroduced in Windows 11 Build 23451.

Windows 11: Optional update can be installed automatically in future

Already in April 2023 it became known that Microsoft introduces an option in Windows 11 that optional maintenance and feature updates can be installed automatically by Windows Update in the future. Martin Geuß had mentioned it.

Windows 11 shell optimizations

Currently, some media are celebrating a feature that is to come in the context menu of Windows 11: The user is supposed to get an "End Task" command in the app's context menu in the taskbar to end the app via Task Manager. And the forced grouping of apps to an icon in the Windows 11 taskbar can probably be turned off again (see). Innovations by Microsoft.

Performance mode for the Defender

There is another innovation that somehow makes you sit up and take notice. Microsoft introduces a so-called "Performance Mode" for Windows Defender. This is supposed to reduce the system load caused by Defender's file scans on developer machines where "performance" is needed. The colleagues from Bleeping Computer have collected some information in this article.

Similar articles:
Microsoft Security Update Summary (May 9, 2023)
Patchday: Windows 10-Updates (May 9, 2023)
Patchday: Windows 11/Server 2022-Updates (May 9, 2023)
Windows 7/Server 2008 R2; Server 2012 R2: Updates (May 9, 2023)
Patchday: Microsoft Office Updates (May 9, 2023)
Microsoft Office Updates (May 2, 2023)

The German blog posts with user comments mentioned above:
Microsoft Security Update Summary (9. Mai 2023)
Patchday: Windows 10-Updates (9. Mai 2023)
Patchday: Windows 11/Server 2022-Updates (9. Mai 2023)
Windows 7/Server 2008 R2; Server 2012 R2: Updates (9. Mai 2023)
Patchday: Microsoft Office Updates (9. Mai 2023)
Microsoft Office Updates (2. Mai 2023)