Microsoft issues emergency Windows 11 patch to fix Remote Desktop and audio, but not AMD GPU crashes

Microsoft has released an emergency update for Windows 11 to address issues that arose after the September Patch Tuesday update. The fix, identified as KB5129195 for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, is mandatory and installs automatically. Users who missed the September update will receive the changes through this patch as well.

The emergency update resolves several problems, including issues with Remote Desktop Services (RDS), a virtualization bug, and part of an audio problem. RDS could become unstable after the September update, causing RDP connection and sign-in failures. Additionally, some Linux virtual machines running through the Host Compute Service experienced access issues, such as losing local file access.

Furthermore, the update addresses an audio issue where some 8-channel and 3D USB audio devices still function in stereo mode, but not fully. However, the update does not fully resolve the issue, as some devices still fail to start in Device Manager, produce no sound, or show volume controls stuck at zero.

Microsoft also fixed a privilege escalation flaw that was partially unresolved in the September update. On 26H1, the update patches a Secure Kernel Mode elevation bug. The most concerning issue for PC gamers, AMD Radeon crashes, is not included in this update. Users have reported a range of problems including driver timeouts, black screens, display drops, and full system freezes after installing the September update. Some users have found that uninstalling the September update resolves the crashes.

Two other issues remain officially unconfirmed. The first involves Explorer.exe failing to start or crashing, resulting in a black screen and no taskbar. Reports of this issue have primarily come from enterprise setups using tools like Citrix and FSLogix. A Microsoft employee on Reddit described the September update as extensive and asked affected administrators to submit memory dumps. The second issue is File History failing to detect external backup drives, though this has not been widely reported.