KB5010342 – Windows 10 Cumulative Update for February

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The cumulative update, KB5010342, has been released for Windows 10 version 20H2, 21H1, and 21H2. This update addresses the bugs reported after the deployment of January updates for Windows 10. KB5010342 also patches key vulnerabilities that have been reported and shared by Microsoft in the months of January and February. We look at the ways you can install KB5010342, and the issues that have been fixed as part of this cumulative update.

This update will push your Windows 10 build to OS Builds 19042.1526, 19043.1526, and 19044.1526, depending on the Windows 10 version running on the workstation.

Salient points about the KB5010342 update for Windows 10

  • KB5010342 is cumulative.
  • It supersedes KB5009543 and KB5010793 updates for January.
  • Zero-day vulnerability affects Windows 10 version 20H2, 21H1 and 21H2. This has been patched in KB5010342. Details of the vulnerability are mentioned below.
  • The update file has a size between 307.8 MB to 686 MB, depending on your Windows 10 version.
  • No issues have been reported by early adopters of the cumulative update KB5010342 on Windows 10.

Can I install KB5010342 without installing the January updates?

Yes, you can install KB5010342 without installing the updates that were released for January. KB5010342 supersedes KB5009543 that was released on 11th January 2022. Subsequent to the failed VPN connectivity issues, KB5009543’s issues and problems were fixed through an out of band update KB5010793. KB5010342 supersedes KB5010793 out of band update as well.

Therefore, if you have not installed KB5009543 or KB5010793 during the month of January, you can skip those and install the KB5010342 cumulative update.

What vulnerabilities are resolved in KB5010342 cumulative update for Windows 10?

Microsoft has shared details of 70 vulnerabilities that have been fixed as part of the February cumulative updates. Out of these, our focus is on the two vulnerabilities that have critical impact or zero-day threat for the systems.

CVE-2022-21984 – This vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 8.8 and has a high impact on the affected infrastructure. The severity of the vulnerability makes it a zero-day vulnerability that can lead to immediate attacks on the targets. It relies on a vulnerability in the Microsoft DNS server to cause a remote code execution attack on the target computer. This vulnerability has been patched in KB5010342.

CVE-2022-21907 – This is a critical vulnerability on the HTTP Protocol Stack that allows an attacker to cause remote code execution attacks on the target computer running Windows 10 version 20H2 and higher. The vulnerability has a critical impact on the associated infrastructure. It has a CVSS score of 9.8. This vulnerability was patched in KB5009543 or in last month’s cumulative updates. If you did not patch with KB5009543, you may deploy the KB5010342 as it carries the fix for CVE-2022-21907.

In any case, both vulnerabilities find a resolution in KB5010342. In particular, we are concerned about the zero-day Microsoft DNS Server issue that needs to be patched on a priority basis through KB5010342.

How can I install KB5010342 on Windows 10 computers?

KB5010342 is a regular cumulative security update. It is available for patching through the regular ways offered by Microsoft. You could patch KB5010342 on the Windows 10 computers through one of the following ways:

  • KB5010342 can be patched automatically using the Windows Update program. The update will get downloaded and patched automatically if your computer is configured to deploy cumulative updates automatically.
  • Windows Update for Business can be used to patch Windows 10 Pro versions.
  • Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) can be used to import the cumulative updates automatically for Windows 10. You will need to configure WSUS to import Windows 10 updates for version 1903 and later.
  • You can download the KB5010342 cumulative update directly from the Microsoft update catalog. You will need to choose the update file that corresponds with the version of your Windows 10 operating system. KB5010342 can be downloaded from this page.

There have been not been any extraneous issues arising out of the deployment of KB5010342 on Windows 10 computers. However, should you run into any issues post-deployment of KB5010342, you can uninstall it without any second thoughts.

What issues are resolved in KB5010342 for Windows?

January updates for Windows 10 broke VPN connectivity through the Windows 10 client computers. This issue happened after KB5009543 was deployed on Windows 10 computers. Subsequently, Microsoft released an emergency out of band update KB5010793 to resolve these issues. The VPN connectivity issues were resolved through the out of band update. If you have not patched Windows 10 computers with KB5009543 or KB5010793, you can use the KB5010342 to be implemented directly.

KB5010342 also patches the failed LDAP bindings issue on the Windows 10 computers. The issue occurred after the January updates. It remained unresolved until the KB5010342 was released with a fix for the LDAP bindings.

Summary

KB5010342 for Windows 10 versions 20H2, 21H1, and 21H2 is a cumulative update that addresses the zero-day vulnerability on the DNS services. It also resolves the failed LDAP bindings issue from the January updates. The update file has a size between 307.8 MB to 686 MB, depending on the Windows 10 version running on the computer. There are no post-deployment issues that have been reported for the KB5010342 cumulative update on Windows 10 computers.

You may be also interested in reading more content relevant to Windows Updates in the following pages:

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Rajesh Dhawan

Rajesh Dhawan is a technology professional who loves to blog about smart wearables, Cloud computing and Microsoft technologies. He loves to break complex problems into manageable chunks of meaningful information.