Windows 11’s March 2023 Patch Tuesday update is now available — here’s what’s new

What you need to know

  • Windows 11 just received its monthly set of updates, often referred to as Patch Tuesday.
  • The update includes several security fixes and a long list of other improvements.
  • Systems that update will be bumped to Windows 11 version 22621.1413.

Windows 11 receives an update on the second Tuesday of each month. Often referred to as Patch Tuesday updates, these include security fixes and general improvements to the operating system. They don’t include major new features, but they are important updates that keep PCs secure.

Microsoft shared the release notes (opens in new tab) for this month’s Patch Tuesday update, which brings systems to Build 22621.1413. The update is available for all PCs running Windows 11 version 22H2.

Microsoft lists just one highlight for the update, which is quite general. It states, “This update addresses security issues for your Windows operating system.”

Here are the improvements that ship with Windows 11 Build 22621.1413:

  • This update implements phase three of Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) hardening. See KB5004442 (opens in new tab). After you install this update, you cannot turn off the changes using the registry key.
  • This update addresses an issue that affects a computer account and Active Directory. When you reuse an existing computer account to join an Active Directory domain, joining fails. This occurs on devices that have installed Windows updates dated October 11, 2022 or later. The error message is, “Error 0xaac (2732): NERR_AccountReuseBlockedByPolicy: ‘An account with the same name exists in Active Directory. Re-using the account was blocked by security policy.’” For more information, see KB5020276 (opens in new tab).

This month’s Patch Tuesday update also includes changes that shipped in the KB5022913 update that was released in preview on February 28, 2023. To recap, here are all of the improvements included, as outlined by Microsoft (opens in new tab):

  • New!  This update adds the new Tamil Anjal keyboard for the Tamil language. To add it, make sure Tamil (Singapore), Tamil (Malaysia), Tamil (Sri Lanka), or Tamil (India) appears in Settings Time & Language > Language & Region. Select the ellipses () next to the language. Select Language Options. Add Tamil Anjal (QWERTY) to the list of keyboards.
  • This update improves the reliability of Windows after you install an update.
  • This update affects the United Mexican States. This update supports the government’s daylight saving time change order for 2023.
  • This update addresses a date information issue. It affects the format of dates sent between Windows and some versions of the Heimdal Kerberos library.
  • This update addresses compatibility issues that affect some printers. These printers use Windows Graphical Device Interface (GDI) printer drivers. These drivers do not completely adhere to GDI specifications.
  • This update addresses an issue that affects the software keyboard. It does not appear in the Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE) after a Push-button reset (opens in new tab) (factory reset). This type of reset requires an external keyboard to be attached to provide credentials.
  • This update addresses an issue that affects AppV. It stops file names from having the correct letter case (uppercase or lowercase).
  • This update addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Edge. The issue removes conflicting policies for Microsoft Edge. This occurs when you set the MDMWinsOverGPFlag in a Microsoft Intune tenant and Intune detects a policy conflict.
  • This update addresses an issue that affects provisioning packages. They fail to apply in certain circumstances when elevation is required.
  • This update addresses an issue that affects Azure Active Directory (Azure AD). Using a provisioning package for bulk provisioning fails.
  • This update addresses an issue that affects Universal Print’s Configuration Service Provider (CSP). A command prompt window appears when you install a printer.
  • This update addresses a reliability issue that occurs when you use Task View.
  • This update addresses an issue that might affect lsass.exe. It might stop responding. This occurs when it sends a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) query to a domain controller that has a very large LDAP filter.
  • This update addresses an issue that affects the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS). LSASS might stop responding. This occurs after you run Sysprep on a domain-joined machine.
  • This update addresses an issue that affects copying from a network to a local drive. Copying is slower than expected for some users.
  • This update addresses an issue that affects parity virtual disks. Using Server Manager to create them fails.

The update will roll out automatically through Windows Update and Microsoft Update to supported systems. It’s also available through the Microsoft Update Catalog (opens in new tab).

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