Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 update history

Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Enterprise, Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Pro

Learn all about the security and non-security updates that are published for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 through Windows Update. These updates address issues and improve the overall reliability of the operating system.

Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 rollups (monthly rollups and security-only updates) are applicable by default to the following Windows 8.1 Industry-based embedded product:

Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Enterprise.

Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Pro.

If a rollup is not applicable to an embedded product, we will explicitly state that it is not applicable.

On the left side of this page, there is a reference to all of the updates that have been released for this version of Windows. We recommend installing all updates for Windows that are available for your device. Installing the most recent update means you get all of the previous updates, as well, including important security fixes.

Current status of Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2

For the most up-to-date information about Known Issues for Windows and Windows Server, please go to the Windows release health dashboard.

Notes and messages

General

IMPORTANT Starting in July 2020, all Windows Updates will disable the RemoteFX vGPU feature because of a security vulnerability. For more information about the vulnerability, seeCVE-2020-1036 and KB4570006. After you install this update, attempts to start virtual machines (VM) that have RemoteFX vGPU enabled will fail, and messages such as the following will appear:

If you re-enable RemoteFX vGPU, a message similar to the following will appear:

“The virtual machine cannot be started because all the RemoteFX-capable GPUs are disabled in Hyper-V Manager.”

“The virtual machine cannot be started because the server has insufficient GPU resources.”

October 13, 2020—KB4580382 (Monthly Rollup)

NEW
IMPORTANT Release notes are changing! To learn about the new URL, metadata updates, and more, see What’s next for Windows release notes.

IMPORTANT Windows Server 2012 has reached the end of mainstream support and is now in extended support. Starting in July 2020, there will no longer be optional releases (known as «C» or «D» releases) for this operating system. Operating systems in extended support have only cumulative monthly security updates (known as the «B» or Update Tuesday release).

IMPORTANT Starting in July 2020, all Windows Updates will disable the RemoteFX vGPU feature because of a security vulnerability. For more information about the vulnerability, seeCVE-2020-1036 and KB4570006. After you install this update, attempts to start virtual machines (VM) that have RemoteFX vGPU enabled will fail, and messages such as the following will appear:

If you re-enable RemoteFX vGPU, a message similar to the following will appear:

“The virtual machine cannot be started because all the RemoteFX-capable GPUs are disabled in Hyper-V Manager.”

“The virtual machine cannot be started because the server has insufficient GPU resources.”

«We no longer support the RemoteFX 3D video adapter. If you are still using this adapter, you may become vulnerable to security risk. Learn more (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2131976)”

As of February 11, 2020, Internet Explorer 10 is no longer in support. To get Internet Explorer 11 for Windows Server 2012 or Windows 8 Embedded Standard, see KB4492872. Install one of the following applicable updates to stay updated with the latest security fixes:

Cumulative Update for Internet Explorer 11 for Windows Server 2012.

Cumulative Update for Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 8 Embedded Standard.

The October 2020 Monthly Rollup.

Improvements and fixes

This security update includes improvements and fixes that were a part of update KB4577038 (released previous September 8, 2020) and addresses the following issues:

Corrects the end date for daylight savings time (DST) in 2021 for the Fiji Islands. For more information, see DST correction in Windows for the Fiji Islands: October 13, 2020.

Addresses an issue with the Group Policy service that might recursively delete critical files in alphabetic order from %systemroot%\system32. This issue occurs when a policy has been configured to delete cached profiles. These file deletions might cause stop error “0x5A (CRITICAL_SERVICE_FAILED)” boot failures.

Addresses an issue in which a Null port is created through the user interface.

Addresses an issue with Microsoft Edge IE Mode that occurs when you enable Configure enhanced hang detection for Internet Explorer mode in Microsoft Edge.

Security updates to Windows App Platform and Frameworks, Windows Graphics, Windows Shell, Windows Graphics, Windows Silicon Platform, Windows Cloud Infrastructure, Windows Fundamentals, Windows Authentication, Windows Virtualization, Windows Kernel, Windows Core Networking, Windows Network Security and Containers, and Windows SQL components.

For more information about the resolved security vulnerabilities, please refer to the Security Update Guide.

Known issues in this update

Certain operations, such as rename, that you perform on files or folders that are on a Cluster Shared Volume (CSV) may fail with the error, “STATUS_BAD_IMPERSONATION_LEVEL (0xC00000A5)”. This occurs when you perform the operation on a CSV owner node from a process that doesn’t have administrator privilege.

Do one of the following:

Perform the operation from a process that has administrator privilege.

Perform the operation from a node that doesn’t have CSV ownership.

Microsoft is working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release.

How to get this update

Before installing this update

We strongly recommend that you install the latest servicing stack update (SSU) for your operating system before installing the latest Rollup. SSUs improve the reliability of the update process to mitigate potential issues while installing the Rollup and applying Microsoft security fixes. For general information about SSUs, see Servicing stack updates and Servicing Stack Updates (SSU): Frequently Asked Questions.

If you use Windows Update, the latest SSU (KB4566426) will be offered to you automatically. To get the standalone package for the latest SSU, search for it in the Microsoft Update Catalog.

Install this update

Windows Update and Microsoft Update

None. This update will be downloaded and installed automatically from Windows Update.

Microsoft Update Catalog

To get the standalone package for this update, go to the Microsoft Update Catalog website.

Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)

This update will automatically sync with WSUS if you configure Products and Classifications as follows:

Product: Windows Server 2012, Windows Embedded 8 Standard

Classification: Security Updates

For a list of the files that are provided in this update, download the file information for update 4580382.

June 9, 2020—KB4561612 (Monthly Rollup)

IMPORTANT We have been evaluating the public health situation, and we understand this is impacting our customers. In response to these challenges, we are prioritizing our focus on security updates. Starting in May 2020, we are pausing all optional non-security releases (C and D updates) for all the supported versions of Windows client and server products (Windows 10, version 2004 down to Windows Server 2008 SP2).

There is no change to the monthly security updates (B release – Update Tuesday); these will continue as planned to ensure business continuity and to keep our customers protected and productive.

As of February 11, 2020, Internet Explorer 10 is no longer in support. To get Internet Explorer 11 for Windows Server 2012 or Windows 8 Embedded Standard, see KB4492872. Install one of the following applicable updates to stay updated with the latest security fixes:

Cumulative Update for Internet Explorer 11 for Windows Server 2012.

Cumulative Update for Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 8 Embedded Standard.

The March 2020 Monthly Rollup.

Improvements and fixes

This security update includes improvements and fixes that were a part of update KB4556840(released May 12, 2020) and addresses the following issues:

Addresses an issue that prevents users from updating .msi files from a network folder.

Security updates to Windows App Platform and Frameworks, Windows Kernel, Microsoft Graphics Component, Windows Input and Composition, Windows Media, Windows Shell, Windows Cloud Infrastructure, Windows Fundamentals, Windows Peripherals, Windows File Server and Clustering, Windows Hybrid Storage Services, the Microsoft Scripting Engine, and the Microsoft JET Database Engine.

For more information about the resolved security vulnerabilities, please refer to the Security Update Guide.

Known issues in this update

Certain operations, such as rename, that you perform on files or folders that are on a Cluster Shared Volume (CSV) may fail with the error, “STATUS_BAD_IMPERSONATION_LEVEL (0xC00000A5)”. This occurs when you perform the operation on a CSV owner node from a process that doesn’t have administrator privilege.

Do one of the following:

Perform the operation from a process that has administrator privilege.

Perform the operation from a node that doesn’t have CSV ownership.

Microsoft is working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release.

After installing this update, certain printers might fail to print. The print spooler might throw an error or close unexpectedly when attempting to print, and no output will come from the affected printer.

You might also encounter issues with the apps you are attempting to print from. You might receive an error from the app or the app might close unexpectedly.

Note This issue might also affect software-based printers, for example printing to PDF.

This issue is resolved in KB4567522.

How to get this update

Before installing this update

Microsoft strongly recommends you install the latest servicing stack update (SSU) for your operating system before installing the latest Rollup. SSUs improve the reliability of the update process to mitigate potential issues while installing the Rollup and applying Microsoft security fixes. For general information about SSUs, see Servicing stack updates and Servicing Stack Updates (SSU): Frequently Asked Questions.

If you are using Windows Update, the latest SSU (KB4562252) will be offered to you automatically. To get the standalone package for the latest SSU, search for it in the Microsoft Update Catalog.

Install this update

Windows Update and Microsoft Update

None. This update will be downloaded and installed automatically from Windows Update.

Microsoft Update Catalog

To get the standalone package for this update, go to the Microsoft Update Catalog website.

Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)

This update will automatically sync with WSUS if you configure Products and Classifications as follows:

Product: Windows Server 2012, Windows Embedded 8 Standard

Classification: Security Updates

For a list of the files that are provided in this update, download the file information for update 4561612.

September 8, 2020—KB4577066 (Monthly Rollup)

IMPORTANT Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 have reached the end of mainstream support and are now in extended support. Starting in July 2020, there will no longer be optional, non-security releases (known as «C» releases) for this operating system. Operating systems in extended support have only cumulative monthly security updates (known as the «B» or Update Tuesday release).

IMPORTANT Starting in July 2020, all Windows Updates will disable the RemoteFX vGPU feature because of a security vulnerability. For more information about the vulnerability, seeCVE-2020-1036 and KB4570006. After you install this update, attempts to start virtual machines (VM) that have RemoteFX vGPU enabled will fail, and messages such as the following will appear:

If you re-enable RemoteFX vGPU, a message similar to the following will appear:

“The virtual machine cannot be started because all the RemoteFX-capable GPUs are disabled in Hyper-V Manager.”

“The virtual machine cannot be started because the server has insufficient GPU resources.”

«We no longer support the RemoteFX 3D video adapter. If you are still using this adapter, you may become vulnerable to security risk. Learn more (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2131976)”

Improvements and fixes

This security update includes improvements and fixes that were a part of update KB4571703 (released August 11, 2020) and addresses the following issues:

Updates time zone information for Yukon, Canada. For more information, see DST changes in Windows for Yukon, Canada: September 8, 2020.

Addresses an issue when you evaluate the compatibility status of the Windows ecosystem to help ensure application and device compatibility for all updates to Windows.

Addresses a security vulnerability issue with user proxies and HTTP-based intranet servers. After you install this update, HTTP-based intranet servers cannot leverage a user proxy to detect updates by default. Scans that use these servers will fail if the clients do not have a configured system proxy. If you must leverage a user proxy, you must configure the behavior by using the Windows Update policy “Allow user proxy to be used as a fallback if detection using system proxy fails.” This change does not affect customers who secure their Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) servers that use the Transport Layer Security (TLS) or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocols. For more information, see Improving security for devices receiving updates via WSUS.

Security updates to Windows Media, Windows Input and Composition, Windows App Platform and Frameworks, Windows Graphics, Windows Cloud Infrastructure, Windows Authentication, Windows Cryptography, Windows Fundamentals, Windows Kernel, Windows Hybrid Cloud Networking, Windows Peripherals, Windows Storage and Filesystems, Windows Network Security and Containers, Windows Update Stack, the Microsoft Scripting Engine, and Windows SQL components.

For more information about the resolved security vulnerabilities, please refer to the Security Update Guide.

Known issues in this update

Certain operations, such as rename, that you perform on files or folders that are on a Cluster Shared Volume (CSV) may fail with the error, “STATUS_BAD_IMPERSONATION_LEVEL (0xC00000A5)”. This occurs when you perform the operation on a CSV owner node from a process that doesn’t have administrator privilege.

Do one of the following:

Perform the operation from a process that has administrator privilege.

Perform the operation from a node that doesn’t have CSV ownership.

Microsoft is working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release.

How to get this update

Before installing this update

We strongly recommend that you install the latest servicing stack update (SSU) for your operating system before you install the latest Rollup. SSUs improve the reliability of the update process to mitigate potential issues while installing the Rollup and applying Microsoft security fixes. For general information about SSUs, see Servicing stack updates and Servicing Stack Updates (SSU): Frequently Asked Questions.

If you use Windows Update, the latest SSU (KB4566425) will be offered to you automatically. To get the standalone package for the latest SSU, search for it in the Microsoft Update Catalog.

Install this update

Windows Update and Microsoft Update

None. This update will be downloaded and installed automatically from Windows Update.

Microsoft Update Catalog

To get the standalone package for this update, go to the Microsoft Update Catalog website.

Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)

This update will automatically sync with WSUS if you configure Products and Classifications as follows:

Product: Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Enterprise, Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Pro

Classification: Security Updates

For a list of the files that are provided in this update, download the file information for update 4577066.