Patch Archives

Winsage

June 17, 2025

Microsoft Quietly Disabled Windows Hello Facial Recognition in the Dark

Microsoft has made an adjustment to Windows Hello Facial Recognition that affects its functionality in dimly lit environments due to a security vulnerability. This change, introduced in the April 2025 Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 11 and Windows 10, requires color cameras to detect a visible face for sign-in. The update addresses a Windows Hello Spoofing vulnerability that was being exploited. Previously, the feature could identify users in low-light conditions using near-infrared imaging technology. Users have reported a workaround by disabling the webcam in Device Manager, allowing IR sensors to authenticate in low light.

Winsage

June 16, 2025

Microsoft has disabled a ‘key feature’ to enhance Windows security – The Times of India

Microsoft updated the Windows Hello face unlock functionality in April, which now fails to operate in low-light environments due to a strategic decision aimed at addressing a spoofing vulnerability. Users of Surface Laptops have reported frustrations as they can no longer access their devices using facial recognition in dark rooms. The update requires color cameras to see a visible face when signing in. Researchers from Nanyang Technological University identified a vulnerability in the system that allowed unauthorized access, although Microsoft categorized it as "important" and stated the likelihood of exploitation remains low. A temporary workaround for users is to disable the webcam through Windows 11's Device Manager, but this renders the camera unusable for other applications.

Winsage

June 16, 2025

Windows Hello webcams have stopped working in the dark. I don’t care

Microsoft has updated its Windows Hello biometric recognition system to use both the standard optical webcam and the infrared depth camera for user authentication, addressing a potential spoofing vulnerability. Testing on three laptops (Surface Laptop 7th Edition, Asus ZenBook S 14, and MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo) showed that all devices successfully recognized the user in dim lighting conditions. However, some colleagues reported issues with facial recognition in similar low-light environments, indicating inconsistency across devices. Microsoft has included a numeric PIN option as a backup login method. The update is said to enhance security by requiring visible light for recognition, but its practical impact on user experience appears minimal.

Winsage

June 16, 2025

Update Windows Now — Microsoft Confirms System Takeover Danger

CVE-2025-33073 is a Windows authentication relay attack vulnerability with a CVSS score of 8.8, indicating high severity. It allows attackers to gain SYSTEM privileges on affected systems. Currently, there is no evidence of active exploitation, but the public disclosure raises concerns. Exploitation involves executing a malicious script that makes the victim's machine connect to the attacker's system using SMB. Security researchers have described it as an authenticated remote command execution on machines that do not enforce SMB signing. Microsoft has released a fix as part of the June Patch Tuesday security updates to address this vulnerability.

Winsage

June 16, 2025

Microsoft’s Windows Hello facial recognition no longer works in the dark

Microsoft updated its Windows Hello face unlock feature in April, requiring adequate lighting for functionality to address a security vulnerability. The facial recognition system now relies on color cameras to detect visible faces, making it ineffective in low-light conditions. Users can disable the webcam via Windows 11 Device Manager as a workaround, but this disables the camera for all applications. The security flaw was identified by researchers at Nanyang Technological University and classified by Microsoft as "important," though it has not been publicly disclosed or exploited. Inquiries about reinstating dark-room functionality in future updates are pending.

Winsage

June 16, 2025

Microsoft: June Windows Server security updates cause DHCP issues

Microsoft has identified an issue with the June 2025 security updates that causes the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) service to freeze on certain Windows Server systems. This affects the service's ability to apply renewals of unicast IP addresses, impacting network operations. Microsoft has acknowledged that the DHCP Server service may intermittently stop responding after the update and is working on a resolution. Additionally, other issues affecting Windows Server systems have been addressed, including application failures and authentication problems on domain controllers. Out-of-band updates were previously issued to fix bugs causing Hyper-V virtual machines to restart or freeze, and emergency updates were released for issues with Windows containers on certain Windows Server versions.

Winsage

June 16, 2025

Microsoft Weekly: redesigned Windows 11 Start menu, Xbox handheld is here, and more

Microsoft has released Patch Tuesday updates for June 2025, with Windows 10 receiving KB5060533 and Windows 11 receiving KB5060842 and KB5060999. The Windows Insider Program has unveiled several new builds, including a redesigned Start menu in build 26200.5641 and various enhancements in other builds. Microsoft has introduced Copilot Vision with Highlights for Windows, currently available in the U.S. for two applications. A quirky bug in the latest builds causes Windows 11 to play the Windows Vista startup sound. Microsoft Edge received an update in the Dev Channel, while Firefox rolled out version 139.0.4. Microsoft announced enhancements to Outlook and OneDrive for Mac. New Xbox handhelds, the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X, were unveiled, optimized for gaming. Steam's Next Fest allows free trials of hundreds of games until June 16, 2025, and the Epic Games Store is offering Two Point Hospital for free.

Winsage

June 15, 2025

Windows 10 KB5060534, KB5060532, KB5060530, KB5060529 recovery updates released

Microsoft released its Patch Tuesday updates for June 2025, targeting Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems. The updates for Windows 10 include KB5060533, KB5060531, KB5061010, and KB5060998, while Windows 11 has updates KB5060842 and KB5060999. This release did not include dynamic updates for Windows 11. The dynamic updates focus on enhancing the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) and include improvements to Setup binaries. They are designed to be integrated into Windows images before deployment and help preserve Language Pack (LP) and Features on Demand (FODs) content during upgrades. The specific dynamic updates released are: - KB5060534: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 10 (version 1507) - KB5060532: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 10 (versions 21H2 and 22H2) - KB5060530: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 10 (version 1809) and Windows Server 2019 - KB5060529: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 10 (version 1607) and Windows Server 2016 These updates will be automatically downloaded and installed through the Windows Update channel, and they are also available on Microsoft's Update Catalog website.

AppWizard

June 13, 2025

Cities: Skylines 2’s latest patch has introduced quays and piers after seeing players using makeshift substitutes: ‘We know how challenging they can be to build’

The latest patch for Cities: Skylines 2 introduces actual quays and piers, allowing for easier shoreline construction. The new quays can detect changes in elevation and come in three sizes: narrow (for pedestrians only), medium, and wide (for both pedestrians and vehicles). The Bridges and Ports expansion has been delayed to address cargo transportation issues in the base game. The patch includes various fixes: trucks will no longer visit the Cargo Harbour after deactivation, the number of taxis and visitors at small parks has been reduced, cargo ships will no longer overlap at deactivated Cargo Harbours, cargo amounts in the Cargo Train Route Selected Info Panel have been corrected, and an issue with trucks not deducting the correct resources has been resolved.

Winsage

June 13, 2025

Windows 11 update aims to fix game crashes for Nvidia GPUs

Microsoft has released its June 2025 security update for Windows 11, designated as KB5060999. This update addresses graphics and display-related issues, particularly within the Graphics Kernel, affecting users on Windows 11 version 24H2. It aims to resolve game freezing, memory leaks, and display glitches for users with Nvidia graphics cards. The update is being rolled out in phases due to a compatibility issue affecting a limited number of devices. It is fully functional for Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2. Users can manually check for the update if it does not appear immediately in their settings.