Windows 11 KB5040527 Preview Update Released
Microsoft has recently rolled out the optional KB5040527 preview cumulative update for Windows 11 23H2 and 22H2, aimed at addressing various issues including Windows Backup failures and upgrade errors.
The July 2024 non-security preview update specifically targets problems related to Windows backups failing on devices with an Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) system partition (ESP). It also resolves an issue that caused upgrades from Windows Professional to fail with “access denied” errors in the LicenseAcquisition scheduled task.
Moreover, KB5040527 tackles a Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC) memory leak that could lead to system memory exhaustion during Windows device provisioning, as well as a WDAC bug triggering app failures when applying WDAC Application ID policies.
Users can easily install this preview update by navigating to Settings > Windows Update and clicking on ‘Check for Updates’. Alternatively, the update can be manually downloaded and installed from the Microsoft Update Catalog.
Additional Fixes and Improvements
In addition to the aforementioned issues, the Windows 11 KB5040527 update also includes fixes for various other issues such as problems with the Print Support App not responding when used with a USB device, Universal Print clients failing to communicate with the service, and adding drivers to the Windows Kernel Vulnerable Driver Blocklist file to prevent BYOVD attacks.
Microsoft has also reminded users that Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 22H2 will reach the end of servicing on October 8, after which they will only receive security updates. It is recommended to update to the latest version of Windows to continue receiving both security and non-security updates.
The latest release, Windows 11 23H2, was initially rolled out in September for enterprise testing and entered broad deployment on July 18. Microsoft has been actively pushing the update to eligible systems to ensure they are up-to-date with the latest features and security enhancements.
