Microsoft releases emergency OOB updates to rollback January Patch issues.

waspleg writes: "This update addresses issues related to VPN connectivity, Windows Server Domain Controllers restarting, Virtual Machines start failures, and ReFS-formatted removable media failing to mount."

All OOB updates released today are available for download on the Microsoft Update Catalog, and some of them can also be installed directly through Windows Update as optional updates.

You will have to manually check for updates if you want to install the emergency fixes through Windows Update because they are optional updates and will not install automatically.

According to admin reports, Windows domain controllers were being plagued by spontaneous reboots, Hyper-V was no longer starting on Windows servers, and Windows Resilient File System (ReFS) volumes were no longer accessible after deploying the January 2021 updates.

Windows 10 users and administrators also reported problems with L2TP VPN connections after installing the recent Windows 10 and Windows 11 cumulative updates and seeing "Can't connect to VPN." errors.

However, since Microsoft also bundles all the security updates with these Windows cumulative updates, removing them will also remove all fixes for vulnerabilities patched during the January 2021 Patch Tuesday.

Windows admins and users need to consider the risks of unpatched vulnerabilities impacting their systems versus the disruption caused by the issues stemming from this month's Windows updates.