Microsoft pushed an emergency, out‑of‑band pair of updates on January 4, 2022 — KB5010196 for Windows Server 2019 (and related 2019 LTSC builds) and KB5010215 for Windows Server 2012 R2 — to repair a Remote Desktop/interactive logon regression that could leave servers unresponsive, present a black screen to RDP users, and cause slow sign‑in and overall performance degradation. These packages were published to the Microsoft Update Catalog and must be installed manually (they are not offered automatically through Windows Update), and Microsoft signaled that fixes for additional SKUs would follow in the coming days.
Conclusion
The January 4, 2022 out‑of‑band updates addressed a disruptive regression that interfered with the most basic administrative functions: remote access and sign‑in. Administrators should treat catalog‑only emergency patches with urgency but also with a disciplined rollout that includes backups, staged testing, and robust post‑deployment monitoring. As Microsoft and the broader ecosystem continue to balance rapid remediation with stability, strong update governance will be the difference between a short outage resolved in hours and an operational incident that affects service availability for days.
Source: BetaNews Microsoft releases emergency KB5010196 and KB5010215 updates to fix serious remote desktop problems in Windows Server
Background
What triggered the emergency updates
In mid‑December 2021 Microsoft shipped cumulative updates that, in some environments, introduced a regression affecting Remote Desktop and interactive logon on server SKUs. Administrators began reporting intermittent symptoms that included slow sign‑in, a black screen after connecting via Remote Desktop, and in some cases an entire server becoming unresponsive. Microsoft’s immediate response was to assemble targeted, out‑of‑band (OOB) fixes for the affected server versions and publish these OOB packages on January 4, 2022. The company’s own KB notes and release health messaging explicitly reference the black screen and slow sign‑in symptoms administrators were seeing.Why Microsoft used an out‑of‑band release
Out‑of‑band updates are reserved for urgent regressions and high‑impact bugs that cannot wait for the normal monthly release cadence. Because the symptom set here — RDP and logon failures — directly affects administrator access and production connectivity, Microsoft chose catalog‑only distribution to get fixes into the wild quickly rather than route them through the standard Windows Update/Windows Update for Business pipeline. That distribution model reduces shipping time but places discovery and installation burden on administrators. This pattern — rapid catalog releases for urgent server problems — is consistent with how Microsoft has handled similar emergencies in the past.Overview of the fixes and SKUs affected
- KB5010196: targeted at Windows Server 2019 / Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019 (OS Build 17763.2369). This combined servicing stack update (SSU) + LCU addresses the RDP/logon issue on the 2019 codebase. The KB entry explicitly states it “addresses a known issue that might prevent you from using Remote Desktop to reach the server” and lists the observable symptoms (black screen, slow sign‑in, sluggish performance). Administrators must ensure the prerequisite servicing stack update is installed before the LCU.
- KB5010215: targeted at Windows Server 2012 R2. The KB summary notes the regression was introduced after the December 14, 2021 update and that KB5010215 is intended to prevent the server from becoming unresponsive and to restore expected interactive and RDP behavior. Microsoft recommends installing the latest SSU for the platform before applying this update.
Technical analysis: symptoms, likely root causes, and what the KBs reveal
Symptoms administrators reported
- RDP connection established but the remote desktop appears black or fails to render the session.
- Sign‑in takes unusually long or times out, particularly for interactive logons.
- Server system responsiveness degrades over time and, in the worst cases, the host appears to stop responding entirely to input or management connections.
What the KBs actually confirm
Microsoft’s KB pages are intentionally concise for OOB fixes: they confirm the problem class (RDP/logon/performance regressions) and provide the specific package to install. The documentation indicates the fix is a quality (non‑security) update bundled with a servicing stack update to ensure the update can be applied reliably. The KBs do not, however, disclose low‑level root‑cause details such as a specific driver, RDP component change, or telemetry trace; Microsoft is often reticent to publish implementation details for regressions in emergency patches. Where deep technical detail is missing, administrators should rely on observed symptom patterns, event logs, and controlled testing to validate fixes in their environment.Plausible technical vectors (what to watch for)
While Microsoft did not publish a line‑by‑line root cause in the KB text, regressions that manifest as black screens and slow sign‑in commonly involve:- Graphics/desktop rendering stacks (including virtual GPU/display remoting components).
- Credential/cache interaction during interactive logon.
- Session initialization code paths in Remote Desktop Services or the credential provider stack.
Because the symptom set affected multiple server SKUs after a December update, the regression most likely lies in a shared servicing component or a library that is consumed by multiple server builds. That said, any specific attribution beyond what Microsoft published would be speculative without internal debug traces — and such claims should be flagged as unverified.
How to obtain and deploy the emergency updates
Where the updates are available
Because these were OOB packages, they were made available only in the Microsoft Update Catalog as standalone MSU/CAB packages and were not being delivered automatically via Windows Update. Administrators must download the correct package for the server SKU and install it manually or import it into management tooling (WSUS, ConfigMgr, Intune) for centralized distribution. Microsoft explicitly noted this distribution method in the KBs.Prerequisites and installation notes
- Install the latest servicing stack update (SSU) for your server SKU before applying the LCU/OOB package; KB pages state this as a recommended prerequisite. Failing to apply the SSU first can cause installation to fail or leave the servicing stack in an inconsistent state.
- For managed environments, import the MSU into WSUS or Configuration Manager and approve it for the appropriate computer groups. The catalog packaging allows administrators to centrally stage the fix even when Windows Update cannot push it automatically.
- Plan for a reboot if required. Many cumulative servicing fixes require a system restart to unload replaced components and finish servicing. Confirm the reboot window with application owners.
Operational checklist: step‑by‑step remediation plan
- Identify: Inventory all servers running Windows Server 2019 and Windows Server 2012 R2, and flag hosts that present RDP, sign‑in, or responsiveness problems.
- Backup: Take application‑aware backups and snapshot critical VMs before applying out‑of‑band fixes.
- Acquire: Download the correct OOB packages (KB5010196, KB5010215) from the Microsoft Update Catalog and verify checksums where available.
- Pre‑install checks:
- Confirm required Servicing Stack Update (SSU) is installed.
- Collect baseline performance metrics and RDP logs (Event Viewer → Applications/System → RemoteDesktopServices/RDPClient events).
- Test: Patch one or two non‑production servers or a small pilot ring; verify:
- RDP session renders correctly (no black screen).
- Interactive sign‑in latency returns to normal.
- No new event‑log errors appear post‑install.
- Deploy: Roll out via WSUS/ConfigMgr/Intune or manual MSU installation in staged rings.
- Verify & Monitor: Confirm all servers show the new OS build and monitor for regressions for at least 48–72 hours after deployment.
- Document: Record KB identifiers, installation dates, and test results for compliance and audit trails.
Testing, validation, and rollback considerations
Why validation must include RDP and interactive flows
Because the regression impacts the user session creation pipeline, testing should replicate real‑world logon conditions — domain credentials, group policy application, user profile loading, and application start. Include both local and domain accounts in tests. Where possible, test from multiple client types (Windows native RDP client, web gateway, RD Gateway) to reproduce any path‑specific issues.Monitoring after deployment
Check Event Viewer for Remote Desktop Services/TermDD errors and for login‑related events under Windows Logs → Security and System. Use performance counters to watch CPU, memory, and GPU usage during session creation. If any regression is observed, capture ETW traces or process dumps and escalate to Microsoft Support with a reproduction case.Rollback options
If an OOB update produces an unexpected regression, use these fallback options:- Uninstall the LCU package using wusa /uninstall (when supported) or use DISM to remove the package if it’s listed; be aware that combined SSU+LCU packages may not always be removable via wusa. Microsoft’s KB guidance includes uninstall notes when applicable.
- Restore from pre‑patch backups or VM snapshots if uninstall is not practical.
- If multiple servers are affected, halt the rollout and engage Microsoft Support with detailed logs and reproduction steps.
Risks and tradeoffs: manual catalog updates vs. automated rollouts
Benefits of OOB catalog releases
- Speed: Microsoft can publish fixes faster than the normal monthly cadence.
- Precision: Targeted fixes for specific SKUs reduce the chance of unnecessary change on unaffected systems.
Operational risks
- Patch drift: Catalog‑only packages are not automatically discovered by many managed update pipelines; this increases the chance some servers remain unpatched. Past incidents show manual catalog distribution raises the administrative burden and can lead to inconsistent patch levels across fleets.
- Discovery gap: Teams that rely solely on Windows Update telemetry may remain unaware of OOB fixes unless they monitor Microsoft Update Catalog announcements or Microsoft’s release health pages closely.
- Testing surface: Emergency fixes sometimes come without the extended compatibility testing that accompanies regular scheduled updates, making staged deployment and pilot rings essential. Historical OOB incidents (including fixes for management infrastructure and recovery environment regressions) illustrate why extra caution and validation are prudent.
What administrators should communicate to stakeholders
- Explain the cause and the criticality: the regression affects remote administrative access and user sessions and therefore merits expedited remediation.
- Schedule a maintenance window: apply fixes outside of peak business hours and plan for reboots.
- Reassure end users: convey that the organization is actively addressing an issue that may have caused intermittent connection problems and that a tested fix will be applied.
- Post‑deployment verification: confirm successful installations and restored functionality and provide a short post‑mortem once testing passes.
When to call Microsoft Support and what to collect
If, after applying the OOB update, an affected server still shows the same symptoms or new severe errors, open a support case with Microsoft and provide:- Exact OS build before and after patch (winver output).
- KB package names and MSU filenames applied.
- Event Viewer excerpts for System and Application logs around the time of failure.
- RDP client logs and Remote Desktop Services traces.
- Reproduction steps and timeline (what the administrator did and when).
Collecting and packaging logs in advance shortens troubleshooting time and makes vendor escalation more effective.
Broader lessons for update governance
- Monitor Microsoft’s Release Health and Update Catalog feeds regularly, not only on Patch Tuesday. Emergency OOB fixes are common enough that ignoring catalog announcements can leave management planes exposed or user sessions degraded.
- Maintain a small, representative pilot ring with diverse hardware, drivers, and service configurations — including recovery‑mode exercises (WinRE) and domain controller workflows — so regressions that affect remote access and recovery tooling are discovered early. Recent OOB episodes have repeatedly shown that recovery and management pathways are easily overlooked in typical QA plans.
- Automate catalog ingestion into enterprise update tooling: import and approve Microsoft Update Catalog entries in WSUS/ConfigMgr as part of an established emergency patch playbook to reduce human error and patch drift.
Final analysis and verdict
Microsoft’s January 4, 2022 emergency updates — KB5010196 and KB5010215 — were the correct operational response to a high‑impact regression that affected Remote Desktop and interactive logon on production servers. Publishing the fixes as catalog‑only, out‑of‑band packages allowed Microsoft to get deterministic, SKU‑specific packages into administrators’ hands quickly, restoring connectivity for many environments. The tradeoff is clear: speed came at the cost of increased operational responsibility for administrators, who had to download, stage, test, and deploy the packages manually or import them into WSUS/ConfigMgr. The incident is a timely reminder of two enduring truths for Windows server management:- Treat update pipelines and update catalog channels as part of your security and availability infrastructure.
- Test recovery and remote access paths as first‑class scenarios in any update acceptance plan.
Conclusion
The January 4, 2022 out‑of‑band updates addressed a disruptive regression that interfered with the most basic administrative functions: remote access and sign‑in. Administrators should treat catalog‑only emergency patches with urgency but also with a disciplined rollout that includes backups, staged testing, and robust post‑deployment monitoring. As Microsoft and the broader ecosystem continue to balance rapid remediation with stability, strong update governance will be the difference between a short outage resolved in hours and an operational incident that affects service availability for days.
Source: BetaNews Microsoft releases emergency KB5010196 and KB5010215 updates to fix serious remote desktop problems in Windows Server
