KB5025297 changes your PC's Firewall settings and more

After the latest Patch Tuesday rollout warned us about issues such as Cluster Service failing, or kiosk device profiles not signing in automatically, something had to be done.

We’re talking about Windows 10, and on that note, know that Microsoft has released a brand new cumulative update to help combat some of these problems.

KB5025297 is addressed to Windows 10 version 22H2 users, and it comes with a pretty hefty changelog, one we are going to check out right now.

If you haven’t yet upgraded to Windows 10 or Windows 11, remember that the Redmond company releases updates for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 as well.

Look for non-security updates every last Tuesday of the month

Today, Microsoft has released the April 2023 non-security preview update for Windows 10 version 22H2 and everyone seems to be excited.

Keep in mind that the build number for this preview update is 19045.2913 (KB5025297). Yes, it contains a number of improvements and some bug fixes, as usual.

Everyone got anxious when Microsoft talked about CVE-2023-21554, which allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to run their code with elevated privileges on affected devices.

Thankfully, that issue was dealt with during the Patch Tuesday rollout. However, Microsoft is now taking some precautions to ensure stuff like this doesn’t happen again.

It’s important to know that, starting in April 2023, optional, non-security preview updates will release on the fourth Tuesday of the month.

The most notable change this month is in the Firewall settings, as you can now configure application group rules.

In short, this update adds the ability to sync language and region settings when you change your Microsoft account display language or regional format.

Naturally, Windows will save those settings to your account if you have turned on Language preferences sync in your Windows backup settings.

It also addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Edge IE mode. Pop-up windows open in the background instead of in the foreground.

Also, just so you don’t get caught off guard, note that KB5025297 changes the app icons for certain mobile providers.

This recent cumulative update affects Xbox Elite users who have the Xbox Adaptive Controller as well. It applies your controller remapping preferences on the desktop.

Furthermore, if you are experiencing an issue that affects news and interests, making it flicker on the taskbar and File Explorer might stop responding, you can say goodbye to that.

Let’s take a closer look at this changelog and see what else Microsoft has prepared for us in the last Tuesday of April 2023.

Improvements

• This update changes firewall settings. You can now configure application group rules.
• This update affects the Islamic Republic of Iran. The update supports the government’s daylight saving time change order from 2022.
• The update addresses an issue that sends unexpected password expiration notices to users. This occurs when you set up an account to use “Smart Card is Required for Interactive Logon” and set “Enable rolling of expiring NTLM secrets”.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) process. It might stop responding. Because of this, the machine restarts. The error is 0xc0000005 (STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION).
• This update addresses an issue that affects protected content. When you minimize a window that has protected content, the content displays when it should not. This occurs when you are using Taskbar Thumbnail Live Preview.
• This update addresses an issue that affects provisioning packages. They fail to apply in certain circumstances when elevation is required.
• This update addresses an issue that affects mobile device management (MDM) customers. The issue stops you from printing. This occurs because of an exception.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Windows Defender Application Control. The policy that blocks software using a hash rule might not stop the software from running.
• This update addresses an issue that occurs when you use a PIN to sign in to Windows Hello for Business. Signing in to Remote Desktop Services might fail. The error message is, “The request is not supported”.
• This update addresses an issue that might affect the keyboard layout when you sign in to a console session. The layout might be reset to the system default. This occurs when you lock your machine or have more than one keyboard layout in Settings.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Edge WebView2. This issue might cause an infinite loop when you try to restart its process.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Administrator Account Lockout policies. GPResult and Resultant Set of Policy did not report them.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Active Directory Users & Computers. It stops responding. This occurs when you use TaskPad view to enable or disable many objects at the same time.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Unified Write Filter (UWF). When you turn it off by using a call to Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), your device might stop responding.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Resilient File System (ReFS). A stop error prevents the OS from starting up correctly.
• This update addresses an issue that affects MySQL commands. The commands fail on Windows Xenon containers.
• This update addresses an issue that affects SMB Direct. Endpoints might not be available on systems that use multi-byte character sets.
• This update addresses an issue that affects apps that use DirectX on older Intel graphics drivers. You might receive an error from apphelp.dll.

Known issues

• Devices with Windows installations created from custom offline media or custom ISO image might have Microsoft Edge Legacy removed by this update, but not automatically replaced by the new Microsoft Edge. This issue is only encountered when custom offline media or ISO images are created by slipstreaming this update into the image without having first installed the standalone servicing stack update (SSU) released March 29, 2021 or later.

This is pretty much what we’re looking at as far as this release is concerned. You can get it directly from the support page, or from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

Regardless of where you get it from, the important thing is that you don’t have to worry about those problems affecting your machine anymore.

Have you noticed any other issues after installing KB5025297 on your device? Let us know in the dedicated comments section below.