Windows 11 KB5068221 fixes issues with Office apps running on App-V

If you’ve been running into crashes with Microsoft Office apps in virtualized environments, the company has fortunately fixed it for you. The company has released an out-of-band update for Windows 11 version 24H2 to address a specific compatibility problem and remind users about Secure Boot certificate expiry.

First spotted by folks at Neowin, the new patch KB5068221, ships with build number 26100.6588, and brings a single but important change. The latest update fixes a bug that caused Office applications to fail when running inside Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V).

The problem was traced back to a double handle closure in system components responsible for App-V support, leading to instability. Microsoft notes:

[Virtualization and platform compatibility] Fixed: This update addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Office applications running in Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) environments. The failure occurred due to a double handle closure in the AppVEntSubsystems32 or AppVEntSubsystems64 system component.

While the emergency patch fixes that glitch, it doesn’t come without caveats. Microsoft further notes that a known issue continues to affect systems that rely on the older SMB v1 protocol.

Users may find themselves unable to connect to shared files or folders after applying September’s security updates. The issue occurs when NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) is in use, though newer protocols like SMB v2 and v3 remain unaffected.

As a temporary workaround, Microsoft suggests allowing traffic on TCP port 445. This forces the connection to use TCP directly rather than NetBT, restoring file-sharing access.

Moreover, Microsoft also updates AI Components, such as Image Search, Content Extraction, Semantic Analysis, and Settings Model, to version 1.2508.906.0.