Microsoft has released an emergency out-of-band update to fix the mess left by its record-breaking September Patch Tuesday update. The software giant patched nearly 1,000 flaws in its biggest update ever, but also introduced bugs that have affected businesses, developers, and gamers - because nothing says 'security' like breaking everything else.

The September patch Tuesday wreaked havoc on folder shares on Hyper-V-based Linux virtual machines, Remote Desktop Services sessions, and some USB audio devices. Microsoft's out-of-band update, released yesterday, addresses these issues across Windows 11 versions 26h1, 25H2, and 24H2. Updates have also been released for Windows Server 2025 and 2022, the LTSC versions of Windows 10, and Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2.

In the past, out-of-band updates were a rarity for Microsoft, but this year they've become almost routine. In January, the company issued four out-of-band updates after a buggy Windows 11 patch. In March, two emergency updates were needed due to installation failures and Microsoft account sign-in problems. And in July, another out-of-band update tackled an Intel driver issue causing performance issues and battery drain. At this rate, Microsoft might want to consider rebranding 'Patch Tuesday' to 'Patch-and-Pray Tuesday.'