Microsoft’s first Patch Tuesday update of the year arrived with good intentions and a few unwanted side effects. While the January security update fixed more than 110 vulnerabilities, including several critical flaws and at least one already being exploited, it also introduced new issues across Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server.
One issue affected users trying to sign in to Cloud PCs through Remote Desktop. After installing the update, some systems failed to show or accept credential prompts, blocking access for apps like the Windows App, Azure Virtual Desktop, and Windows 365. This problem first appeared on Windows 11 25H2, Windows 10 22H2 (ESU), and Windows Server 2025.
Another bug confused certain Windows 11 systems with Secure Launch enabled. Instead of shutting down or entering hibernation, affected PCs would unexpectedly reboot. Secure Launch is designed for managed, enterprise devices and uses virtualization-based security to protect against low-level threats during startup. This issue only impacts Windows 11 version 23H2.
To address both problems, Microsoft has released out-of-band updates, which are essentially emergency patches for the original patch. These fixes are only offered to systems that are actually affected, so not everyone will see them. On personal devices, they should appear automatically in Windows Update. In managed environments, IT administrators will need to deploy them manually.