Emergency Update from Microsoft Resolves Critical Windows 11 Shutdown Bug
Microsoft has rolled out an urgent out-of-band update to rectify critical bugs that emerged from its January 2026 Windows security update. The fix, released on January 17, 2026, addresses two significant issues impacting Windows 11 and Windows 10 users.
The first issue was causing some Windows 11 version 23H2 devices with System Guard Secure Launch enabled to fail to shut down or enter hibernation. Instead of powering off when users selected “Shut down” or “Hibernate,” the affected machines would simply restart. This led to laptops draining batteries overnight and desktops consuming power unnecessarily.
The root cause was traced back to System Guard Secure Launch, a Windows security feature that utilizes virtualization-based protections to defend against firmware-level attacks during startup. The bug only impacted Enterprise and IoT editions of Windows 11 version 23H2 with this security feature enabled by default.
The second issue was causing credential prompt failures during Remote Desktop connections, blocking users from accessing Cloud PC sessions, Azure Virtual Desktop, and other remote connection applications. Microsoft has confirmed that both problems have been resolved with the emergency update KB5077797 for Windows 11 23H2.
This emergency fix comes after Microsoft’s January 13 Patch Tuesday update, which addressed over 100 security vulnerabilities but inadvertently introduced these critical operational issues. The company is urging affected users to install the out-of-band update immediately to restore normal shutdown and remote connection functionality.
Source: Engadget