1

I installed KB2898869 and KB2901126 over the weekend. After that the authentication systems in all of my ASP.NET websites on the server stopped working. As a temporary fix, I have uninstalled both updates. Is there a way to find out what the updates are changing so I can fix the actual problem?

This is on a Windows Server 2008 R2 with IIS 7.5 in integrated mode. The .NET apps are all running .NET 4.0.

3
  • Not really. You're better off diagnosing the problem when it happens, I guess. If you're really adventureous, you can do a ProcMon / RegMon / FileMon while you install the updates...
    – MichelZ
    May 12, 2014 at 17:15
  • @MichelZ I did diagnose. The updates seem to be changing the way ASP.NET authentication works. I suspect the real issue is that they are changing some default settings, I just need to know which ones and why. May 12, 2014 at 17:17
  • 1
    Updates usually do not change settings like that
    – MichelZ
    May 12, 2014 at 17:20

1 Answer 1

2

Is there a way to find out what the updates are changing so I can fix the actual problem?

Not really. Microsoft does not provide detailed change logs for their updates that I am aware of. If you read the appropriate KBs and/or Security Bulletins they will often give you enough detail for you to make decisions on how the update may or may not effect your applications.

In this case you can read the CVEs that the update fixes which might give you more insight into why your authentication system in your application stopped working.


A couple of suggestions going forward:

  • Make sure you are adequately testing Windows Updates before applying them to your Production systems. Make sure your Testing systems mirror your Production systems, both in terms of configuration and in code-base. Virtualization has lowered the barrier to setting up a tier-ed development environment so much. Just do it, you will thank yourself later.
  • Don't just install updates willy-nilly. Make sure your operations team is not synchronizing everything under the sun, that they are talking to you about what updates they are planning on deploying and that there is some underlying business logic and risk decision about what updates you are installing where.
  • Contact Microsoft Support. They are generally very good and very interested about diagnosing regression faults. This will be the quickest way forward.
2
  • How do I contact MS support for an issue like this? May 12, 2014 at 18:37
  • @just.another.programmer - You should work with your operations team if you have one because they might be able to fast track your request through to your account rep or partner. If you are all Devs and no Ops try going through Assisted Support. Depending on the situation you may or may not have to pay for a per-incident support fee.
    – user62491
    May 12, 2014 at 22:18

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .