Discuss the July 2024 Windows 11 KB5040442 KB5040431 Patches and 2 Zero-Day Vulnerabilities. On July 9th, 2024, Microsoft released a series of updates to enhance the performance and security of Windows 11 and 10 operating systems.
Microsoft has also released the KB5040427 patches for Windows 10. In the July 2024 patch release, Microsoft has added a new Game Pass recommendation card to the Settings home page. This card appears on Home and Pro Windows editions when you’re signed in with your Microsoft account.
This patch update for File Explorer allows you to create 7-Zip and Tape Archive (TAR) files directly from the right-click menu. When you right-click on a file, you’ll find a new “Compress to” option that offers ways to compress files using tools like gzip, bzip2, and others. There’s a new compression wizard in the “Additional Options” menu.
In this update, Windows now supports Emoji 15.1, which includes several new emojis. These emojis use symbols like family groupings using Unicode symbol-like shapes, though Windows will continue to display them as people. Additionally, you can now choose whether some people’s emojis face right or left.
This Patch Tuesday fixed five critical vulnerabilities, all of which were remote code execution flaws: 3 Windows Remote Desktop Licensing Service Remote Code Execution Vulnerability, Windows Imaging Component Remote Code Execution Vulnerability, and Microsoft SharePoint Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability.
- Windows 11 Version Numbers Build Numbers Major Minor Build Rev
- Updated Windows 11 End-of-Life Dates
- Windows 11 KB5039212 KB5039213 June 2024 Patches and 0 Zero-Day Vulnerability
- Windows 10 KB5039211 June 2024 Patches and 0 Zero-Day Vulnerability
- Windows 10 Version Numbers Build Numbers Major Minor Build Rev
What is the Copilot Update for Windows in the July 2024 Patch?
In the July 2024 patch, Microsoft enhances the Copilot experience on Windows by pinning the Copilot app to the taskbar and treating it like a regular app. This change allows users to resize, move, and snap the Copilot window, providing a more familiar app-like experience.
Who can Access this Update?
This update is specifically for new Windows 11 PCs and Copilot+ PCs shipped to the European Economic Area (EEA) and other markets where Copilot is available.
What are the Different Categories of Vulnerabilities, and How Many Bugs are in each Category?
1. Elevation of Privilege Vulnerabilities: 26 bugs
2. Security Feature Bypass Vulnerabilities: 24 bugs
3. Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities: 59 bugs
4. Information Disclosure Vulnerabilities: 9 bugs
5. Denial of Service Vulnerabilities: 17 bugs
6. Spoofing Vulnerabilities: 7 bugs
4 Zero Day Security Vulnerabilities for July 2024
During Patch Tuesday, Microsoft focused on addressing security vulnerabilities, including 2 zero-day vulnerabilities actively exploited by attackers. Additionally, they addressed 2 other vulnerabilities that were publicly disclosed.
Microsoft announced 4 zero-day vulnerabilities with the July patch Tuesday: CVE-2024-38112 Windows MSHTML Platform Spoofing Vulnerability and CVE-2024-38080 Windows Hyper-V Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability, CVE-2024-35264 .NET and Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability, CVE-2024-37985 Arm: CVE-2024-37985 Systematic Identification and Characterization of Proprietary Prefetchers.
| Release Date | Last Updated | CVE Number | CVE Title | Publicly Disclosed | Exploitability assessment | Exploited |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 9, 2024 | July 9, 2024 | CVE-2024-38112 | Windows MSHTML Platform Spoofing VulnerabilityVulnerability | No | Exploitation Detected | Yes |
| July 9 2024 | July 9, 2024 | CVE-2024-38080 | Windows Hyper-V Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability | No | Exploitation Detected | Yes |
| July 9, 2024 | July 9 2024 | CVE-2024-35264 | .NET and Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability | Yes | Exploitation Detected | No |
| July 9 2024 | July 9 2024 | CVE-2024-37985 | Arm: CVE-2024-37985 Systematic Identification and Characterization of Proprietary Prefetchers | Yes | Exploitation Detected | No |
July 2024 Windows 11 KB5040442 KB5040431 Patches and 2 Zero-Day Vulnerabilities
The July patch includes fixing an issue affecting the touch keyboard using the Japanese 106 keyboard layout. Previously, users were unable to enter special characters using the touch keyboard.
With this update, Microsoft has resolved this issue, allowing users to use the touch keyboard to input special characters easily alongside the Japanese 106 keyboard layout.
| Windows 11 23H2 and 22H2 | Windows 11 21H2 |
|---|---|
| KB5040442 | KB5040431 |
- May 2024 Windows 11 KB5037771 KB5037770 Patches and 2 Zero-Day Vulnerabilities
- May 2024 Windows 10 KB5037768 Patches and 2 Zero-Day Vulnerabilities
- Windows 11 KB5036893 KB5036894 April 2024 Patches and 0 Zero-Day Vulnerability
- Windows 10 KB5036892 April 2024 Patches and 0 Zero-Day Vulnerability
Windows 11 KB5040442 July 2024 Patches
The Windows 11 version numbers and build details are structured below. This helps you provide specific information about each release. The version numbers typically include a combination of major and minor versions, build numbers, and sometimes revision numbers.
- Windows 11 Version Details – Windows 11 23H2 KB5040442 (OS Builds 22621.3880 and 22631.3880)
- Version Details – Windows 11 21H2 KB5040431 (OS Build 22000.3079)
- More Details on Windows 11 version Numbers: Windows 11 Version Numbers Build Numbers Major Minor Build Rev
How to Seek the Latest Windows Updates
You can quickly get the latest Windows updates and start by clicking the Start button at the bottom left corner of your screen. From there, navigate to Settings, then select Windows Update.
Finally, click the “Check for updates” button to update your system with the latest software improvements and security patches provided by Microsoft.
- 2024 March KB5035853 KB5035854 Windows 11 Patches and 0 Zero-Day Vulnerability
- Windows 11 KB5034765 KB5034766 February 2024 Patches and 2 Zero-Day Vulnerabilities
- Windows 10 KB5034763 February 2024 Patches and 2 Zero-Day Vulnerabilities
- 2024 January KB5034123 KB5034121 Windows 11 Patches and 0 Zero-Day Vulnerability
Windows 11 23H2 and 21H2 KB5040442 KB5040431 July Patch Tuesday New Features 2024
The July 9, 2024, patch Tuesday brought several new features to Windows 11. All the new features are shown in the below table.
| New Features | Details |
|---|---|
| New Game Pass Recommendation Card Feature | It appears on the Settings home page for Home and Pro editions when signed in with a Microsoft account. Displays if you actively play games on your PC. |
| New Show Desktop Button | It is re-added to the taskbar by default. It can be adjusted via Taskbar settings under Taskbar behaviors. |
| New Emoji 15.1 Support | Includes new emoji: Horizontal and vertical head shake, Phoenix, Lime, Brown mushroom, and Broken chain. Choose the right or left-facing direction for some people’s emoji. |
| Compression Wizard | It helps choose formats and add details for archives and supports various compression levels and data types in TAR formats. |
| New Copy Button in Windows Share Window | A new Copy button allows you to easily copy files from the Windows Share window. |
| New Account Manager on Start Menu | Rolls out a new account manager on the Start menu for Microsoft account users. It provides a glance at account benefits and simplifies account settings management. |
| New Enhanced File Selection in File Explorer | A thin, black border now appears around selected files or folders, making it easier to see what you’ve selected. |
| New Advanced Copilot Experience on Windows | The copilot app is pinned to the taskbar and behaves like an app (resizable, movable, snap window). Available gradually and initially for new Windows 11 and Copilot+ PCs in the EEA and other markets. Note! This feature is only available on new Windows 11 PCs and new Copilot+ PCs shipped to the European Economic Area (EEA) and other regions where Copilot is supported. |
| OneDrive as a RemoteApp in Azure Virtual Desktop | OneDrive can now be used as a Remote App in Azure Virtual Desktop. |
| DDR Speed Units Change | The units for DDR speed have changed from MHz to MT/s. |
| Task Manager Process Handles | Task Manager now releases process handles more quickly when stopping a process. |
| Task Manager Reliability | Improvements have been made to make Task Manager more reliable. |
| Task Manager Sort Order | Performance improvements when changing the sort order of processes in Task Manager. |
| Task Manager Accessibility | Enhancements for accessibility in Task Manager, including: 1. Improved keyboard focus 2. Better Tab key navigation 3. Improved text scaling 4. Enhanced readout of item names by screen readers 5. High-contrast heatmaps and more |
| Task Manager Window Resizing | Resizing the Task Manager window is now easier when grabbing the top of the window. |
| Virtual Filtering Platform (VFP) Improvement | Improved support for packet drop collection, aiding in troubleshooting issues within Windows nodes. |
| Display Mode Change Animation Registry Key | Adds registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM\ForceDisableModeChangeAnimation to disable display mode change animation when set to 1. |
| Country and Operator Settings Asset (COSA) Profiles Update | Updates COSA profiles for certain mobile operators. |
Issues Fixed with Windows 11 July Patches 2024 KB5040442
In the July 2024 updates, there is a fix for a problem with Group Policy. It used to struggle with detecting slow network speeds and would mistakenly assume the network was fast. This update corrects that issue. The table below gives more problems related to the July patch.
- The update fixes a problem with the Snipping Tool and resolves an issue where audio gets distorted when recording videos on some PCs.
| Issues Fixed with Windows 11 July Patches 2024 | Description |
|---|---|
| Issue related to File Explorer | > Easily create 7-Zip and TAR files using the right-click menu. > Right-click a file and choose “Compress to” to compress files using gzip, bzip2, and more. > A new wizard helps you select formats, add details, and manage compression settings. > Supports various compression types for adding multiple files to TAR archives. > Change the compression level and choose what types of data to store in each archive. |
| Fix related to the Touch Keyboard Issue. | Addresses an issue with the touch keyboard where it could not enter special characters using the Japanese 106 keyboard. |
| Fix the Snipping Tool Update issue. | Addresses an issue where audio has distortions when recording videos on some PCs. |
| Fix the USB Devices Update issue. | Fixes an issue where the Safely Remove Hardware option fails when Task Manager is open. |
| Fix the Group Policy Network Speed Detection issue | Fixes an issue where Group Policy fails to detect slow network speeds, assuming a fast link instead. |
| Fix Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) and RDMA Issue | Resolves network failure and cluster management issues when using S2D and RDMA with SMBdirect. |
| Fix GPU Idle State Issue | Fixes an issue where GPUs do not enter an idle state to stop power consumption. |
| Fix the Azure Virtual Desktop Deadlock issue. | Fixes an issue causing a deadlock that prevents signing into Azure Virtual Desktop sessions. |
| Fix the Firewall Profile Issue | Resolves an issue where a firewall profile drops from domain to public when multiple interfaces exist, and an interface is added or removed. |
| Fix Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) Driver Issue | Boosts network packet processing in WFP to prevent high CPU usage and throughput reduction under heavy load. Adds batch processing to reduce CPU load. |
| Input Method Editor (IME) Candidate List | Fixes an issue where the IME candidate list fails to show or shows in the wrong position. |
Known Issues from July Windows 11 Patches 2024
The July 2024 Windows 11 patches come with some known issues. Users may experience problems with the non-security preview update, the Taskbar might not load, and the Photos app might fail to start. The table below provides more details.
Read More – Issue with Photos App and BlockNonAdminUserInstall Policy
| Summary | Originating Update | Status |
|---|---|---|
| The June non-security preview update might cause devices to restart repeatedly. | OS Build 22621.3810 KB5039302 2024-06-25 | Working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release. |
| The Taskbar might not load after installing the June 2024 preview update. | OS Build 22621.3810 KB5039302 2024-06-25 | Working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release. |
| Photos app might fail to start when BlockNonAdminUserInstall is enabled. | N/A | Working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release. |
Direct Download Links of Windows 11 KB5040442 KB5040431
To get the direct download links for the Windows 11 LCUs released in July 2024, visit the Microsoft Update Catalog portal at https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/. This portal lets users manually download and install updates, offering more flexibility in managing system updates.
- Enter the KB article number.
- Click the Search icon.
- Search Keyword 2024-07
| Cumulative Update for Windows 11 | Products | Size | Direct Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-07 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 for x64-based Systems (KB5040442) | Windows 11 23H2 | 728.7 MB | Download |
| 2024-07 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 Version 21H2 for x64-based Systems(KB5040431) | Windows 11 21H2 | 404.8 MB | Download |
Resources
July 9, 2024—KB5040442 (OS Builds 22621.3880 and 22631.3880) – Microsoft Support
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Author
Anoop C Nair is Microsoft MVP! He is a Device Management Admin with more than 20 years of experience (calculation done in 2021) in IT. He is a Blogger, Speaker, and Local User Group HTMD Community leader. His main focus is on Device Management technologies like SCCM 2012, Current Branch, and Intune. He writes about ConfigMgr, Windows 11, Windows 10, Azure AD, Microsoft Intune, Windows 365, AVD, etc.
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