Microsoft released an out-of-band emergency update KB5001028 to fix a bug that caused Windows 10 to crash when connecting to WPA3 Wi-Fi networks.
According to a new support issue published in Microsoft’s Windows Message Center, the bug was introduced in the recent cumulative updates for Windows 10 1909. Specifically, KB4598298, released on January 21, 2021, and KB4601315, which was released last Tuesday Friday, February 9, 2021.
This bug would cause devices to experience a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) crash when trying to connect to WPA3 Wi-Fi networks. WPA3 is the recommended wireless encryption protocol as it has the strongest security at the moment.
“You may receive the stop error 0x7E at nwifi.sys with a blue screen when you try to use a Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) connection, “revealed Microsoft today.
“You are more likely to encounter this problem when you reconnect to a Wi-Fi network after disconnecting or waking from sleep or hibernation. Observation Most Wi-Fi networks currently use WPA2 and are unaffected. “
In addition to the OOB update, Microsoft has also provided the following mitigation steps, which may not be desirable for specific users.
- Upgrade your device to Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows 10, version 20H2.
- Connect to a Wi-Fi network using WPA2. To do this, you may need to reconfigure the access point or the router’s settings.
- Connect using a wired Ethernet connection.
The KB5001028 out-of-band update is currently available through Windows Update, WSUS and through the Microsoft Update catalog.