February 14, 2023—KB5022894 (Security-only update)

REMINDERWindows 8.1 reached end of support on January 10, 2023, at which point technical assistance and software updates is no longer provided. If you have devices running Windows 8.1, we recommend upgrading them to a more current, in-service, and supported Windows release. If devices do not meet the technical requirements to run a more current release of Windows, we recommend that you replace the device with one that supports Windows 11.Microsoft will not be offering an Extended Security Update (ESU) program for Windows 8.1. Continuing to use Windows 8.1 after January 10, 2023 may increase an organization’s exposure to security risks or impact its ability to meet compliance obligations.For more information, see Windows 8.1 support will end on January 10, 2023.Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Enterprise and Pro will reach end of support (EOS) on July 10, 2023. For more information, see Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry.For Windows Server 2012 R2, the end of support (EOS) date is October 10, 2023. Extended Security Updates (ESUs) will be available for purchase no later than October 2022, but available for installation after the EOS date, October 10, 2023. ESUs will continue for three years, renewable on an annual basis, until the final date on October 13, 2026. For more information, see Windows Server End of Support: Key Dates.Upgrade to Windows 10: FAQLearn more about upgrading Windows Server

Summary

Learn more about this security-only update, including improvements, any known issues, and how to get the update.

Note For information about the various types of Windows updates, such as critical, security, driver, service packs, and so on, please see the following article. To view other notes and messages, see the Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 update history home page.

Improvements

This update contains miscellaneous security improvements to internal Windows OS functionality. No specific issues are documented for this release.For more information about the resolved security vulnerabilities, please refer to the Deployments | Security Update Guide and the February 2023 Security Updates.

Known issues in this update

This issue is resolved in the SSU KB5022922. After installing SSU KB5022922, you should be able to install this February 14, 2023 update.
After this update or a later Windows update is installed, domain join operations might be unsuccessful and error “0xaac (2732): NERR_AccountReuseBlockedByPolicy” occurs. Additionally, text stating “An account with the same name exists in Active Directory. Re-using the account was blocked by security policy” might be displayed.Affected scenarios include some domain join or re-imaging operations where a computer account was created or pre-staged by a different identity than the identity used to join or re-join the computer to the domain.For more information about this issue, see KB5020276—Netjoin: Domain join hardening changes.Note Consumer Desktop editions of Windows are unlikely to experience this issue.| This issue is resolved in KB5023764.

How to get this update

Before installing this updateWe strongly recommend that you install the latest servicing stack update (SSU) for your operating system before you install the latest security-only update. SSUs improve the reliability of the update process to mitigate potential issues while installing the security-only update and applying Microsoft security fixes. For general information about SSUs, see Servicing stack updates and Servicing Stack Updates (SSU): Frequently Asked Questions.If you use Windows Update, the latest SSU (KB5018922) will be offered to you automatically. To get the standalone package for the latest SSU, search for it in the Microsoft Update Catalog.

REMINDER If you are using Security-only updates, you will also need to install all previous Security-only updates and the latest cumulative update for Internet Explorer (KB5022835).

File information

For a list of the files that are provided in this update, download the file information for update KB5022894.

References

Learn about the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates.