Microsoft has stopped distribution of its January security updates KB5034441 (Windows 10 21H2/22H2), KB5034440 (Windows 11 21H2) and KB5034439 (Windows Server 2022). These are proven to be defective, often ending up installation with an error with the code 0x80070643 — ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE. Due to the insufficient size of the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) partition, the updates were unable to update some of the WinRE files.
Being unable to provide any robust partition servicing method, the company instead released updates KB5042320, KB5042321 and KB5042322. These new patches will only be installed on devices where the WinRE partition contains at least 250 MB of free space.
If your WinRE partition is small, Microsoft will not automatically expand it. Instead, the company recommends doing it manually, using instructions from the support page.
The problematic updates were intended to fix a vulnerability (CVE-2024-20666) that attackers could use to bypass BitLocker encryption using the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). So it is a good idea to update your partition layout if required and install the new ones.
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the new KB5042320 update fails to install for me.
i get a 0x80070643 error