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Microsoft admits October Windows 11 update failed to fix Always On VPN bug

Microsoft says its Oct. 13 Windows 11 patch did not fix an Always On VPN bug; a permanent repair is still weeks away.

AI News Feed · 2026-10-23 01:11

In a service bulletin to IT administrators, Microsoft said the problem leaves Always On VPN connections hanging indefinitely or unable to connect at all. The fault was introduced in the September 2026 security updates and affects organizations that rely on the native Windows tool to build encrypted links back to corporate networks in the background. The issue occurs when Always On VPN is configured with automatic protocol selection. If an initial connection attempt fails, the system tries to fall back between IKEv2 and SSTP. That fallback process is broken: affected clients can remain at a "Connecting" status or fail outright, and later retries can return an error saying, "The specified port is already in use."

Microsoft had previously indicated that the cumulative updates KB5127648 and KB5127646, released on Oct. 13, had cured the VPN fault. Those updates also brought separate Wi-Fi authentication problems, according to TechRadar. The company has now told administrators that the bug was "mistakenly updated to Resolved status on October 13, 2026." The KB5127648 support page no longer mentions a VPN repair, and its changelog now says the fix will be included in a later release.

Microsoft has downgraded the bug from "Resolved" back to "Mitigated" and apologized to IT administrators for the confusion. According to early reports, a permanent repair is expected in an upcoming update that Microsoft plans to ship within the next several weeks. Until then, administrators cannot treat the October Patch Tuesday builds as a cure.

The only safeguard currently available is to restrict affected Always On VPN profiles to a single protocol. By manually pinning the connection to either SSTP or IKEv2 and disabling the automatic fallback feature, administrators can prevent the bug from being triggered. The Register, cited in the TechRadar report, said the issue affects Windows 11 versions from 24H2 through 26H2. Organizations that depend on those builds for remote connectivity will need to keep the temporary mitigation in place until Microsoft releases a working patch.

Editor's Summary

Microsoft has confirmed that its Oct. 13 Windows 11 updates did not resolve an Always On VPN bug introduced in September, despite an earlier Resolved status. The company now lists the issue as mitigated and says a permanent fix is weeks away, leaving IT administrators to pin VPN profiles to a single protocol. The bug affects Windows 11 versions 24H2 through 26H2 and continues to disrupt enterprise remote access.