Microsoft has released the Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 KB4100480 update to fix a vulnerability discovered in the original Meltdown patch (released in January). However, it appears that some users are experiencing a serious problem installing it.
The KB4100480 update that resolves a privilege vulnerability cannot be installed on many computers, leaving them exposed to the specific flaw.
According to reports, the new update is listed as 'not applicable' on some Windows 7 systems, despite the fact that the update is compatible with those computers.
"The issue is that 116 out of my 120 win7 x64 machines are showing as 'not applicable'. So, even though I have accepted the update on my systems, their application fails due to an error," said a systems administrator.
The same problem is also faced by users of Windows Server 2008 R2.
We would agree that indeed this is a strange malfunction since the systems are compatible with the specific security updates.
«We observe similar problems in the WSUS environment. Of the 200 Win2008R2 systems that are compatible with the January-March updates, only 18 are considered ‘applicable’ for KB4100480. The odd thing about the case is that all systems have received the same patches», as noted in a related comment.
Microsoft has not yet acknowledged the issue. It is worth noting, however, that a new round of security updates is expected to be released next week as part of Patch Tuesday. Perhaps the company will try again to fix the vulnerability with new Windows 7 updates.
