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Microsoft re-issues security patch after reports of bugs, crashes

Updated: The faulty patch affected mostly Windows 7 users, the company said.
Written by Zack Whittaker, Contributor

Microsoft has reissued a botched security patch that caused a number of issues for Outlook users.

A spokesperson said in an emailed statement that KB3097877 was re-released to "address the Outlook difficulties that some customers experienced."

"We recommend customers apply this update to help stay protected," the statement read.

But the software giant did not say exactly what the cause of the issues were, or why the faulty patch was initially released.

An updated Microsoft knowledge base article said Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 users were affected.

On Tuesday, a number of readers emailed to say that Outlook, the company's desktop client, crashed after Microsoft's most recent monthly release of security patches.

Some reported that Outlook crashes only when web-formatted (HTML) emails are displayed.

Some users also experienced other issues, such as black screens and other errors, which the knowledge base article also confirmed.

The software giant told ZDNet at the time that some users were suffering from a Patch Tuesday hangover.

"We are looking into reports from some customers who are experiencing difficulties with Outlook after installing Windows KB3097877," said a spokesperson.

The patch, also known as MS15-115, is a critical update affecting all versions of Windows. The patch fixes a series of flaws that could allow an attacker to remotely execute code on an affected machine by exploiting how the operating system handles and displays fonts.

This isn't the first time the software giant has suffered through buggy software patches.

Last year, Microsoft withdrew four updates as part of August's Patch Tuesday and even recommended users uninstall one patch. The company said at the time only a small number of users were affected, however.

This post has been updated throughout the week.

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