Security Advisor
InstallShield and Dell Encryption Crashes Connected to July Security Patch
While the InstallShield flaw currently has a limited workaround, there's no word on whether the Dell problem is further being investigated by Microsoft.
Microsoft is looking into compatibility issues that have surfaced online connected with last week's release of its monthly security update.
Reports started to surface online last week that users were experiencing BSOD problems after applying last week's bulletin MS14-037 from the July Security Update, which was a cumulative fix for all versions of Internet Explorer. Application management firm Flexera Software released a notice saying the bulletin was causing compatibility errors with InstallShield -- a software tool used for installing applications for Windows.
"Please be advised that applying Microsoft security updaInstallShieldte KB2962872 (MS14-037) may cause the InstallShield or InstallShield for AdminStudio application to crash upon launch," read the Flexera advisory. "NOTE: The issue affects only development tools and does not affect installers built with InstallShield."
According to Flexera, the company has been able to confirm that issues are connected to InstallShield 2012 and 2013, and that it's investigating possible problems connected with the earlier InstallShield 2008. In the meantime, the company has posted a limited workaround that includes moving Hypertext Markup Language (.htm) files to a backup folder. However, the company said this has only limited the issues for some of its users.
While Microsoft has not released official word concerning the issue, Flexera reported yesterday that Microsoft is currently working on a permanent fix that will be delivered via Microsoft Windows Update in the near future.
Unknown MS Patch Causing Dell Data Protection-Encryption Issues
The InstallShield issues aren't the only problems reported from last week's July security update release. According to a Dell security advisory released last Thursday, the patch has also caused systems running Dell Data Protection | Encryption (DDP|E) to experience BSOD crashes or blank screens from the Microsoft CMG Shield . However, while the company did acknowledge the problem is associated with the July release, the individual bulletin that's causing the issues is still unknown. It also has not been able to offer a fix, but manually installing each bulletin on its own may avoid triggering the problem.
"Dell has unconfirmed reports from multiple customers that applying the patches individually instead of in a group causes the anti-tampering protections to not be tripped," said the company. "Dell is working on confirming this hypothesis."
Since alerting customers on Thursday, Dell has yet to release any updated information on what exactly is causing the problem or which bulletin is causing the compatibility issues, and Microsoft has not sent any word if its investigating the flaw or if a fix will be coming soon.