Microsoft recently released a cumulative update to fix some issues and vulnerabilities in Windows 11, however, it appears that Windows 11 KB5013943 is causing the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on some systems with specific drivers, including those with the first A system of third-party antivirus software.
Sophos has confirmed that the operating system’s Windows 11 KB5013943 patch is causing blue screens of death on some PCs due to compatibility issues between drivers and the May 2022 Patch Tuesday.
Users experiencing the Blue Screen of Death error described their issues on the Microsoft Answers forum and on Reddit, with one user saying: “Since updating to this version, BSOD (Blue Screen) after 10-15 minutes of playing Hitman 3, and the error time is only 1 second, so you can’t even see what error it shows”.
Another user added that both their hosts and virtual devices had blue screen errors after the patch was installed, with ambiguous error codes such as “APC_INDEX_MISMATCH”. Affected users claimed that the BSOD was triggered immediately after updating their devices to the latest version.
While Microsoft has yet to acknowledge reports of blue screen of death bugs hitting Windows 11 PCs, Sophos confirmed that the update could, at worst, render devices unbootable.
“Customers running Sophos Home on Windows 11 may experience BSOD/Stop errors after installing Windows Update KB5013943 and restarting the machine,” Sophos noted in its support document.
“Symptoms involve being unable to enter the desktop after restarting the computer/powering off after installing Windows Update KB5013943. This includes a stop error (blue screen) with index mismatch information,” the security firm noted.
To resolve BSOD errors, Sophos recommends uninstalling the update and pausing the update by following the steps below.
- Select Start > Settings > Windows Update
- Suspend updates for 7 days
- Open the “Control Panel”
- Click “Programs and Features”
- Click to view “Installed Updates”
- Look for KB5013943 and uninstall it