We've completed an update deployment within the security intelligence build(s) 1.381.2164.0 and later, on Friday, January 13, 2023, at 6:03 PM UTC. This fix update did not restore previously removed shortcut files, but it did prevent any additional shortcut files from being removed by the incorrect detection logic.
Customers are encouraged to update Microsoft Defender to build 1.381.2164.0 or later.
- Customers utilizing automatic updates for Microsoft Defender antivirus do not need to take additional action to receive the updated security intelligence build.
Final status: We previously completed an update deployment within the security intelligence build(s) 1.381.2164.0 and later, on Friday, January 13, 2023, at 6:03 PM UTC, which has corrected the behavior. Customers are encouraged to update Microsoft Defender to build 1.381.2164.0 or later. Further updates regarding this issue will be made available through the Microsoft Tech Community post: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/c7dc1941/xlwiSRgsxE_svlGT2P1uEw?u=https://aka.ms/asrfprecovery.
Scope of impact: This issue may have affected users within your organization; it was not specific to Office apps and could have impacted any application's shortcut file. There was no impact for customers who (1) did not have the “Block Win32 API calls from Office macro” rule turned on in block mode or, (2) did not update to an affected security intelligence build(s) 1.381.2134.0, 1.381.2140.0, 1.381.2152, and 1.381.2163.0.
Start time: Friday, January 13, 2023, at 8:51 AM UTC
End time: Thursday, January 19, 2023, at 6:47 AM UTC
Root cause: During a recent update to the Windows Security and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint service, user devices experienced a series of false positive detections for the Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rule "Block Win32 API calls from Office macro" after updating to an affected security intelligence build(s) 1.381.2134.0, 1.381.2140.0, 1.381.2152, and 1.381.2163.0. These detections resulted in the identification of certain Windows shortcut (.lnk) files that matched the incorrect detection pattern and were subsequently removed.
Next steps:
- We're improving our testing and deployment procedures to reduce the possibility of broad impact during scenarios related to this.
- We're making improvements to our detection behaviors, to further reduce the time to detection for related scenarios.
- We’re incorporating additional updates to prevent the incorrect removal of files not intended to be within scope for the ASR scan logic.
Posted Jan 20, 2023 - 14:48 CST
Identified
Some users are unable to utilize the Application shortcuts on the Start menu and taskbar ID: MO497128
Status Restoring Service
Impacted services Microsoft 365 suite
Restored services Microsoft 365 apps, Microsoft 365 Defender
Details Title: Some users are unable to utilize the Application shortcuts on the Start menu and taskbar
User Impact: Users are unable to utilize the Application shortcuts on the Start menu, taskbar, and desktop.
We've completed an update deployment within the security intelligence build(s) 1.381.2164.0 and later, on Friday, January 13, 2023, at 6:03 PM UTC. This fix update will not restore previously removed shortcut files, but it will prevent any additional shortcut files from being removed by the incorrect detection logic.
Customers are encouraged to update Microsoft Defender to build 1.381.2164.0 or later.
- Customers utilizing automatic updates for Microsoft Defender antivirus do not need to take additional action to receive the updated security intelligence build.
Microsoft has confirmed the effectiveness of steps that administrators and users can take to re-create start menu links for a significant subset of the affected applications that were removed. These steps have been consolidated into the PowerShell script in the following link to help admins take recovery actions within their environment. Users or admins must be a local administrator on the machine that the script will be run on: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/08c13429/JMP0-XLSYU_NU3MeR9HysQ?u=https://aka.ms/asrfprecovery
Current status: An additional update has been made to the Microsoft Tech Community post: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/08c13429/JMP0-XLSYU_NU3MeR9HysQ?u=https://aka.ms/asrfprecovery. The blog continues to include the latest version of the script, provides resources for some admins to identify affected machines or files within their environment, and additional steps intended to further aid customers in recovering affected shortcut files.
Scope of impact: This issue may affect users within your organization; it is not specific to Office apps and can impact any application's shortcut file. There is no impact for customers who (1) did not have the “Block Win32 API calls from Office macro” rule turned on in block mode or, (2) did not update to an affected security intelligence build(s) 1.381.2134.0, 1.381.2140.0, 1.381.2152, and 1.381.2163.0.
Start time: Friday, January 13, 2023, at 8:51 AM UTC
Root cause: During a recent update to the Windows Security and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint service, user devices experienced a series of false positive detections for the Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rule "Block Win32 API calls from Office macro" after updating to an affected security intelligence build(s) 1.381.2134.0, 1.381.2140.0, 1.381.2152, and 1.381.2163.0. These detections resulted in the identification of certain Windows shortcut (.lnk) files that matched the incorrect detection pattern and were subsequently removed.
Next update by: Friday, January 20, 2023, at 8:00 PM UTC
Posted Jan 20, 2023 - 14:40 CST
Update
Some users are unable to utilize the Application shortcuts on the Start menu and taskbar ID: MO497128
Status Restoring Service
Impacted services Microsoft 365 suite, Microsoft 365 apps, Microsoft 365 Defender
Details Title: Some users are unable to utilize the Application shortcuts on the Start menu and taskbar
User Impact: Users are unable to utilize the Application shortcuts on the Start menu and taskbar.
More info: The shortcut icons in the taskbar or Start menu may no longer be visible or may not work as intended. Additionally, for some users, they may receive errors when trying to run Executable (.exe) files, if they have dependencies on the shortcut file path.
We've completed a hotfix deployment within the build 1.381.2164.0 on Friday, January 13, 2023, at 6:03 PM UTC. This fix update will not restore previously removed shortcut files, but it will prevent any additional shortcut files from being incorrectly removed.
Microsoft has confirmed steps that users can take to recreate start menu links for a significant subset of the affected applications that were deleted. These steps have been consolidated into the PowerShell script in the following link. Users must be a local administrator on the machine that the script will be run on: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/49ebf4e9/9CDT6TkuSk2yRN7WoLCSDQ?u=https://aka.ms/asrfprecovery
Scope of impact: This issue likely affects users within your organization and is not specific to Office apps, and can impact any application's shortcut file. There is no impact for customers who do not have the “Block Win32 API calls from Office macro” rule turned on in block mode or did not update to security intelligence update build 1.381.2140.0.
Start time: Friday, January 13, 2023, at 8:51 AM UTC
Root cause: During a recent update to the Windows Security and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint service, user devices experienced a series of false positive detections for the Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rule "Block Win32 API calls from Office macro" after updating to security intelligence build 1.381.2140.0. These detections resulted in the identification of certain Windows shortcut (.lnk) files that matched the incorrect detection pattern and were subsequently removed.
Next update by: Monday, January 16, 2023, at 8:00 PM UTC
Posted Jan 16, 2023 - 19:44 CST
Update
Some users are unable to utilize the Application shortcuts on the Start menu and taskbar ID: MO497128
Status Service Degradation
Impacted services Microsoft 365 suite, Microsoft 365 apps, Microsoft 365 Defender
Details Title: Some users are unable to utilize the Application shortcuts on the Start menu and taskbar
User Impact: Users are unable to utilize the Application shortcuts on the Start menu and taskbar.
More info: The shortcut icons may not appear or would not work. Additionally, for some users, they may receive errors when trying to run Executable (.exe) files, if they have dependencies on the shortcut file path.
If appropriate, admins can put the Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rule into Audit Mode to avoid further impact. Please note that you may need to re-enable the rule once the issue has been fully resolved. This can be done through one of the following methods:
- Using Powershell: Add-MpPreference -AttackSurfaceReductionRules_Ids 92e97fa1-2edf-4476-bdd6-9dd0b4dddc7b -AttackSurfaceReductionRules_Actions AuditMode
- For clarity, note that ASR rule "Block Win32 API calls from Office macros" with ID: 92e97fa1-2edf-4476-bdd6-9dd0b4dddc7b is the offending rule.
If determined appropriate for your environment, you can also set the rule to disabled mode. Please note, that you may need to manually re-enable the rule once the issue has been full resolved. In that case, please use the following Powershell command:
Current status: The hotfix has completed its deployment within the build 1.381.2164.0. If you have automatic updates enabled the tool will fetch the update at the next time the service performs a check for an update. This fix update will not restore previously removed shortcut files, but it will prevent any additional shortcut files from being incorrectly removed. We're investigating shortcut files that have already been affected by this issue.
Additional guidance on manual mitigation steps detailed in the “more info” section remain available for customers who have not yet adopted the new build containing the fix.
Scope of impact: This issue likely affects users within your organization and is not specific to Office Apps, and can impact any application's shortcut file. There is no impact for customers who do not have the “Block Win32 API calls from Office macro” rule turned on in block mode or did not update to security intelligence update build 1.381.2140.0.
Start time: Friday, January 13, 2023, at 8:51 AM UTC
Next update by: Friday, January 13, 2023, at 10:00 PM UTC
Posted Jan 13, 2023 - 15:23 CST
Investigating
Some users are unable to utilize the Application shortcuts on the Start menu and taskbar ID: MO497128
Status Service Degradation
Impacted services Microsoft 365 suite, Microsoft 365 Defender
Details Title: Some users are unable to utilize the Application shortcuts on the Start menu and taskbar
User Impact: Users are unable to utilize the Application shortcuts on the Start menu and taskbar.
More info: The shortcut icons may not appear or would not work.
Current status: We've identified that a specific rule was resulting in impact. We've disabled the rule and we're testing to verify that this provides relief.
Scope of impact: Impact is specific to some users who are served through the affected infrastructure.
Next update by: Friday, January 13, 2023, at 3:00 PM UTC