Microsoft addressed a critical bug in Windows 11 affecting USB devices in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).
Details of the Bug
The October 14, 2025 update broke USB functionality, impacting mice and keyboards during system recovery and factory resets. This left many users unable to interact with their systems in these critical modes.
Emergency Update
To resolve the issue, Microsoft released an emergency out-of-band update on 2025-10-21. This patch specifically targets the latest 24H2 and 25H2 versions of Windows 11, restoring full USB device functionality within WinRE.
- Microsoft issued the update on 2025-10-21.
- Bug originally introduced on 2025-10-14.
- Affected versions: Windows 11 24H2, 25H2.
- Functionality: Restores USB mouse and keyboard use in WinRE.
Background and Precedents
Out-of-band updates from Microsoft are rare, deployed typically for urgent security or functionality issues. A similar emergency patch was issued earlier due to a May 2023 security update flaw.
Microsoft continues to prioritize rapid responses to critical system failures, ensuring minimal disruption for users.
