Patch Tuesday is always the second Tuesday of each month and more recently is being referred to as Update Tuesday. Non-security updates to Microsoft Office tend to occur on the first Tuesday of each month and firmware updates for Microsoft’s Surface devices on the third Tuesday of every month. Most Windows users will experience more of a Patch Wednesday because they’re prompted to install, or notice the installation of, the updates downloaded via Windows Update on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. Some half-jokingly refer to the day after Patch Tuesday as Crash Wednesday, referring to the troubles that sometimes accompany a computer after the patches are installed (honestly, this rarely happens).
What Do These Patch Tuesday Updates Do?
These patches from Microsoft update several individual files involved in making Windows and other Microsoft software work. These files were determined by Microsoft to have security issues, meaning that they have “bugs” that could provide a means to do something malicious to your computer without your knowledge.
How Do I Know If I Need These Security Updates?
You need these updates if you’re running any supported edition of Microsoft’s operating systems, 32-bit or 64-bit. This includes Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows 8.1, plus supported Server versions of Windows. A number of other products are receiving patches this month, too. You can see the full list on Microsoft’s Security Update Guide page, along with the associated KB articles and security vulnerability details. Just set the date filter mode to Update Tuesday, and then choose December 2022, to avoid showing previous months’ updates. Here’s a summary list:
.NET FrameworkAzureClient Server Run-time Subsystem (CSRSS)Microsoft Bluetooth DriverMicrosoft DynamicsMicrosoft Edge (Chromium-based)Microsoft Graphics ComponentMicrosoft OfficeMicrosoft Office OneNoteMicrosoft Office OutlookMicrosoft Office SharePointMicrosoft Office VisioMicrosoft Windows Codecs LibraryRole: Windows Hyper-VSysInternalsWindows CertificatesWindows ContactsWindows DirectXWindows Error ReportingWindows Fax Compose FormWindows HTTP Print ProviderWindows KernelWindows PowerShellWindows Print Spooler ComponentsWindows Projected File SystemWindows Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP)Windows SmartScreenWindows Subsystem for LinuxWindows Terminal
Some updates correct issues so serious that, in certain situations, remote access to your computer may be possible without your permission. These issues are classified as critical, while most others are less serious and classified as important, moderate, or low. See Microsoft Security Bulletin Severity Rating System for more on these classifications, and the December 2022 Security Updates Release Notes for Microsoft’s very brief summary on this collection of security updates. In case you’re curious: Windows 8.1 support ends on January 10, 2023. Windows 10 support is slated to end on October 14, 2025.
Are There Any Non-Security Updates This Patch Tuesday?
Yes, a number of non-security updates are being made available for all supported versions of Windows including, as usual, this month’s update to the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. Microsoft’s Surface tablets also usually get driver and/or firmware updates on Patch Tuesday. You can get all the details on these updates from Microsoft’s Surface Update History page. Individual update histories are available for Microsoft’s Surface devices. There may also be non-security updates included this month for Microsoft software other than Windows. See the non-security update information in the section below for details.
Download Patch Tuesday Updates
In most situations, the best way to download patches on Patch Tuesday is via Windows Update. Only the updates you need will be listed and, unless you’ve configured Windows Update otherwise, will be downloaded and installed automatically. See How Do I Install Windows Updates? if you’re new to this or need some help. You can usually find links to any non-security Microsoft Office updates on the Microsoft Office Updates page.
Patch Tuesday Problems
While updates from Microsoft rarely result in widespread problems with Windows itself, they do frequently cause specific issues with software or drivers provided by other companies. If you haven’t yet installed these patches, please see How to Prevent Windows Updates From Crashing Your PC for a number of preventative measures you should take before applying these updates, including disabling fully automatic updates. If you’re having problems after Patch Tuesday, or during or after installing any Windows update:
See How to Recover From a Frozen Windows Update Installation for help if your computer freezes during the installation of an update. See How to Fix Problems Caused by Windows Updates for help undoing the damage if the updates already installed but you’re now experiencing a problem.
Patch Tuesday & Windows 10
Microsoft has publicly commented that beginning with Windows 10, they will no longer be pushing updates solely on Patch Tuesday, instead pushing them more frequently, essentially ending the idea of Patch Tuesday altogether. While this change goes for both security updates and non-security updates, and Microsoft is clearly updating Windows 10 and Windows 11 outside of Patch Tuesday, so far they still seem to be pushing a majority of the updates to their latest operating system on Patch Tuesday.
