Microsoft has released an out-of-band emergency update KB5001028 to fix a bug that causes Windows 10 to crash when connecting to WPA3 Wi-Fi networks.
According to a new support issue posted in Microsoft’s Windows Message Center, the bug was introduced in the recent cumulative updates of Windows 10 1909. Specifically KB4598298, which was released on January 21, 2021, and KB4601315, which was released this past Tuesday, February 9, 2021.
This error can cause devices to experience a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) crash when trying to connect to WPA3 Wi-Fi networks. WPA3 is the recommended wireless encryption protocol as it currently has the strongest security.
“You may receive stop error 0x7E in nwifi.sys with a blue screen when you want to use a Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) connection, ‘Microsoft announced today.
“You are more likely to encounter this problem when you reconnect to a Wi-Fi network after disconnecting it, or when you wake up or go into hibernation. please note Most Wi-Fi networks currently use WPA2 and are not affected. “
In addition to the OOB update, Microsoft has also provided the following mitigation steps, which may not be desirable for specific users.
- Update your device to Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows 10, version 20H2.
- Connect to a Wi-Fi network using WPA2. To do this, you may need to reconfigure your access point or router settings.
- Connect to a wired Ethernet connection.
The out-of-band KB5001028 update is currently available through Windows Update, WSUS, and the Microsoft Update Catalog.