Yet another Windows update is causing yet more printer problems

There have been a lot of printing-related problems with Windows 10 in the last couple of weeks, but if you were hoping that the situation might improve, you're going to be disappointed.

Microsoft has issued a warning that the July security updates released by the company can lead to printing and scanning issues. The problem affects not only Windows 10, but also Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows Server.

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In a support document about the issue, Microsoft describes the problem: "After installing updates released July 13, 2021 on domain controllers (DCs) in your environment, printers, scanners, and multifunction devices which are not compliant with section 3.2.1 of RFC 4556 spec, might fail to print when using smart-card (PIV) authentication".

In a linked document, the company goes into a little more detail, saying:

The affected devices are smart card authenticating printers, scanners, and multifunction devices that don’t support DH or advertise support for des-ede3-cbc ("triple DES") during the Kerberos AS request. Per section 3.2.1 of RFC 4556 spec, for this key exchange to work, the client has to both support and notify the key distribution center (KDC) of their support for des-ede3-cbc ("triple DES"). Clients who initiate Kerberos PKINIT with key-exchange in encryption mode but neither support nor tell the KDC that they support des-ede3-cbc ("triple DES"), will be rejected.

When it comes to help and advice, Microsoft has very little to offer at this stage. The company suggests ensuring that you have the very latest drivers and firmware installed, but can only suggest contacting the hardware manufacturer if the problems persist.

The company points out:

Devices that are affected when using smart card (PIV) authentication should work as expected when using username and password authentication.

Microsoft says that it is working on a temporary mitigation and will provide details of this in due course. However, a patch to fix the issue will not be forthcoming from Microsoft, it seems; the company says: "This temporary mitigation should allow printing and scanning to the affected devices. This will allow time for device manufacturers to release compliant firmware and drivers for their devices. Further, it should allow time to update settings, firmware, and drivers in your environment and make them compliant".

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