Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday rollout for February is a big one, not simply in size but in scope. Rolled out on February 11, the latest updates not only add a few new features but squash several bugs, including a few critical security vulnerabilities.
Let’s start with the new features. The latest round of patches, available as KB5051987 for Windows 11 24H2 and KB5051989 for Windows 11 23H2, enhances built-in tools such as the Taskbar and File Explorer.
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According to its changelog, Microsoft says the update improves the previews and animations that appear when your cursor hovers over Taskbar icons. Next, a new icon appears in the System Tray when you use an app that supports Windows Studio Effects, which can display special effects through the front-facing camera on your PC or monitor. The update also adds a new simplified Chinese font called Simsun-ExtG.
There’s one more. Windows can now automatically restart certain apps when you exit and then sign back in. To enable this option, go to Settings, select Accounts, and then click Sign in options. Turn on the switch for “Automatically save my restartable apps and restart them when I sign back in.”
As for File Explorer, the latest update adds a few tweaks. When you right-click on a drive or folder in the left pane, a “New Folder” command now appears in the context menu. Windows will now restore all previously open tabs in each File Explorer window if you check the box in Folder Options for “Restore previous folder windows at logon.”
Prior to the update, File Explorer was also beset with a few glitches. A search that you ran might repeat when you didn’t want it to. The date and time properties of a file could change after copying it. Icons on the details pane might not update if you switched between dark and light themes. And the search box may lose focus as you typed. Now these bugs have all been resolved.
The February Patch Tuesday update also fixes a number of other bugs, old and new.
Previously, the display of some games was oversaturated when you used Auto HDR. People who used USB audio devices with DACs (digital audio converters) could have encountered issues where the playback would stop. Another problem affected USB audio drivers connected to external devices, displaying an error that the device could not start. But those glitches should no longer plague Windows users.
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One snafu introduced with the January 2025 security update prevented USB cameras from being recognized. Passkey users would sometimes get a one-minute timeout when using their passkeys through a mobile phone. And the Windows shutdown process could be slower with a controller connected to the computer. These three problems have also been fixed.
The February Patch Tuesday update also resolves several security holes in Windows. In total, 56 vulnerabilities are fixed, three of which are classified as critical. According to patch management provider Action1, two zero-day flaws have been patched, and an older zero-day fault has been further updated.
Rated as important, the CVE-2025-21391 flaw could have allowed an attacker to delete files on a targeted system. Another flaw rated as important, CVE-2025-21418, could have let an attacker remotely execute malicious code on a PC. The flaw labeled CVE-2025-21377 could have opened the door for someone to spoof the victim’s authentication credentials. And a flaw rated as critical, CVE-2025-21376, could have allowed an attacker to run malicious code on an affected system.
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The new KB5051987 and KB5051989 patches are the official and final versions of the preview updates that Microsoft launched on January 28. Those updates fixed some bugs but created a host of new ones. So far, the February patches appear to be more stable.
The latest patches are set as automatic updates, which means they should automatically get installed on your PC. Otherwise, head to Settings, select Windows Update, and click the Check for updates button to download and install them.
