Microsoft releases emergency fix for Windows 10 WiFi crashes

Microsoft has released an emergency KB5001028 out-of-band update to fix a bug causing Windows 10 to crash when connecting to WPA3 Wi-Fi networks.

According to a new support issue posted to Microsoft's Windows Message Center, the bug was introduced in the recent Windows 10 1909 cumulative updates. Specifically, KB4598298, released on January 21, 2021, and KB4601315, which was released this past Tuesday, on February 9, 2021.

This bug would cause devices to experience a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) crash when attempting to connect to WPA3 Wi-Fi networks. WPA3 is the recommended wireless encryption protocol as it has the strongest security at this time.

"You might receive stop error 0x7E in nwifi.sys with a blue screen when you attempt to use a Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) connection," Microsoft disclosed today.

"You are more likely to encounter this issue when reconnecting to a Wi-Fi network after disconnecting, or when waking from sleep or hibernation. Note Most Wi-Fi networks are currently using WPA2 and are not affected."

In addition to the OOB update, Microsoft 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 using a wired ethernet connection.

The KB5001028 out-of-band update is currently available via Windows Update, WSUS, and via the Microsoft Update catalog.