Microsoft broke DHCP for Windows Server last Patch Tuesday

Some servers can't renew IP addresses, and there's no fix yet

Microsoft has admitted that June's Patch Tuesday updates could break the DHCP service on Windows Server.

The update, released June 10, contains an issue that can affect Windows Server 2025, 2022, 2019, and 2016. According to Microsoft, "the DHCP Server service might intermittently stop responding after installing this security update. This issue affects IP renewal for clients."

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) automatically assigns IP addresses to devices or clients connected to a network. Periodically, those clients might check in with the server to refresh or renew their address.

Administrators can also give devices a fixed IP address, but using DHCP eases the administrative workload. It's a core piece of networking technology until it stops working.

It's not clear how Microsoft has broken the service, which has been a fixture since the early days of Windows NT, but, judging by the complaints on social media, affected users are less than amused.

The problem is that clients cannot renew their IP addresses, which means they might abruptly have network connectivity problems. Affected users reported that the service fails shortly after patch installation.

There appears to be no workaround at present other than rolling back the patch, which is unfortunate since the update contains important security fixes. Microsoft said: "We are working on releasing a resolution in the coming days and will provide more information when it is available."

To be clear, it appears that only a subset of users are affected. While some customers reported problems on supported servers, others found no issues. The difficulty facing administrators is that now the issue has been identified, holding off on the update until it's resolved may be the prudent course of action since the impact on an organization could be severe.

Then again, few administrators would risk installing a Microsoft update directly into production without checking it out first in a test environment. Enterprises are unlikely to accept an excuse that involves finger-pointing at dodgy code from Redmond in the face of an unexpected loss of connectivity.

The June 2025 Patch Tuesday update is shaping up to be a classic. As well as breaking the DHCP service in some servers, Microsoft also managed to brick a number of its own Surface Hub v1 devices, and had to release an out-of-band update in an effort to limit the damage. ®