Each month, the team at Readiness analyzes the latest Patch Tuesday updates from Microsoft and provides detailed, actionable testing guidance. This guidance is based on assessing a large application portfolio and a comprehensive analysis of the Microsoft patches and their potential impact on Windows platforms and application deployments.
We have broken the most significant changes into feature-based groupings to help with testing prioritization. The Readiness team recommends the following areas for testing for the May Patch Tuesday Patch cycle:
Remote Desktop, Security and Identification
- Test your Remote Desktop Gateway configurations. Establish sessions through the gateway and reconnect a few times to ensure stability.
- Validate VPN creation, connection, and deletion. Also test fast reconnection and password change flows with PEAP-MSCHAPv2.
- Load system level crypto libraries and validate CheckSignatureInFile behavior using legacy (2011) certificates.
- Test secure boot scenarios, especially if running dual-boot with Linux. Ensure all login(s) works after this month’s updates.
- Run PowerShell modules with and without AppLocker policies to confirm policy enforcement integrity.
Media and Codecs
- Check your subtitles in MKV formats for Blu-ray playback.
- Test audio/video recording using both internal and external devices.
- Validate DRM-protected content, especially in Microsoft Edge and Office apps. Testing regimes should include a cycle of playback, record, and stream — then check your system logs for crashes or errors.
Storage and Filesystems
- Perform Windows error log creation, appends, and reopen scenarios using Common Log File System APIs.
- Simulate SMB folder access from multiple windows. Changes in one view should reflect in the other.
- Validate UNC path access across apps. Run these tests with Microsoft Explorer and line-of-business apps that access network shares or log files.
Installation & Application Infrastructure
Given the focus of the Readiness team, it would be remiss to forget the changes to Microsoft’s update and application infrastructure
- Basic install, repair, roll-back and uninstall tests for MSI Installer packages. This process should be (mostly) automated by now.
- If you’re organization employs App Silos, test by invoking the BFS driver via an isolated app context
- Run web, file transfer, and messaging scenarios to test network throughput under load.
In addition to these specific test exercises, we highly recommend a full business logic test of your internal and line-of-business applications that have significant graphics requirements. This is required due to the changes to the Windows kernel and GDI (graphic) subsystems). Readiness recommends your testing in priority in the following order: RDP and remote access, application installations, PowerShell testing and then storage system testing.
