THE CRUNCH
Microsoft's November 2026 security update has introduced two problems worth knowing about. The more visible one affects printing: documents containing images rendered with a height or width of zero at the selected printing resolution may not print at all. Those objects are often invisible to users but can carry a document's watermarking or layout, so an apparently ordinary file can fail to appear from the printer.
The issue was observed when printing Word documents through the Windows Graphics Device Interface, the long-standing Windows printing pathway, but Microsoft notes printing from other applications might also be affected. The advisory covers most current Windows versions, from Windows 11 26H2 back to Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2016, plus Windows Server 2016 to 2025. Users need not have added the offending images themselves: Microsoft says document-generation tools can insert them even when no graphic is visible, which makes it hard to tell in advance whether a document is affected.
The second bug is narrower but a headache for administrators. After installing the update, certain activation and licensing operations run with the Software Licensing Management Tool might fail with error 0x80041008, an invalid parameter, when activating Windows, configuring Key Management Service or managing product keys. Microsoft has observed failures with the slmgr.vbs /skms-domain and /ipk commands. The notice lists Windows 11 23H2, Windows 10 22H2 and 21H2, and Windows Server 2019, 2022 and 2025 as affected.
The printing problem remains under investigation, but a fix for the activation issue is due in the coming days. Administrators who need an interim workaround are directed to Microsoft Support for Business.