To: Co-Existent County SPOCs and Technical Contacts:
June 30, 2026 UPDATE: Issue Summary: Microsoft Word Documents Failing to Open in CWS/CMS
Issue: In certain scenarios, Microsoft Word documents would not open when accessed through the CWS/CMS application.
Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
During routine patch validation testing, it was identified that several Microsoft June security updates introduced a compatibility issue affecting the CWS/CMS application. As a result, Microsoft Word documents could fail to open under specific conditions.
The following June updates were determined to be the cause of the issue:
- Windows 11 23H2 – KB5093998
- Windows 11 24H2 – KB5094126
- Windows 11 25H2 – KB5094126
- Windows Server 2016 (1607) – KB5094122
Action Taken
The issue was escalated to Microsoft for investigation. Microsoft confirmed that multiple customers were experiencing the same behavior and advised that a correction would be included in a future Windows update.
Resolution
Microsoft has since released the July security updates, which include the fix for this issue. Validation testing has been completed, and the problem was no longer reproducible after installation of the July updates.
The following supported CWS/CMS operating systems and updates were successfully tested:
- Windows 11 23H2 – KB5099414 (July 2026 Patch Tuesday Release)
- Windows 11 24H2 – KB5101650 (July 2026 Patch Tuesday Release)
- Windows 11 25H2 – KB5101650 (July 2026 Patch Tuesday Release)
- Windows Server 2016 (1607 LTSB) – KB5099535 (July 2026 Patch Tuesday Release)
Action Required
To resolve this issue and maintain compliance with Microsoft's security update recommendations, ensure that the applicable July updates listed above are installed on all CWS/CMS-supported systems as part of the standard patch management process.
Note: Systems that have not yet received the July updates may continue to experience the Microsoft Word document launch issue if the affected June updates are installed.
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June 19, 2026 UPDATE: Microsoft has not yet provided a permanent fix for the issue with KB5094126 (for Windows 11 v24H2 and v25H2) that is causing a 29956 error message when generating Word documents in CWS/CMS. IBM continues to strongly recommend that Co-Existent Counties do not install this patch on their CWS/CMS workstations, and if the patch is already installed to uninstall it until the permanent fix is produced. There is no estimated timeline for this fix, but we will send out an update once it is received and tested.
While testing the patches, IBM recently discovered an issue with another patch included in the June Microsoft patches. Patch #KB5093998 (for Windows 11 v23H2) is also causing the same 29956 error message when generating Word documents in CWS/CMS. IBM, again, strongly recommends that Co-Existent Counties do not install this patch on their CWS/CMS workstations, and if the patch is already installed to uninstall it until the permanent fix is produced. There is no estimated timeline for this additional fix, but we will send out an update once it is received and tested.
The following are the Microsoft patches that IBM is installing on the Dedicated County workstations for June 2026:
- .NET Desktop Runtime (x64) 8.0.28 Available
- .NET Desktop Runtime (x64) 9.0.17 Available
- .NET SDK (x64) 8.0.422 Available
- .NET Desktop Runtime 8.0.28 Available
- Adobe Acrobat 2026.001.21662 Available - Adobe Acrobat - Continuous Track (x64)
- Adobe Acrobat Reader 2026.001.21662 Available - Adobe Acrobat Reader - Continuous Track
- Adobe Acrobat Reader 2026.001.21662 Available - Adobe Acrobat Reader - Continuous Track (x64)
- Microsoft Edge Stable Build 149.0.4022.62 Available
- Microsoft Edge Stable Build 149.0.4022.62 Available (x64)
- MS26-JUN: Servicing Stack Update for Windows 10 Version 1607 - Windows 10 Version 1607 - KB5094141
- MS26-JUN: Servicing Stack Update for Windows 10 Version 1607 - Windows 10 Version 1607 - KB5094141 (x64)
- 5092427: Cumulative Update Preview for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows 11, version 25H2 - Windows
- 5092427: Cumulative Update Preview for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows 11, version 25H2 – Windows (x64)
- MS26-JUN: Security Update for Microsoft Excel 2016 - Excel 2016 - KB5002877
- MS26-JUN: Security Update for Microsoft Office 2016 - Office 2016 - KB5002578
- MS26-JUN: Security Update for Microsoft Office 2016 - Office 2016 - KB5002852
- MS26-JUN: Security Update for Microsoft Office 2016 - Office 2016 - KB5002878
- MS26-JUN: Security Update for Microsoft Word 2016 - Word 2016 - KB5002879
- Office 2024 Version 16.0.17932.20842 Available - Perpetual Channel - Office 2024 Volume Licensed
- Office 365 Version 16.0.20026.20166 Available - Monthly Enterprise Channel - Office 365 (English (United States
- Office 365 Version 16.0.20026.20168 Available - Current Channel - Office 365 (English (United States))
- Google Chrome 149.0.7827.103 Available
- 4052623: Update for Microsoft Defender antimalware platform - Microsoft Defender Antivirus - KB4052623
- Mozilla Firefox (x64) 140.11.0 ESR Available
- MS26-MAY: Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.7.2 for Windows 10 Version 1809 - Windows 10 KB5087061 (x64)
- MS26-MAY: Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8 for Windows 10 Version 1809 - Windows 10 Version (x64)
Additional updates will be shared out once the permanent fixes for the problem Microsoft June patches have been distributed by Microsoft and tested by IBM.
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Issue: The CWS/CMS application generates a 29956 error in certain situations when attempting to make a call to Word documents. This error prevents the user from data input as part of normal workflow processes.
Cause: Microsoft has confirmed that the issue has been caused by Microsoft’s June 2026 update (released on June 9, 2026), specifically the KB5094126 installation on Windows 11 desktops. Microsoft has confirmed this issue is present for multiple customers.
Workaround Solution: A temporary workaround from Microsoft is to uninstall KB5094126 on impacted systems. A permanent fix is expected to be released by Microsoft within the next few days.
Note: This issue and workaround does not apply to the Dedicated County workstations. The June 2026 Microsoft patch KB5094126 was not yet installed on the Dedicated County workstations.
Action Required
Co-Existent Counties that installed the June 2026 updates from Microsoft should, as a temporary workaround, uninstall patch KB5094126 from their workstations, until Microsoft provides a permanent fix.