1/11/24 update added below.

Windows 10 users worldwide report problems installing Microsoft's January Patch Tuesday updates, getting 0x80070643 errors when attempting to install the KB5034441 security update for BitLocker.

Yesterday, as part of Microsoft's January 2024 Patch Tuesday, a security update (KB5034441) was released for CVE-2024-20666, a BitLocker encryption bypass that allows users to access encrypted data.

However, when attempting to install this update, Windows 10 users are reporting getting 0x80070643 errors and the installation failing. //

When installing the KB5034441 security update, Microsoft is installing a new version of the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) that fixes the BitLocker vulnerability.

Unfortunately, Windows 10 creates a recovery partition, usually around 500 MB, which is not large enough to support the new Windows RE image (winre.wim) file, causing the 0x80070643 error when attempting to install the update. //

Microsoft releases script to install fix

Microsoft has released PowerShell scripts that automate the installation of the BitLocker CVE-2024-20666 security patch to the Windows 10 Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).

These scripts do not install the KB5034441 update but rather mount the WinRE partition, copy over the images from a dynamic update, and unmount the partition again.

The WinRE partition will now contain the latest files, including the BitLocker fix, effectively eliminating the need for the KB5034441 update on these machines.