Microsoft fixes Remote Desktop failures linked to Administrator protection in Windows 11

Microsoft has confirmed that a known issue preventing standard, non-administrator users from connecting to devices through Remote Desktop has been fixed. The problem affected systems where the Administrator protection security feature was enabled. Administrator protection, which began rolling out in October 2025, prompts standard users to authenticate with Windows Hello, using a PIN or biometric, when they attempt to change the Windows Registry or install new apps. The feature is now enabled by default in organizations using Windows security baselines after installing the October 2026 Windows security update. Microsoft first acknowledged the problem on October 13, warning that Remote Desktop connections could fail with error 0xC000000D on systems running Windows 11 24H2 and later after installing the KB5124010 September 2026 non-security preview update, or Windows updates released since then. The company said at the time that the issue primarily affected enterprise-managed remote devices used as Remote Desktop hosts with Administrator protection enabled, regardless of how the feature had been turned on. On Wednesday, Microsoft confirmed the issue is resolved for users who installed this month's KB5127936 preview update. "This issue was resolved by Windows updates released October 28, 2026 (KB5127936), and later," the company noted, adding that it recommends installing the latest security update because it contains important improvements and issue resolutions, including this one. For organizations that would rather wait for next month's Patch Tuesday cumulative updates than deploy the preview release, Microsoft offers a temporary workaround. It requires IT administrators to disable the admin protection feature by resetting the "User Account Control Type Of Admin Approval Mode" policy through Microsoft Intune or Group Policy. The resolution follows a string of Remote Desktop-related problems in recent Windows updates. In March 2025, Microsoft fixed a similar issue that caused Remote Desktop and RDS connection failures after updates released since January 2025. Last month, the company also shipped emergency out-of-band Windows updates to address Remote Desktop Services failures caused by the September 2026 security updates.