Threat Intelligence & APT BleepingComputer 1 month ago

Microsoft says September updates fix mouse settings reset issues

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CyberNew Threat Research Desk
• Original Reporting: BleepingComputer
CyberNew Threat Intel Assessment
Assessed Severity: INFORMATIONAL
Impacted Surface
Client Endpoints & Operating Systems
Intelligence Sector
Threat Intelligence & APT

Analyst Takeaway

"Microsoft has fixed a known issue that wiped mouse settings on some Windows 11 systems after installing the KB5120998 August 2026 preview update. According to user reports, mouse cursor personalization settings automatically changed or reset after installing this buggy update, and users couldn't restore them even after uninstalling KB5120998 from affected devices. Microsoft confirmed the issues..."

Recommended Defense & Mitigation

  • Threat Monitoring: Ingest published IOCs into SIEM/EDR detection rules for continuous telemetry monitoring.
  • Security Awareness: Alert staff and maintain baseline endpoint hardening across endpoints.
Curated & Verified by CyberNew Threat Intelligence Desk Standard Defense Framework (NIST / MITRE ATT&CK)

Windows 11

Microsoft has fixed a known issue that wiped mouse settings on some Windows 11 systems after installing the KB5120998 August 2026 preview update.

According to user reports, mouse cursor personalization settings automatically changed or reset after installing this buggy update, and users couldn't restore them even after uninstalling KB5120998 from affected devices.

Microsoft confirmed the issues on Friday, one day after releasing KB5120998, which brought Start menu, taskbar, and Windows search improvements to devices running Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2.

As the company later explained, the issues stem from "code components" in non-English Windows installations, which cause settings load failures and result in a default being used instead.

"Following installation of Windows updates released August 27 2026 (KB5120998), mouse personalization settings are being reverted to certain standard settings. This includes cursor and cursor animations that are selected in the Mouse Properties options under Windows," Microsoft said.

"In impacted locales, these settings will fail to load, causing a default to be used instead. Attempting to manually restore the settings values is not successful, as the issue prevents loading these settings regardless of their value."

On Tuesday evening, Microsoft said it had resolved the bug in the KB5124008 September 2026 cumulative update and advised users to update their devices.

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Source Verification & Original Intelligence

This threat report was reviewed by CyberNew analysts and cross-referenced with primary security disclosures from BleepingComputer.

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