The Cabinet Division has issued a cybersecurity advisory regarding a significant Windows outage affecting versions 10 and 11 globally.
The advisory highlights that a recent update to CrowdStrike’s Falcon Sensor has led to widespread disruptions, causing Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) loops and rendering affected systems inoperable. Users have reported repeated BSODs displaying the error message “DRIVER_OVERRAN_STACK_BUFFER,” which prevents normal system boot and operation.
According to the advisory, the impact of this issue has been particularly severe for large enterprises, including banks, airlines, hospitals, broadcasters, and other critical sectors. Some organizations have reported thousands of affected devices, including vital production servers. The disruption has raised concerns about the continuity of essential services, underscoring the need for immediate attention and remediation.
To safeguard against the Windows outage issue, the Cabinet Division advises users to ensure that backups and high availability measures are in place for critical services, data, and systems. These contingency measures are recommended to minimize the impact of any ongoing or future disruptions until a permanent fix is implemented.
To resolve the issue, affected users are instructed to boot Windows into Safe Mode or the Windows Recovery Environment and navigate to the directory C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\CrowdStrike. Once there, users should locate and delete the file matching C-00000291*.sys. After this file is removed, users can attempt to boot Windows normally.
The advisory also recommends applying any CrowdStrike fixes in a test environment first before deploying them to production systems to ensure stability. The Cabinet Division has called for the prompt dissemination of this advisory to all federal and provincial ministries, concerned departments, and affiliated entities.
