Security News > 2023 > January > Microsoft fixes Windows database connections it broke in November

Included in the usual tsunami of fixes Microsoft issued this week as part of Patch Tuesday was one that took care of a connectivity problem for applications using the Open Database Connectivity interface.

The ODBC problem was one of several stemming from the November Patch Tuesday updates that Microsoft had to address.

The software giant last month said that a Windows update included in the November fixes could cause issues for apps using the Microsoft ODBC SQL Server Driver that led to attempts to access databases resulting in an error message when the connection failed.

The issue affected users who installed the November updates and impacted a range of operating systems, from Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 through various versions of Windows 10 and the latest Windows 11 version, 22H2. In addition, multiple Windows Server OSes were affected, including versions 2008, 2012, 2016, 2019, and 2022.

The problem also could arise "When a value of 0 is given for the 'BufferLength' argument for fixed datatypes larger than 4 bytes," Microsoft wrote in the Windows Health Dashboard.

Microsoft earlier created a workaround for the problem, calling for developers who already use the Data Source Name function to select ODBC connections to install the company's ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server and selecting it to be used with the app using DSN. The company said the latest version of the ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server is more compatible with apps using the legacy ODBC SQL Server Driver than version 18.

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https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/01/11/microsoft_database_connection_fix/