KB5002653 breaks Excel xla & xlam add-ins

Posted by eKKiM__@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 11 comments

During testing of KB5002653 (Security update for Excel 2016) we noticed that it breaks loading of xla(m) Excel addins..

It fails to load the add-ins. It messes up the path to the adding by truncating the first character of the path thus leading to not finding the add-in file.

[-]

kheldorn@reddit

Microsoft added a "Known Issue" to https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/description-of-the-security-update-for-excel-2016-november-12-2024-kb5002653-189190cb-3ae5-47ac-b85a-ca9815cff793

November 14, 2024

Added a "Known issues in this update" section to describe an issue that users may experience.

After you install this update, Excel add-ins that were enabled the last time you used Excel may not load properly when you open Excel. To work around this issue, open the add-ins manually by double-clicking them or selecting File > Open.

[-]

eKKiM__@reddit (OP)

Good thing they acknowledge the issue. However the workaround does not work for us..

[-]

ntuner@reddit

Does not work for us either. Only uninstalling the update

[-]

vijay-lalwani@reddit

How did you uninstall the update?

Running wusa /uninstall /kb:5002653 says the update is not installed on the machine but I can clearly see it in Windows update settings gui

[-]

blueshirt-@reddit

We're able to uninstall it on Windows 10 pretty easily, but are getting the same issue as you on Windows 11. This page has some workarounds that may work: https://borncity.com/win/2024/11/14/excel-2016-can-no-longer-load-add-ins-after-nov-2024-update-kb5002653/

[-]