Microsoft has addressed a connectivity problem that blocked non-admin users from establishing Remote Desktop sessions on devices with the Administrator protection security feature active.
The Administrator protection capability requires standard users to verify their identity using Windows Hello—either a PIN or biometric scan—before they can modify the Windows Registry or deploy new applications. Rollout of this feature started in October 2025 and is now turned on automatically across organizations that have implemented Windows security baselines following installation of the October 2026 Windows security update.
On October 13, Microsoft disclosed that Remote Desktop connections were failing with error 0xC000000D following installation of the KB5124010 September 2026 non-security preview update or subsequent Windows releases on machines with Windows 11 24H2 and later versions. According to the company, "This issue primarily affects enterprise-managed remote devices used as Remote Desktop hosts with Administrator protection enabled, regardless of how the feature was enabled."
Remote Desktop connection failures now fixed
Microsoft announced on Wednesday that the problem has been resolved for those who have deployed this month's KB5127936 preview update. The company stated, "This issue was resolved by Windows updates released October 28, 2026 (KB5127936), and later. We recommend you install the latest security update for your device as it contains important improvements and issue resolutions, including this one."
For organizations preferring to defer the preview update and wait for next month's Patch Tuesday releases, Microsoft offers an interim solution. IT administrators can temporarily deactivate the admin protection feature by adjusting the "User Account Control Type Of Admin Approval Mode" policy through Microsoft Intune or Group Policy.
This marks the second major Remote Desktop connectivity incident Microsoft has addressed in recent months. The company fixed a comparable problem in March 2025 that was disrupting Remote Desktop and RDS connections following Windows updates deployed since January 2025. Additionally, Microsoft released an emergency out-of-band update last month to resolve Remote Desktop Services failures that resulted from the September 2026 security updates.