VMware is warning customers that two Microsoft patches effectively disable the VMware View desktop virtualization software on Windows 7.
The Microsoft updates in question are 2482017 and 2467023, which were released by Microsoft on Patch Tuesday. According to VMware, the updates left users of the VMware View client on Windows 7 unable to connect to the View Connection Server.
“VMware and Microsoft have an ongoing collaborating to ensure interoperability and have been working closely for the past several months in preparation for the release of Windows 7 SP1,” said Pat Lee, director clients, End-User Computing at VMware. “The recent updates of Microsoft Security Patches 2482017 or 2467023 include the early release of updates anticipated in Win7SP1. To remedy this, VMware issued the VMware View update referenced in VMware Knowledge Base 1034262. This update was provided within 24 hours of the Microsoft Security Patch, in an effort to minimize customer impact.”
If users have already installed these patches, they can either install VMware View client (build 353760) or uninstall the Microsoft patches, VMware said in an advisory. Those who haven’t yet installed the patches should wait until they install the aforementioned View client version.
“For organizations planning BYOD (bring-your-own-device) scenarios, this week’s Windows 7 patch issue should make you consider the potential for a large-scale break created on Patch Tuesday,” blogged Chris Wolf, vice president of research at Gartner. “If we fast forward a couple of years, it’s possible for an IT organization to have to deal with remediating this type of problem for thousands of users.”
“Contingency planning, remediation testing and training that may also include patch distribution through personal e-mail is an essential, but sometimes overlooked, aspect of deploying BYOD solutions,” he advised. “Organizations that are fixing broken VMware View connectivity on user-owned Windows 7 devices are learning that lesson the hard way.”
The View client patch can be downloaded from here. Users with View client 4.0.x who are experiencing this issue, should install the appropriate View client 4.5 for their environment, VMware advised.