Multiple brand new PCs with freshly installed Windows 10 22H2 having edge and chrome intermittently do nothing when shortcuts are clicked. KERNELBASE.dll Application Error in event viewer each time

Question

I am SERIOUSLY hoping someone can help me here. I've been scouring the internet for a long time chasing a fix for this, and have tried so many different things to resolve the issue (will list what I've tried at the end). More and more PCs in our company are encountering this issue. Its fixed temporarily by rebooting, but obviously that is annoying people.

We have reproduced the issue with our A.V. turned off and on public internet without firewall. The majority of the PCs with the issue are Dell Precisions, 75xx and 77xx. Their operating systems were installed fresh using windows media creation tool created flash drive installations of 22H2 and 22H1. All of the PCs that don't experience the issue had their operating systems installed the same way.

Here is the Event 1000 details for edge:

Faulting application name: msedge.exe, version: 111.0.1661.44, time stamp: 0x64126858

Faulting module name: KERNELBASE.dll, version: 10.0.19041.2728, time stamp: 0xe7e53a4e

Exception code: 0xc0000409

Fault offset: 0x0000000000036588

Faulting process id: 0x3974

Faulting application start time: 0x01d95cbcbb64e35b

Faulting application path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe

Faulting module path: C:\Windows\System32\KERNELBASE.dll

Report Id: 4fd92b0d-3a2e-40aa-a8e9-ac148d2204af

Faulting package full name: 

Faulting package-relative application ID: 

And for Chrome:

chrome.exe

111.0.5563.110

6418ef54

KERNELBASE.dll

10.0.19041.2728

e7e53a4e

c0000409

0000000000036588

20b4

01d95cbcf42ef03f

C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe

C:\Windows\System32\KERNELBASE.dll

81331856-e05b-40ed-85ad-536e8e9c3669

The handle is invalid

Various Fix attempts that I've made so far, that did not provide sustained/permanent resolution:

Hard resetting both Chrome and Edge in safe mode

Reinstalling Chrome Cleanly

Repairing Edge

Uninstalling Edge Webview2 Runtime

Clearing Cache and Resetting settings to default for both browsers

Copying and recreating the Chrome user default folder

Deleting the local package edge folders

Running DISM commands and SFC Scan

Winsock reset commands

Checking for extensions, removing any existing

Checking registry for known buggy edge keys to remove (none existed)

Copying chrome.exe shortcut to desktop to use as the new shortcut

Setting the shortcuts to run in compatibility mode for win8, troubleshooting compatibility, setting it to run as admin

Trying commands regsvr32 /u KernelBase.dll or regsvr32 /i KernelBase.dll (I honestly don't understand why this is suggested online, every single person replies saying they get the same error message I do when they try to run it, which is "The module KernelBase.dll" was loaded but the entry-point DllUnregisterServer was not found. Make sure that "KernelBase.dll" is a valid DLL or OCX file and then try again.

I've considered copying the dll file from a PC without the issue, but I have seen split schools of thought on that with some people saying the dll files should never be copied to another machine.

Again, any time and assistance that anyone could provide will be much appreciated! Let me know if I can provide more info.

Answer 1

Hi @Concerned User 247 ,

Similar issues have been reported before with the same Event 1000. Hardware-enforced Stack Protection was introduced at Edge 100 (and Chrome 90). Some third-party modules caused CET violation and hence the browser crash. The recommended resolution is to update/disable the incompatible third-party software which are incompatible with Hardware-enforced Stack Protection security feature. You can check that.

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Best Regards,

Shijie Li

Answer 2

It was hardware enforced stack protection.

Our workaround until we find out what's causing the incompatibility was to disable it just for the browsers:

Open Windows Settings

Go to Update & Security—Windows Security—App & Browser Control—Exploit Protection Settings—Program Settings—Add Program to Customize—Choose Exact File Path

Enter this in file name field: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe

Press Open

Scroll down to Hardware-enforced stack protection, check the box for “override system settings”

Make sure the toggle is off, leave the two other checkboxes unchecked, press apply

Repeat the Process, but enter this for file path:

C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe

And

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeWebView - per folder with #s, each webview.exe

Answer 3

It was hardware enforced stack protection.

Our workaround until we find out what's causing the incompatibility was to disable it just for the browsers:

Open Windows Settings

Go to Update & Security—Windows Security—App & Browser Control—Exploit Protection Settings—Program Settings—Add Program to Customize—Choose Exact File Path

Enter this in file name field: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe

Press Open

Scroll down to Hardware-enforced stack protection, check the box for “override system settings”

Make sure the toggle is off, leave the two other checkboxes unchecked, press apply

Repeat the Process, but enter this for file path:

C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe

And

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeWebView - per folder with #s, each webview.exe