Microsoft's PrintNightmare update is causing a lot of problems with network printers mapped on a print server

Question

Dears,
the latest Windows updates is causing a lot of problems with network printers mapped on a print server.

Reference:
KB5005652—Manage new Point and Print default driver installation behavior (CVE-2021-34481)
Managing deployment of Printer RPC binding changes for CVE-2021-1678 (KB4599464)

The two recent patches (KB5004945, KB5004760, or KB5003690) causes these two main problems:

1. unable for users without administrative rights to install new print drivers.
   The end user receive this error
   

2) unable to use the print server with the new registry key RpcAuthnLevelPrivacyEnabled
The system logs reports this error: 0x0000011b

The two workarounds that you have to apply to survive and allow corporate users to be able to use the print server are:

1. Even if you have a GPO with "Point and Print Restrictions=disabled", you have to apply this registry key to allow non administrative users to install the latest print drivers from the print server

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers\PointAndPrint
RestrictDriverInstallationToAdministrators = 0

2) Apply this registry key to disable the new default settings related to the print spooler vulnerabilities

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print
RpcAuthnLevelPrivacyEnabled = 0

The above workarounds are only a temporary solution to survive and allow users to print.
What is unclear to me is what should be the right way to manage these settings in a corporate environment without any end user interaction.
So, if I want to be protected and apply the recent security fixes without asking the end users to do something, what should I do?

Microsoft states that you need to set "RpcAuthnLevelPrivacyEnabled" to "1" on both Client and Print Server in order to be protected, but if you do this, you can't print.
So, what should we do in a Corporate environment to be secure and print without any end user interaction about "driver installation" etc.?

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

Hi Norbert,

Is that the UI from a non English version of Windows?

The Port Description does not contain - so just wanted to confirm some other vendor was not attempting to trick you by using a different string for the Standard TCP/IP Port.

Thanks