While Patch Tuesday updates are usually released to provide the latest security updates for Windows, sometimes they can also cause problems. Microsoft says that the latest December Update Tuesday Patch (KB5021233) for Windows 10 22H2, 21H2 and 21H1 produces a blue screen of death (or BSOD) with the error code “0xc000021a” on some systems due to a mismatch between HIDPARSE System files (hidparse.sys) in two different system directories. In its health dashboard, Microsoft Explains:

Technical note: After installing KB5021233, there may be a mismatch between the versions of the hidparse.sys files in c:/windows/system32 and c:/windows/system32/drivers (assuming Windows is installed on your C: drive), which may result in signature Authentication will fail when cleanup occurs.

To alleviate the problem, Microsoft has provided detailed steps:

workaround: To alleviate this problem on devices that are already experiencing it, you will need to use the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) with the following steps:

1. You will need to enter the Windows recovery environment. If your device has not automatically booted into WinRE, see WinRE entry points.
2. Choose the Troubleshooting button.
3. select the “Start recovery, troubleshooting and diagnostic toolsbutton.
4. select the “advanced optionsbutton.
5. select the “command line” and wait for your device to restart, if necessary.
6. Your device should restart to a command prompt window. You may need to sign in to your device with your password before you get to the command prompt window.
7. run the following command (It is important: If Windows is not installed in C:\windows you will need to change the command to your environment): xcopy C:\windows\system32\drivers\hidparse.sys C:\windows\\system32\hidparse.sys
8. After completing the previous command, type: Output
9. select the “continuebutton.
10. Windows should now start as expected.

It is important: It is not recommended to carry out any solution other than those recommended above. We do not recommend deleting the hidparse.sys from your Windows\System32 folder.

Apart from this, there are also several other issues in Windows 10 as well as Windows 11 that you can read about here.