Windows 10 users might have been experiencing some unexpected restarts recently due to a new problem uncovered in multiple build versions of Microsoft's operating system.
As reported by BleepingComputer and ZDNet, the error is causing problems in devices running Windows 10 version 1809 onwards, including versions 1903, 1909 and 2004. Two previous optional updates that users could download to fix a different bug affecting printer connections are also reportedly affected.
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The blame resides with the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service file, lsass.exe, which normally is responsible for dealing with on-device security for the current Windows user, such as recording login credentials and managing Single Sign-On systems for business users.
However, in the aforementioned builds of Windows 10, LSASS has been failing and when it does, it forces a restart of a Windows 10 machine. That could result in users losing data thanks to an unexpected and unavoidable restart.
The error can be identified by a message that reads: "A critical system process, C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe, failed with status code c0000008. The machine must now be restarted."
Fortunately, the restart seems to solve the issue at least temporarily. One user reports that one of these forced restarts will sort their device for that day, but then experiences the problem again the day after.
Microsoft has stated it's working on a fix, expected to arrive some time in July. However, the bug has only been noted on version 1903 and later, which raises questions whether users on older builds of Windows 10, going back to version 1809, will get a patch at some point too.
If your Windows 10 machine is suffering from such problems, you can fix the issue yourself by uninstalling the June cumulative updated for Windows 10. However, it's worth noting that this will downgrade your computer's overall defences, so proceed with caution.
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