Forum Discussion
KB5002701 contains unsigned executable
Both the x86 and x64 versions of the security update have an MSACCESS.exe that is unsigned. It certainly makes Access more secure since it won't run on our systems after this.
Additional reports of a similar problem have appeared on other forums.
I'm working up a report on what appears could be a bug in the update to send to Microsoft.One possibility that has been suggested is that there is a hanging instance of Access that prevents it from running. Given that rolling back the update resolves the problem, that seems less likely, but needs to be eliminated as a potential source. Also, the fact that it's occurring on multiple workstations.
Nonetheless, we'd like to eliminate potential contributors.Also, I just picked up on a subtlety in the way you described the problem. You refer to the "MSAccess executable". Some people refer to an accdE that way. But perhaps that's not what you meant? To be sure we're on the same page, and that you didn't mean something else, can you confirm that as well?
The file that lacked the signing was C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\MSACCESS.EXE. Specifically file version 16.0.5493.1000 from 3/11/2025. Which seems to have installed again overnight...
It's easy enough to compare the old version of the file and the new version.
An interesting wrinkle today is that the file is now 1 month old, and it seems that it meets the age requirement now since it is no longer being blocked.
Can you elaborate a bit on how you figured this out?
And can you confirm that you have Access 2016 installed?
Thanks.Also, can you resolve the problem by rolling back the KB?
This morning I had reports of MS Access not running for some users, ASR rules were blocking the launch. I checked the executable, and found that it was not signed, and could not be run even with elevated privileges. I found this KB was installed overnight and was for MSACCESS. I downloaded the offline versions and uncompressed them and verified that neither has a signed executable. After uninstalling the KB the MSACCESS executable is signed and working as expected.
So the problem is with Access 2016, then, correct? Not any later versions? Or do you have later versions of Access/Office installed to confirm that it's related only to the 2016 version?
I would suggest you not allow this update to be reinstalled pending further investigation. I'm going to see if I can find any other reports of similar experiences with this particular version of Access and this update. And I 'll try to find out if someone has insights on what could be the problem.
