Microsoft Issues Emergency Patch to Fix Office Update Crash Issues

Microsoft has released an urgent patch to address critical performance issues in Office 2016 applications following widespread reports of crashes and freezes.

The emergency update, known as KB5002623, was issued on April 10, 2025, just two days after the problematic KB5002700 security update that triggered the disruptions.

According to Microsoft’s support documentation, the update specifically targets an issue causing Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook to “stop responding” after installing the KB5002700 security update released during April’s Patch Tuesday.

The problem affected thousands of Office 2016 users worldwide, with many reporting complete application failures.

Impact and User Experience

Users across social media platforms reported significant disruptions to their workflow after installing the April 2025 security updates.

“We’re experiencing an issue on Windows 10 with Office 2016 where Word and Excel no longer open,” noted one affected user.

Another described similar symptoms: “After starting Word it crashes and also Outlook crashes in calendar view”.

The issue appeared particularly problematic in the calendar views of Outlook 2016, with many users experiencing immediate application crashes when attempting to access their schedules.

Technical Details of the Fix

The KB5002623 update specifically modifies core Office components, targeting the Mso20win32client.dll file, which appears to have been the source of the stability issues.

The update comes in two versions:

• 32-bit (x86): File version 16.0.5495.1002, size 1,940,160 bytes
• 64-bit (x64): File version 16.0.5495.1002, size 3,181,792 bytes

Microsoft notes that the update is exclusively for Microsoft Installer (.msi)-based editions of Office 2016 and does not apply to Click-to-Run editions such as Microsoft 365 Home.

Installation Requirements

Microsoft emphasizes that users need both updates installed to resolve the issue completely.

“To restore the full Office 2016 suite to a working state, you must have both updates KB5002700 and KB5002623 installed,” the company stated in their support documentation.

For those uncertain about their Office version type, Microsoft recommends consulting their guide “Am I running 32-bit or 64-bit Office?” before downloading the appropriate update file.

How to Obtain and Install the Fix

The update is available for manual download from the Microsoft Download Center.

Users can select the appropriate version for their system configuration and follow the installation prompts.

After installation, a system restart may be required to complete the process.

For IT professionals managing enterprise environments, command line instructions for deployment can be found in Knowledge Base article KB912203.

Security Assurances

Microsoft has confirmed that all update files have undergone thorough virus scanning using the latest detection software available.

The files are hosted on “security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes”.

Additional Recent Office Issues

This emergency fix comes during a challenging period for Microsoft’s support team, which has recently addressed multiple issues, including Exchange Admin Center problems and subscription issues affecting Microsoft 365 Family customers.

Last month, the company also fixed a keyboard input problem in Word where the backspace and enter keys weren’t functioning properly within lists.

For users experiencing persistent issues after installing the update, Microsoft provides instructions for uninstalling it through the Control Panel’s “Installed Updates” section.

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