CrowdStrike blames testing shortcomings for Windows meltdown

CrowdStrike has blamed a hole in its testing software for the release of a defective content update that hobbled millions of Windows computers worldwide on Friday, July 19.

The hole caused CrowdStrike’s Content Validator tool to miss a flaw in an update for the security vendor’s Falcon Sensor endpoint protection technology, causing Windows machines that received the update to crash with the infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) before forcing them into a repetitive boot-loop that left them unusable.

In its preliminary post-incident review, CrowdStrike confirmed that the crashing of its customers’ computers was due to a flaw in Channel File 291, part of a sensor configuration update released to Windows systems at 04:09 UTC on July 19. In the review it provided an initial explanation for how that flaw came to be deployed, and outlined changes it is making to its processes to avoid a repeat.