Recent Microsoft .NET Update Resulting in ArcGIS Pro 2.8 and 2.9 Crash When Changing Symbology

Summary

Recent Microsoft cumulative updates result in a crash for ArcGIS Pro 2.8.x and 2.9.x users when changing symbology. This post provides additional information about the crash and what Esri recommends that customers do.

What is causing the crash?

This issue is caused by an update in the .NET 4.8.x framework and only affects ArcGIS Pro 2.8.x and 2.9.x users who have the Microsoft cumulative updates applied on their machine.

Users will encounter this issue if they access any symbol gallery or color gallery except the one located in the Catalog view. Most of the time, the crash will occur when opening the symbol gallery in the symbology pane (for example, by clicking a symbol patch in the Contents pane). Other common scenarios that will cause the crash are opening the color picker for a symbol patch in the Contents pane or accessing any symbol picker from the ribbon.

Does this affect the ArcGIS Pro 3.0 release?

No. ArcGIS Pro 3.0.x is built on .NET 6, therefore it is not affected by this recent Microsoft update.

What is Esri recommending that customers do?

Since ArcGIS Pro 3.0.x is built on .NET 6, this issue can be resolved by upgrading to ArcGIS Pro 3.0 or later.

Note that ArcGIS Pro 3.0 is a major release. When upgrading from ArcGIS Pro 2.x, customers should review and understand the following documentation before moving to 3.x:

• Get Ready for ArcGIS Pro 3.0
• Migration from ArcGIS Pro 2.x to 3.0

What if customers cannot update to ArcGIS Pro 3.x?

For customers unable to update to ArcGIS Pro 3.x, this issue is fixed in ArcGIS Pro 2.9 Patch 5 (2.9.5), released October 20, 2022 and in ArcGIS Pro 2.8 Patch 8 (2.8.8), released November 1, 2022.

2.9.x customers

Update to ArcGIS Pro 2.9 Patch 5 (2.9.5). The patch is available to download from My Esri. ArcGIS Pro 2.9 must be installed prior to installing any ArcGIS Pro 2.9 patches. Each patch is cumulative of all previous patch fixes.

2.8.x customers

Update to ArcGIS Pro 2.8 Patch 8 (2.8.8). The patch is available to download from My Esri. ArcGIS Pro 2.8 must be installed prior to installing any ArcGIS Pro 2.8 patches. Each patch is cumulative of all previous patch fixes.

For informational purposes, at this time the following cumulative updates are known to cause the crash.

KB5017263 – Cumulative Update Preview for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8 for Windows 10, version 1809, and Windows Server, version 2019.
KB5017264 – Cumulative Update Preview for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8 for Windows 11.
KB5017267 – Cumulative Update Preview for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows 11for x64.
KB5017271 – Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows 11, version 22H2.
KB5017262 – Cumulative Update Preview for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8 for Windows 10, version 20H2, Windows 10 Version 21H1, and Windows 10 Version 21H2.
KB5017265 – Cumulative Update Preview for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8 for Microsoft server operating system version 21H2.
KB5017268 – Cumulative Update Preview for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Microsoft server operating system version 21H2.
KB5017266 – Cumulative Update Preview for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows 10, version 20H2, Windows 10 Version 21H1, and Windows 10 Version 21H2
KB5018515 – Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 4.8 for Windows 10, version 1607 and Windows Server 2016.
KB5018518 – Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 4.8 for Windows Server 2012.
KB5018519 – Security and Quality Rollup for .NET Framework 4.8 for Windows 8.1, RT 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2.

Banner photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

About the author

Kory Kramer

Kory Kramer is a Product Manager for ArcGIS Pro, collaborating across multiple teams to contribute to the direction of product development. He is dedicated to listening to users and finding ways to convert that feedback into a product that continues to add customer value. In his free time, he tries to get outside as much as possible – often on trails, sometimes on a bike. He has recently started composting and is trying to get bats to take up residence in his backyard bat house.

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