Word Password Prompt After KB5094128 (VB6 COM Automation)

Question

Word Password Prompt After KB5094128 (VB6 COM Automation)

Shankaranarayanan Vinayagam 20

Word Password Prompt After KB5094128 (VB6 COM Automation)

Microsoft Word prompts for password when opening document via VB6 (FileOpen with PasswordDoc/PasswordDot) after KB5094128 on Windows Server 2022

Third-party OLE Automation Issue: VB6 application using OLE automation to launch Microsoft Office apps (Microsoft Word) fail to open documents after this update. The below error is encountered.

Command Failed (102) error.

Environment Details

· OS: Windows Server 2022

· OS Build: OS Build 14393.9234

· Windows Update Installed: KB5094128

· Microsoft Office: (e.g., Microsoft 365 Apps)

· Application Type: VB6 client using COM automation

Problem Description

After installing Windows update KB5094128, Microsoft Word displays an unexpected password prompt when opening documents programmatically via a VB6 application.

This occurs specifically when using the FileOpen method with password parameters:

VisualBasic:

_gobjMSWord.FileOpen Name:=sFilename, __

_ReadOnly:=IIf(bReadOnly, 1, 0), __

_AddToMru:=0, __

_PasswordDoc:=sPassword, __

PasswordDot:=sPassword

After password prompt, the below error is encountered

Key Observations

· Issue occurs only after KB5094128 installation

· Happens only via COM automation (VB6)

· Password prompt appears even when password is correct.

· Removing the Windows update resolves the issue

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install update KB5094128

2. Launch VB6 application

3. Execute code using FileOpen with password parameters

4. Word launches

5. Password prompt appears unexpectedly

Expected Result

Word should:

· Open the document directly using provided password

· Not display any interactive prompt

Actual Result

· Word shows a password dialog

· Automation is blocked

· VB6 application may hang or fail

Impact

· Breaks legacy document automation workflows

· Requires manual intervention (not feasible in production)

· Impacts business-critical processes

Regression Confirmation

· Issue introduced after KB5094128

· Resolved when update is uninstalled

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Answer 1

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum, and we are not Microsoft Support. Moderators here do not have backend access and cannot directly intervene in Microsoft systems or perform escalations. We can only share guidance and best-practice recommendations based on known information.

Hi @Shankaranarayanan Vinayagam

I’m really sorry for the inconvenience this issue has caused to you and your business operations, I understand how disruptive this can be.

From what I’ve gathered so far, Microsoft is already aware of this issue and is actively working on a fix. The fix will be included in a future Windows update.

As a temporary workaround, you could consider:

As you mentioned, the issue resolved when update is uninstalled. you can uninstall the update.
Open the application or document directly instead of launching it from the affected third-party application.

Ref: June 9, 2026—KB5094128 (OS Build 20348.5256) - Microsoft Support

If this is impacting your production environment, I would strongly recommend opening a support ticket with Microsoft so the issue can be properly investigated and prioritized.

Again, apologies for the inconvenience, and thank you very much for your patience.

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