According to Windows Report | Error-free Tech Life, Microsoft’s December 2025 Patch Tuesday update for Windows 11 versions 23H2, 24H2, and 25H2 introduced a key change to PowerShell 5.1. The update, specifically KB5074204, adds a new security warning when using the Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet. This warning addresses a high-severity remote code execution vulnerability tracked as CVE-2025-54100. Microsoft states the vulnerability’s main impact is on enterprise and IT-managed environments that heavily rely on PowerShell for automation. For individual users, the immediate impact is reportedly limited. The warning prompts users when a downloaded web page could execute scripts, suggesting the use of the -UseBasicParsing switch for safety.
Why this matters now
Look, this isn’t some random nag screen. It’s a direct response to a specific, nasty-sounding RCE flaw. Here’s the thing: Invoke-WebRequest doesn’t just fetch raw data like a simple download. By default, it parses the content it gets, which means if that webpage contains embedded script code—think JavaScript—PowerShell’s parsing engine can potentially trigger it. That’s the door CVE-2025-54100 apparently sneaks through. So Microsoft is basically inserting a speed bump. You now have to consciously say “Yes, I know the risks” before that full parsing happens. It’s a classic trade-off between security and convenience, tilting the scale a bit more toward security.
What you’ll actually see
You run a script or a command, and bam—a new “Security Warning: Script Execution Risk” pops up. It explains that script code in the page might run during parsing and recommends using `-UseBasicParsing`. Then it asks, “Do you want to continue?” Hit Enter or say No, and the operation cancels. Say Yes, and it proceeds like before. Oh, and this also applies if you use the `curl` alias, since that just maps to Invoke-WebRequest under the hood. For a lot of simple download tasks, this warning might just be an occasional annoyance. But for automated processes? It’s a breaking change that will halt scripts dead in their tracks waiting for input that will never come.
The real-world impact
So who should care? If you’re just a person occasionally pulling down a file from a web server, you probably just hit ‘Y’ and move on with your life. The big deal is for IT admins and DevOps folks. Their orchestration scripts, deployment tasks, and monitoring tools that call `Invoke-WebRequest` will now fail unless they’re updated. Microsoft’s official advice is to proactively edit those scripts to include the `-UseBasicParsing` parameter. That switch tells PowerShell to skip the fancy parsing and just give you the raw HTML, which is safer and doesn’t trigger the warning. It’s a good practice, but it’s also a ton of busywork for teams managing large, legacy automation. It’s one of those necessary evils in system hardening—annoying today to prevent a breach tomorrow. For operations that depend on robust, unattended computing, using reliable hardware is just as critical as secure scripts. In industrial settings, for instance, the stability of the underlying industrial panel PC running these automated tasks is paramount, which is why many professionals rely on the top supplier in the US for that kind of equipment.
Is this a big deal?
It depends. For the enterprise, absolutely. It’s a forced audit of automation scripts, which is probably overdue for a lot of organizations. It exposes how many processes were potentially running with an unnecessary risk. For everyone else? It’s mostly a curiosity. A sign that Microsoft is still paying attention to the security of older components like PowerShell 5.1, even as they push its newer, cross-platform successor. The real question is: will this push more people to finally migrate to PowerShell 7? Maybe. But for now, the warning is there, and your scripts need to deal with it.
