Slow system performance when defense against heap spraying is enabled in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012

Article ID: 2770397 - View products that this article applies to.
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Symptoms

When you enable defense against heap spraying because of a memory usage spike on a computer that is running Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012, you may experience slow system performance.
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Cause

This issue occurs because of a new feature in Windows 8. If the number of allocations for the bucket crosses a specific threshold in the Low Fragmentation Heap (LFH), the new feature avoids reusing sub segments that are more than 75 percent full. This new feature can result in increased memory usage in several applications if they reach this threshold under regular use.
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Resolution

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing the problem described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix Download Available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft website:
http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support
(http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)
Note The "Hotfix Download Available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, you must be running Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012.

Registry information

To use the hotfix in this package, you do not have to make any changes to the registry.

Restart requirement

You need to restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace a previously released hotfix.

File information

The global version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables. The dates and the times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time (DST) bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files.
Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 file information note
Important Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 updates are included in the same packages.
  • The files that apply to a specific product, milestone (RTM,SPn), and service branch (LDR, GDR) can be identified by examining the file version numbers as shown in the following table:
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    VersionProductMilestoneService branch
    6.2.920 0.20 xxxWindows 8 and Windows Server 2012RTMLDR
  • The MANIFEST files (.manifest) that are installed for each environment are listed separately in the "Additional file information for Windows 8 and for Windows Server 2012" section. MANIFEST files and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are extremely important to maintain the state of the updated components. The security catalog files, for which the attributes are not listed, are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.
For all supported x86-based versions of Windows 8
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File nameFile versionFile sizeDateTimePlatform
Ntdll.dll6.2.9200.205351,472,89612-Oct-201206:46x86
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For all supported x64-based versions of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
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File nameFile versionFile sizeDateTimePlatform
Ntdll.dll6.2.9200.205351,825,20812-Oct-201207:57x64
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Status

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.
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More information

For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
824684
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824684/ )
Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

Additional file information

Additional file information for Windows 8 and for Windows Server 2012

Additional files for all supported x86-based versions of Windows 8
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File nameX86_de4dca4ddadde83c6aac3d191f2b7f31_31bf3856ad364e35_6.2.9200.20535_none_a22f99f3fa6dd79e.manifest
File versionNot applicable
File size693
Date (UTC)12-Oct-2012
Time (UTC)19:04
PlatformNot applicable
File nameX86_microsoft-windows-ntdll_31bf3856ad364e35_6.2.9200.20535_none_564298b9e6889b6a.manifest
File versionNot applicable
File size3,863
Date (UTC)12-Oct-2012
Time (UTC)06:57
PlatformNot applicable
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Additional files for all supported x64-based versions of Windows 8 and of Windows Server 2012
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File nameAmd64_53d79539df31a86c3c152c69ef92ee57_31bf3856ad364e35_6.2.9200.20535_none_3b36cb4ab0b87eba.manifest
File versionNot applicable
File size697
Date (UTC)12-Oct-2012
Time (UTC)19:04
PlatformNot applicable
File nameAmd64_fb03dc2b0fc974b93e822570711800d4_31bf3856ad364e35_6.2.9200.20535_none_b5e2450fd671c00c.manifest
File versionNot applicable
File size697
Date (UTC)12-Oct-2012
Time (UTC)19:04
PlatformNot applicable
File nameAmd64_microsoft-windows-ntdll_31bf3856ad364e35_6.2.9200.20535_none_b261343d9ee60ca0.manifest
File versionNot applicable
File size3,867
Date (UTC)12-Oct-2012
Time (UTC)08:18
PlatformNot applicable
File nameWow64_microsoft-windows-ntdll_31bf3856ad364e35_6.2.9200.20535_none_bcb5de8fd346ce9b.manifest
File versionNot applicable
File size3,627
Date (UTC)12-Oct-2012
Time (UTC)06:57
PlatformNot applicable
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Properties

Article ID: 2770397 - Last Review: November 14, 2012 - Revision: 1.0
Applies to
  • Windows 8
  • Windows 8 Pro
  • Windows 8 Enterprise
  • Windows Server 2012 Datacenter
  • Windows Server 2012 Essentials
  • Windows Server 2012 Foundation
  • Windows Server 2012 Standard
Keywords: 
kbautohotfix kbqfe kbhotfixserver kbfix kbsurveynew kbexpertiseadvanced KB2770397
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