Symptoms
When you run a MERGE statement that has a large object (LOB) column in Microsoft SQL Server 2016, 2017, or 2019, you notice that it fails at random times. Additionally, you may receive an assert that resembles "Attempt to access expired blob handle (1)."
Status
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.
Resolution
This issue is fixed in the following cumulative updates for SQL Server:
About cumulative updates for SQL Server:
Each new cumulative update for SQL Server contains all the hotfixes and all the security fixes that were included with the previous cumulative update. Check out the latest cumulative updates for SQL Server:
References
Learn about the terminology that Microsoft uses to describe software updates.
