RD Web Access fails to load when XSLT is disabled in Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome

Applies To
Windows Server 2016 Windows Server 2019 Windows Server 2022 Windows Server 2025

Original publish date: October 6, 2026
KB ID: 5130994

Symptoms

When you browse to a Remote Desktop Services (RDS) RD Web Access website, the page might fail to load and display an error message that resembles the following:

Unable to display RD Web Access

An unexpected error has occurred that is preventing this page from being displayed correctly.

This issue might occur in Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome when Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT) support is disabled through browser policy. Industry-wide, browsers are moving away from XSLT in favor of more secure alternatives. The symptoms described here are not issues to be solved but necessary effects of this global hardening effort.

Cause

RD Web Access uses client-side XSLT processing to render the web interface. Because this functionality depends on the browser's XSLT processor, disabling XSLT through browser policy prevents RD Web Access from rendering correctly by design.

Workaround

To temporarily work around this issue, use one of the following workarounds.

Workaround 1: Re-enable XSLT in Microsoft Edge or Chrome

Enabling XSLT restores the browser functionality required by RD Web Access. temporarily re-enable XSLT processing on the client device by configuring the XSLTEnabled policy value to 1. Or re-enable XSLT processing by Group Policy. To re-enable through the registry, do one of the following.

  • For Microsoft Edge, run the following command from an elevated Command Prompt window:

    reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge" /v XSLTEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

  • For Chrome, run the following command from an elevated Command Prompt window:

    reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome" /v XSLTEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

After updating the policy:

  1. Restart Microsoft Edge or Chrome as appropriate.

  2. Browse to the RD Web Access site.

  3. Verify that the page loads correctly.

Workaround 2: Use HTML5 web client to get your rdp files

To learn how to set up the web client, see Set up the Remote Desktop web client for your users.

  1. Browse to the HTML5 web client. For example, browse to https://rdweb_server_FQDN/RDWeb/webclient/index.html.

  2. Sign in to the HTML5 website. Once you are signed in, you should see your RDP files.

  3. You can either start a remote desktop session directly in the browser or download the RDP file.

  4. To download the RDP file, select Settings in the top-right corner.
    Screenshot of the Remote Desktop web client with the Settings button highlighted in the top-right corner.

  5. In Settings, select Download the rdp file and then select OK.
    Screenshot of the Settings pane in the Remote Desktop web client with the Download the rdp file option selected.

  6. The RDP file should be downloaded to your Downloads folder.
    Screenshot of the Downloads folder in File Explorer showing the downloaded RDP file.

Workaround 3: Use Microsoft Edge in Internet Explorer mode

To learn about Internet Explorer mode, see Internet Explorer mode in Microsoft Edge.

  1. Open Microsoft Edge.
  2. Select Settings and more (...) > Settings > Default browser.
  3. Under Internet Explorer compatibility, set Allow sites to be reloaded in Internet Explorer mode (IE mode) to Allow.
  4. Next to Internet Explorer mode pages, select Add, and then add the RD Web URL.
  5. Restart Microsoft Edge if you are prompted to do so.
  6. Open the RD Web portal.

Important

When you open the RD Web portal in Internet Explorer mode for the first time, Microsoft Edge might display a permission request to allow ActiveX functionality. Select Allow. This permission enables the RD Web portal to use the signed-in user's credentials for single sign-on (SSO).

Resolution

Microsoft is working on a fix for this issue and will provide more information when it is available.

More information

RD Web Access uses XSLT to transform XML-based content into the web interface displayed in supported browsers. Disabling XSLT support through browser policy prevents this transformation, causing the RD Web Access page to fail to render.

References