Managing May’s 139 Updates: Why Split RMM Tools Are Your Biggest Risk

It’s May, and for IT teams and MSPs, that means one thing: the scramble is on. Microsoft just dropped 139 updates covering Windows, Office, .NET, and SQL Server. While the absence of zero-day exploits might feel like a temporary reprieve, don’t be fooled. This Patch Tuesday is loaded with three unauthenticated network Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerabilities—specifically targeting Netlogon, DNS Client, and the SSO Plugin for Jira and Confluence.

Add in four Word Preview Pane RCEs, a cluster of TCP/IP vulnerabilities, and that persistent BitLocker recovery condition still haunting Windows 10 and Server, and you have a recipe for a very long weekend. The recommendation is clear: an accelerated deployment schedule starting with internet-facing services, domain controllers, and Office endpoints.

But here is the reality for the sysadmin or MSP tech staring down this list: you aren't just fighting vulnerabilities. You're fighting your own toolstack.

The Problem in Depth: Tool Sprawl Kills Speed

For most IT operations, the "Patch Now" workflow is a fragmented nightmare. You see the update alerts in one dashboard (or an email), log into your RMM console to deploy the patch, switch to a remote access tool to troubleshoot if a machine hangs, and then manually update a ticket in your helpdesk to close the loop.

This architecture creates dangerous gaps:

• The "Swivel Chair" Delay: Every time you switch between a monitoring console and a separate RMM tool, you lose momentum. When you're dealing with 139 updates, that overhead adds up to hours of wasted time.
• Siloed Context: Your RMM knows the patch was deployed, but does your monitoring tool know if the service restarted successfully? If the Netlogon service fails post-patch on a Domain Controller, does your helpdesk ticket automatically re-open? In disconnected environments, the answer is usually no.
• Reactionary Mode: With unauthenticated RCEs active on the network, speed is everything. Legacy tooling that requires manual intervention to script, deploy, and verify simply cannot keep up with the accelerated deployment schedules required for threats like the TCP/IP vulnerability cluster.

This isn't just annoying; it's a liability. It leads to SLA breaches, increased ticket volume from end-users affected by reboot loops, and technician burnout from the constant context switching.

How AlertMonitor Solves This

AlertMonitor eliminates the chaos of tool sprawl by integrating RMM capabilities directly into the monitoring platform. We don't just show you that a server needs an update; we give you the controls to fix it without ever leaving the screen.

Unified Workflow: When AlertMonitor detects a missing patch relevant to the May release—perhaps on a critical internet-facing IIS server—you can immediately initiate the remediation. There is no exporting lists to a separate RMM or opening a new tab. You run the patch job directly from the alert context.

Closed-Loop Remediation: Because our RMM, monitoring, and helpdesk are one and the same, the timeline is shared. When a technician runs a script to enforce a Windows Update, that action is logged alongside the monitoring data. If the patch fails or triggers a BitLocker recovery prompt, the alert updates instantly, and the ticket reflects the new status. You get full accountability without the manual data entry.

Targeted Action: With dynamic grouping, you can instantly isolate those "Internet-facing services" and "Domain Controllers" mentioned in the Readiness team’s advice and push the critical security updates to them first, rather than waiting for a global policy to hit every workstation.

Practical Steps: Accelerating Your May Deployment

Don't let the volume of updates paralyze your response. Use this workflow in AlertMonitor to tackle the high-priority RCEs and patch clusters immediately.

1. Identify High-Priority Assets

Create a dynamic group in AlertMonitor for "Domain Controllers" and "Internet-Facing" assets. This ensures you are addressing the Netlogon and DNS Client RCEs first.

2. Verify Patch Compliance with PowerShell

Before deploying, run a quick compliance check across your Windows endpoints to see which KBs are missing. You can run this script directly via the AlertMonitor RMM console against your target groups:

# Check for specific May Patch Tuesday KBs (Example KBs - replace with actual May KBs)
$RequiredKBs = @("KB5035853", "KB5035855") 
$Session = New-Object -ComObject Microsoft.Update.Session
$Searcher = $Session.CreateUpdateSearcher()
$HistoryCount = $Searcher.GetTotalHistoryCount()
$History = $Searcher.QueryHistory(0, $HistoryCount)

$InstalledKBs = $History | Where-Object { $_.Title -match "KB\d+" } | 
    ForEach-Object { if($_.Title -match "(KB\d+)") { $matches[1] } }

foreach ($KB in $RequiredKBs) {
    if ($KB -in $InstalledKBs) {
        Write-Output "Compliant: $KB is installed."
    } else {
        Write-Output "WARNING: $KB is missing on this endpoint."
    }
}

3. Force Update Detection and Install

Once you've identified the outliers, trigger a detection cycle and install updates. In a standard environment, you might need PSExec or a specific agent. In AlertMonitor, you execute the script via the integrated RMM runner:

# Trigger Windows Update to check for new updates immediately
$AutoUpdate = New-Object -ComObject Microsoft.Update.AutoUpdate
$AutoUpdate.DetectNow()

# Force a check via WMI for older legacy endpoints if needed
Invoke-Expression "wuauclt /detectnow"

4. Verify Critical Services

With the Netlogon and DNS vulnerabilities in play, ensure these services are running correctly after the reboot cycle:

$Services = @("Netlogon", "DnsCache")

foreach ($ServiceName in $Services) {
    $Service = Get-Service -Name $ServiceName -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($Service) {
        if ($Service.Status -ne 'Running') {
            Write-Output "Alert: $ServiceName is not running. Attempting to start..."
            Start-Service -Name $ServiceName -ErrorAction Stop
            Write-Output "Success: $ServiceName started."
        } else {
            Write-Output "OK: $ServiceName is running."
        }
    } else {
        Write-Output "Error: $ServiceName not found on this system."
    }
}

By centralizing these actions, you turn a 139-update headache into a controlled, automated process. Stop switching tabs and start resolving.

Related Resources

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