Fix Windows Crashing Problem Due to OpenVPN Driver Vulnerabilities

Are you regarding a blue handle collision mapped to OpenVPN in your VPN prayer? It stems from an OpenVPN motorist susceptibility and also needs a spot from the original resource. Because virtually all colossal VPN couriers consumption the OpenVPN strategy, your Windows machine can encounter this natural misstep. Beneath’s how to detect this misstep once it arises and also evade a malefic PC collision.

OpenVPN Crashing Windows: How Ordinary Is It?

OpenVPN is commonly offered in VPN executions. In June 2025, a natural buffer runoff imperfection was located in OpenVPN’s documents channel offload (DCO) motorist – “ovpn-dco-win,” causing blue handle of casualty crashes.

This isn’t the initially time. OpenVPN’s plugin product owns long been a weak spot, permitting personal code task or privilege rise missteps. In 2024, Microsoft located four imperfections (CVE-2024-27459, CVE-2024-24974, CVE-2024-27903, CVE-2024-1305), by means of the last causing a recollection runoff in the Windows TAP motorist, spearheading to a rejection-of-solution (DoS) unhappiness.

If you consumption a VPN thing and also bundle it to takeoff on product reboot, you can sprinted proper into this misstep if you haven’t modernized the OpenVPN patient to its latest spot, “OpenVPN 2.7_alpha2” and also overhead. Your VPN solution agent have to confiscate treatment of this spot repair in its own Windows patient, so streamline your VPN as soon as imaginable.

The DCO motorist aesthetic designs after documents packet job like encryption, decryption, and also routing, sending them from individual suspension to the Windows diminutive tad. Unalike WireGuard, OpenVPN’s DCO operates in diminutive tad suspension. The crashes predominantly confiscate suspension offered that these components interact very closely by means of the operating product.

Past diminutive tad-level malware mishaps showed how gained service these hassles are to confiscate treatment of, and also CVE-2025-50054’s malformed packages collect crashes due to undervalued-level recollection missteps.

Situate and also Immobilize OpenVPN Drivers in Your Windows PC

If you lug out not consumption OpenVPN, you can preserve it incapacitated. Your VPN patient can mount its vehicle licensed operators, so uncover out if your product owns them.

Amenable the File Traveler. Get compelled in “C:WindowsSystem32Drivers.” Peek for OpenVPN fulfilling vehicle licensed operators such as the DCO motorist – “ovpn-dco.sys.”

Unalike other at hazard OpenVPN vehicle licensed operators require the TAP-Windows Adapter V9, “tapwindows6.sys,” the Wintun motorist, “wintun.sys,” and also conversed to tube interfaces, such as “\.tubeopenvpn.”

You can position these vehicle licensed operators in Builder Boss. In the Sprinted command, kind devmgmt.msc and also attend Network Adapters. You have to browse through OpenVPN adapters on your product, such as the DCO and also TAP-Windows Adapter V9, gambled out proper here.

If you yearn to listing all unseen OpenVPN vehicle licensed operators in your product, amenable PowerShell in comptroller position. Now, go into the obeying command:

Get-WmiObject Win32_SystemDriver | Where-Object { $_.Name -like "*ovpn*" -or $_.Name -like "*tap*" } | Select-Object Name, State, PathName, StartMode

After this, you can opt to uninstall the OpenVPN prayer and also acquire rid of all its vehicle licensed operators by hand. Periodically, they be bold also after you uninstalled the prayer.

On a VPN patient like NordVPN or ExpressVPN, if you lug out not setup on capitalizing OpenVPN, switch to WireGuard.

Pertinent: OpenVPN’s intricate codebase, legacy vehicle licensed operators, unprivileged procedures, and also sluggish-sliding spot passage give it especially hazardous on Windows. That’s why Windows folk have to switch to WireGuard instead of OpenVPN.

Ban OpenVPN Lorry motorist’s Schedule to Your PC Consents

OpenVPN’s adaptability and also deep OS integration give it susceptible to undervalued-level parasites that can have high-burden capital, especially on Windows.

To evade it, you can constrain the disfigured OpenVPN Lorry motorist’s Schedule to Fine-tune Consents (this solution makes sure you donned’t have to uninstall your VPN patient).

Amenable PowerShell in comptroller position, and also kind the obeying:

$driverPath = "C:WindowsSystem32driversovpn-dco.sys"
icacls $driverPath /inheritance:r
icacls $driverPath /grant:r "SYSTEM:R" "Administrators:R"
icacls $driverPath /deny "Everyone:W"

The command overhead brings rid of inherited permissions to block sudden access. It just as refutes write access to every individual, encompassing unprivileged folk and also malware, guaranteing that a motorist failure won’t authority your product.

In the previous reaction, we saw how to listing all unseen OpenVPN vehicle licensed operators. You can persist the command overhead by means of a mild edit in motorist training course to just as rob access to them. Beneath, we are refuting access to the TAP-Windows Adapter V9, “tapwindows6.sys.”

Pertinent: learn how to mount OpenVPN in Windows.

Supervise BSoD Crashes Induced by OpenVPN Drivers

Even yet OpenVPN patches are launched immediately, dozen of folk lag behind in improves. There is a proactive approach to handle these crashes donned’t confiscate suspension. Initially, download a energy conversed to Blue Sport Perceive, and also mount it as confirmed in this overview.

Now, amenable PowerShell in comptroller position and also sprinted the obeying manuscript as confirmed. Equalize the $nirDir training course by means of the actual training course of the folder wherein you have the prayer mounted. It checks for recent collision dumps and also flags any kind of that listing OpenVPN-fulfilling vehicle licensed operators as the main collect.

# Set path to your BlueScreenView directory (update if needed)
$nirDir = "C:ToolsBlueScreenView"  # ← Change this to your actual path
$csvPath = "$nirDirbsod.csv"

# Monitoring loop
while ($true) {
    # Run BlueScreenView in command-line mode and export to CSV
    Start-Process -FilePath "$nirDirBlueScreenView.exe" -ArgumentList "/scomma `"$csvPath`"" -Wait

    # Import and analyze results
    $bsods = Import-Csv $csvPath -Header Dumpfile, Timestamp, Reason, Errorcode, Param1, Param2, Param3, Param4, CausedByDriver

    $recent = $bsods | Where-Object {
        ($_.Timestamp -as [datetime]) -gt (Get-Date).AddMinutes(-10) -and
        $_.CausedByDriver -match "ovpn|tap|wintun"
    }

    if ($recent) {
        Write-Warning "⚠️ BSOD caused by OpenVPN-related driver in last 10 minutes!"
        $recent | Format-Table -AutoSize
    } else {
        Write-Host "✅ No recent OpenVPN-related BSODs."
    }

    Start-Sleep -Seconds 600  # Wait 10 minutes before checking again
}

As confirmed in the overhead expire results abode window, definitely no recent instances of BSoD crashes due to OpenVPN were located.

Recommendation: Windows itself have to unleash a fast spot to plug in the crashes due to executions like OpenVPN. Consultation our monthly Windows streamline overview to handle and also evade all imaginable BSoD crashes affecting the product.

Use Software Constraint Schemes for OpenVPN Drivers

On a Windows Pro/Enterprise machine, you can consumption software constraint news of ideas in the Urban Team Testament of referral Editor to block the OpenVPN vehicle licensed operators from executing randomly without your authorization.

Amenable Team Testament of referral Editor from Sprinted command by keying “gpedit.msc.” Get compelled in Computer system Arrangement -> Windows Placements -> Insurance coverage Placements -> Software Constraint Schemes -> Secondary Concepts.

Right-click on the last one to pick Brand-new-fashioned Route Directive.

In the pop-upward abode window that opens upward, plagiarize-paste the motorist’s training course. In this instance, we have plagiarize-pasted the motorist training course for OpenVPN’s DCO. Pick Barred, and also then Apply -> OK. Now persist this strategy for all the other vehicle licensed operators.

As diminutive tad suspension vehicle licensed operators in OpenVPN preserve session identify also after you uninstall the prayer, they are a prime collect of crashing Windows during a startup. By obeying the overhead strategies, you can evade the derogatory misstep. Peeking for a new-fashioned VPN thing? Consultation the crucial standards that they have to accomplish.