The Redmond company has released monthly security updates KB5068861 and KB5067112 which, in addition to bringing fixes and improvements to the operating system, have the functioning of the KMS38 method was definitively interrupted. This is an unofficial activation system that for years allowed the official Windows licenses to be circumvented, exploiting a mechanism that artificially extended the activation period of the Key Management Service until January 19, 2038, well beyond the canonical 180 days provided by standard KMS technology.
The operation of KMS38 was based on aalteration of the GatherOSstate executable filecomponent used by the system to verify suitability for the update. By manipulating this file, it was possible to extend the validity of the activation until the deadline imposed by the Y2K38 superbug, i.e. the moment in which 32-bit systems will reach their maximum time value. The MASSGRAVE project, which provided scripts to implement KMS38, has confirmed that the method has stopped working with newer patches.
Microsoft had started a gradual phase-out process as early as Windows build 26040, released in January 2024, when the gatherosstate.exe executable was removed from the installation media. The immediate consequence was that cumulative updates and fresh installations reset the KMS period, requiring a new connection to a legitimate KMS server. With October’s optional KB5067036 update, GatherOSstate functionality has been completely deprecatedmaking the KMS38 permanently unusable on all newer versions of the operating system.
The developers of MASSGRAVE have communicated that users who have relied on KMS38 in the past should now move towards other unofficial activation methods which are still operational. It is worth noting that the use of unauthorized activation systems is a violation of Microsoft’s license terms and represents a practice that poses legal and security risks for users. Purchasing an official license remains the only legitimate way to use Windows and receive full support from the company.
