“FME EXE has stopped working” after Updating Windows 7 / Server 2008 R2 / Windows 10

Problem

Users running Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 operating systems after using Windows Update to install KB4056894 and/or KB4056897 – to address the Meltdown / Spectre vulnerabilities – have experienced an error or crash dialog after running some translations in FME 64-bit with Esri ArcGIS 64-bit Background Geoprocessing or Esri ArcGIS Server installed. These translations may have previously completed without issue.

Note that this issue has not been reported to occur with FME 32-bit.
 

Symptom

After running a translation in FME 64-bit that leverages some Esri formats (for example, Esri Geodatabase), users will observe the following dialog to appear after the translation completes:

FME EXE has stopped working
Problem Event Name: BEX64
Application Name: fme.exe
Fault Module Name: StackHash_2264
 

Solution

There are two known resolutions available to date:

1. Uninstall / Remove KB4056894 and/or KB4056897. Please note that as these patches have been specifically designed to prevent the vulnerabilities exposed by the Meltdown and Spectre exploits, we recommend that you discuss this option with your systems administrator and evaluate your network security before removing these patches.

2. Install the relevant patches for your version of ArcGIS Server or ArcGIS Engine / ArcGIS Desktop 64-bit Background Geoprocessing. Please note that as these patches have been released by Esri, we recommend that you contact your local Esri supplier or support channel to discuss and evaluate if applying this patch is the best course of action.