19 Jul 202404:09 UTC
Turning point
Faulty Channel File 291 update published
CrowdStrike said a Rapid Response Content update meant to gather telemetry on new threat techniques was published to Windows hosts running Falcon sensor 7.11 and above.
Incident
How the 2024 CrowdStrike outage unfolded
On July 19, 2024, a faulty content update to CrowdStrike's Falcon sensor caused Windows computers worldwide to crash, disrupting airlines, banks, hospitals and other businesses. Microsoft estimated about 8.5 million Windows devices were affected. CrowdStrike published a root cause analysis and testified to Congress, and courts have since dismissed passenger and shareholder suits while Delta Air Lines' suit continues.
19 July 2024 to today · 18 dated events · 13 sources
Where it stands now · as of 31 October 2026
Delta's lawsuit against CrowdStrike is in discovery in the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division after a May 2025 ruling let part of it proceed, CrowdStrike reported in August 2026. The shareholder suit ended in a final judgment in January 2026, and the Fifth Circuit affirmed dismissal of the passenger suit in May 2026.
Windows devices affected8.5 millionMicrosoft estimate, under 1% of Windows machines
faulty update live78 minutes04:09 to 05:27 UTC per CrowdStrike
Delta's claimed cost$500 millionDelta's estimate of lost revenue and extra expenses
Delta flights canceled7,000about 7,000 over five days, per AP
Overview · 19 Jul 2024 to 20 May 2026 · click a dot to jump
2024
19 Jul 202404:09 UTC
Windows hosts begin to crash
According to CrowdStrike, Windows hosts that were online and received the update crashed with a blue screen. Mac and Linux hosts were not affected.
19 Jul 202405:27 UTC
CrowdStrike reverts the update
CrowdStrike said the defect was reverted at 05:27 UTC, and Channel File 291 versions timestamped 0527 UTC or later were the good version. Machines that had already crashed needed remediation.
20 Jul 2024
Microsoft estimates 8.5 million devices hit
Microsoft vice president David Weston wrote that the update affected about 8.5 million Windows devices, which he described as less than one percent of all Windows machines.
22 Jul 2024
Automated fixes begin
CrowdStrike later told Congress that automated recovery techniques became available from July 22, alongside manual remediation and staff deployed to customers.
23 Jul 2024
DOT investigates Delta's recovery
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the Department of Transportation had opened an investigation into Delta Air Lines' handling of the disruption and its treatment of passengers.
“We have made clear to Delta that they must take care of their passengers and honor their customer service commitments.”Pete Buttigieg, US Transportation Secretary, Atlanta News First
24 Jul 2024
Preliminary post incident review published
CrowdStrike published a preliminary review committing to expanded testing, staggered canary deployments, customer control over update timing and independent code reviews.
24 Jul 2024
Over 97% of sensors back online
CrowdStrike said more than 97% of Windows sensors were online as of 5 p.m. Pacific time, compared with before the update.
29 Jul 2024
About 99% of sensors back online
In its final post incident measurement, CrowdStrike said about 99% of Windows sensors were online compared with the week before, noting a typical weekly variance of about 1%.
6 Aug 2024
Turning point
CrowdStrike publishes root cause analysis
CrowdStrike said a mismatch between the 20 input fields the sensor expected and the 21 the update supplied caused an out of bounds memory read. It said a third party review confirmed the bug could not be exploited by a threat actor.
“The sensor expected 20 input fields, while the update provided 21 input fields.”CrowdStrike root cause analysis, CrowdStrike
24 Sep 2024
CrowdStrike executive testifies to House panel
Adam Meyers testified before the House Homeland Security subcommittee on cybersecurity, chaired by Andrew Garbarino. He apologized and said the incident was not a cyberattack but was caused by a CrowdStrike rapid response content update.
“On behalf of everyone at CrowdStrike, I want to apologize.”Adam Meyers, CrowdStrike, House Committee on Homeland Security
25 Oct 2024
Turning point
Delta sues CrowdStrike in Georgia
Delta sued CrowdStrike in Fulton County Superior Court, alleging among other things computer trespass, breach of contract and gross negligence. Delta said the outage cost more than $500 million, and AP reported about 7,000 canceled flights over five days.
25 Oct 2024
CrowdStrike files its own federal suit
CrowdStrike filed a declaratory judgment suit against Delta in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on the same day, according to the court docket.
22 Nov 2024
CrowdStrike drops its federal suit
After Delta moved to dismiss, CrowdStrike filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of its Northern District of Georgia suit, and the case was terminated on November 25, 2024, the docket shows.
2025
16 May 2025
Judge lets most of Delta's case proceed
Judge Kelly Lee Ellerbe allowed Delta's negligence and computer trespass claims to proceed and dismissed claims of intentional misrepresentation and fraud by omission, according to the order as reported by The Register. CrowdStrike described the ruling as granting its motion to dismiss in part.
18 Jun 2025
Passenger lawsuit dismissed
US District Judge Robert Pitman in the Western District of Texas dismissed a consolidated class action by airline passengers whose flights were delayed or canceled and entered final judgment. The plaintiffs appealed to the Fifth Circuit on June 25, 2025.
2026
12 Jan 2026
Shareholder suit dismissed
The federal court in Austin granted CrowdStrike's motion to dismiss a securities class action led by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The plaintiffs said they would not amend, final judgment was entered on January 28, 2026, and no appeal was filed, according to CrowdStrike.
20 May 2026
Fifth Circuit affirms passenger dismissal
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the passengers' class action and on June 15, 2026 denied rehearing, CrowdStrike reported in its August 2026 quarterly filing.
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Sources
13 records, ranked by type- 1Subject's own statement29 Jul 2024Falcon Content Update Remediation and Guidance HubCrowdStrike · crowdstrike.com
- 2Subject's own statement24 Jul 2024Preliminary Post Incident Review, Executive SummaryCrowdStrike · crowdstrike.com
- 3Subject's own statement6 Aug 2024Channel File 291 Incident Root Cause Analysis, Executive SummaryCrowdStrike · crowdstrike.com
- 4Subject's own statement20 Jul 2024Helping our customers through the CrowdStrike outageMicrosoft · blogs.microsoft.com
- 5Subject's own statement24 Sep 2024Testimony of Adam Meyers, CrowdStrike, before the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure ProtectionHouse Committee on Homeland Security · homeland.house.gov
- 6News report23 Jul 2024Investigation opened into Delta's response to global CrowdStrike outageAtlanta News First · atlantanewsfirst.com
- 7Social media post25 Oct 2024Delta sues cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike over tech outage that canceled flightsAssociated Press via News4Jax · news4jax.com
- 8News report21 May 2025Judge allows Delta's lawsuit against CrowdStrike to proceedThe Register · theregister.com
- 9News report14 Jan 2026CrowdStrike Defeats Shareholder Lawsuit Over Huge Software OutageInsurance Journal · insurancejournal.com
- 10Official record24 Sep 2024An Outage Strikes: Assessing the Global Impact of CrowdStrike's Faulty Software Update, Serial No. 118-81US Government Publishing Office (House hearing record) · govinfo.gov
- 11Official record25 Nov 2024CrowdStrike, Inc. v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 1:24-cv-04904 (N.D. Ga.), docketCourtListener (RECAP docket) · courtlistener.com
- 12Subject's own statement27 Aug 2026CrowdStrike Holdings Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31, 2026, Note 11 Commitments and ContingenciesCrowdStrike via SEC EDGAR · sec.gov
- 13Subject's own statement5 Mar 2026CrowdStrike Holdings Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 2026, Note 10 Commitments and ContingenciesCrowdStrike via SEC EDGAR · sec.gov
Last updated 31 October 2026. Spotted an error? See corrections. Every event links to the record it comes from. Allegations are attributed to whoever made them.