Exceptions in System.Security.Cryptography.Xml.Reference.LoadXml after you install the February 2018 .NET Framework Preview of Quality Rollup updates for Windows 7 SP1, Server 2008 R2 SP1, and Server 2008 SP2

Microsoft .NET Framework applications might experience System.Security.Cryptography.Xml.Reference.LoadXml exception errors after you install the February 2018 .NET Framework Preview of Quality Rollup updates for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1), and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (SP2).

After you install the February 2018 .NET Framework Preview of Quality Rollup updates for Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 SP2, customers who are running .NET Framework application receive the following exception error messages: 

To work around this issue, use the following method:

1. In Control Panel, open the Windows Update item, and then select View update history.
2. In the Review your update history list, locate and select Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1 (KB4073701). Then, select Uninstall.
3. When you are prompted for confirmation to uninstall, select Yes.
4. Restart your computer if you are prompted to do this.

The affected updates were removed from Windows Update, WSUS, and Microsoft Update Catalog as of February 23, 2018. Microsoft is working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release. We recommend that you uninstall these updates from affected systems until a resolution is available. (See the "Workaround" section.)

The following releases are affected by this issue:

4074805 February 2018 Preview of the Quality Rollups for .NET Framework 3.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, and 4.7.1 for Windows 7 SP1 and Server 2008 R2 SP1 (KB 4074805)

4074808 February 2018 Preview of the Quality Rollups for .NET Framework 2.0 SP2, 3.0 SP2, 4.5.2, and 4.6 for Windows Server 2008 SP2 (KB 4074808)