MiKTeX setup utility encouters internal error during installation

[DigNative]

We are using the MiKTeX setup utility (miktexsetup_standalone) for automated deployment of MiKTeX on our systems. This automated deployment is already working fine since years on our side, but I noticed that the MiKTeX setup utility is throwing an error on all of our systems recently:

>miktexsetup_standalone.exe --shared=yes --modify-path=yes --use-registry=no --common-install=c:\apps\MiKTeX\ --package-set=complete --local-package-repository=c:\apps\miktex-packages\ --verbose install
this is MiKTeX Setup Service 4.2 (MiKTeX 21.1)
starting installer...
Loading package database...
starting package maintenance...
installation directory: c:\apps\MiKTeX\
package repository: c:\apps\miktex-packages\
visiting repository c:\apps\miktex-packages\...
repository type: local package repository
loading package repository manifest...
package repository digest: 4855bdc76af4c516884c58e8ae6c8565
going to install 196615 file(s) (4378 package(s))
extracting files from 12many.tar.lzma...
extracting files from a0poster.tar.lzma...
...
...
...
extracting files from zxjatype.tar.lzma...
extracting files from zztex.tar.lzma...
updating package manifests (c:\apps\MiKTeX\miktex/config\package-manifests.ini)...
installed 136 package manifests
visiting repository c:\apps\miktex-packages\...
repository type: local package repository
loading package repository manifest...
turning on administrator mode
MiKTeX encountered an internal error.
Data:
Source: Libraries\MiKTeX\Core\Session\texmfroot.cpp:238
MiKTeX encountered an internal error.
Info:
Source: Libraries\MiKTeX\Core\Session\texmfroot.cpp
Line: 238

Sorry, but "MiKTeX Configuration Utility" did not succeed.
log4cxx: No appender could be found for logger (initexmf).
log4cxx: Please initialize the log4cxx system properly.
initexmf: MiKTeX encountered an internal error.

I also verified that this error is not caused by our particular configuration of Windows 10 or the operating environment by setting up a virtual machine with a vanilla Windows 10 20H2 installation from the official Microsoft ISO without further configuration. The issue is reproducible there as well.

Originally posted by @DigNative in #868 (comment)

[edocevoli]

This has been fixed with miktexsetup_standalone 4.2.