Microsoft has confirmed an ongoing issue affecting Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) servers, leading to extended synchronization times and operational timeouts. This problem, which began in recent days with a noticeable increase in impact starting July 13, 2026, prevents IT administrators from deploying the latest Windows updates via WSUS or Configuration Manager.
WSUS, a service designed to help organizations manage and distribute Microsoft product updates from a local server, typically synchronizes with Microsoft Update servers daily to retrieve update metadata. However, affected servers are unable to complete this synchronization, impacting both client platforms (Windows 10, version 1607 and later) and server platforms (Windows Server 2012 and later).
Microsoft has implemented initial mitigation measures on Saturday, July 18, 2026, which have reportedly restored normal synchronization times and operations for newly installed or rebuilt WSUS servers. However, the company is still developing additional mitigations for existing WSUS servers that were previously affected and continue to experience synchronization difficulties.
The company stated that it is working on steps to help customers safely remove affected metadata from their environments on these previously impacted servers.
This is not the first time WSUS has encountered issues. In May of the previous year, Microsoft addressed a similar problem that caused errors for enterprise customers attempting to update Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2. Additionally, in July 2025, an issue preventing WSUS from syncing with Microsoft Update for the deployment of the latest updates was resolved. A month later, in August 2025, another problem that blocked the delivery of the August 2025 security update via WSUS was also fixed.
