**Microsoft Shares Manual Fix for WSUS Sync Delays and Timeouts, Affects Thousands of Organizations**
A critical issue affecting Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) servers has been causing headaches for IT administrators worldwide. Microsoft has acknowledged the problem and shared manual mitigations to help affected organizations fix their WSUS servers and deploy the latest Windows updates.
The known WSUS sync issue, which began impacting systems around July 13, causes synchronization times to increase or even time out completely. This results in failures to deploy the latest Windows updates via WSUS or Configuration Manager, leaving organizations vulnerable to security risks. The problem affects both client platforms (Windows 10, version 1607 and later) and server platforms (Windows Server 2012 and later).
To address this issue for newly installed or rebuilt WSUS servers, Microsoft rolled out a service-side mitigation on Saturday. However, the company also shared manual steps for customers who are still experiencing sync operation issues and timeouts to help them return their WSUS servers to normal functionality.
According to Microsoft, organizations with existing WSUS server installations that are experiencing long sync times can benefit from manual cleanup of unneeded metadata present in the SUSDB database. This requires IT administrators to back up each SUSDB database, run a specific cleanup query from SQL Management Studio against all SUSDB databases (including WSUS replicas), and update the MaxXMLPerRequest value to its default setting.
After the cleanup process, the first Windows Update scan may take longer than usual, but subsequent scans should return to normal timing. Microsoft also recommends reindexing the SUSDB database, running the WSUS Server Cleanup Wizard, and then restarting the IIS or recycling the WsusPool application pool to clear cached catalog state.
This is not the first time Microsoft has addressed similar WSUS issues that prevented admins from deploying the latest Windows updates. In May 2025, July 2025, and August 2025, the company had to share fixes for similar problems.
**What You Can Do**
If your organization is experiencing sync operation issues or timeouts with your WSUS servers, it’s essential to take immediate action. Follow Microsoft’s manual steps to clean up unneeded metadata in the SUSDB database, which should help return your WSUS servers to normal functionality.
Remember that security teams often struggle to detect and respond to attacks. According to recent statistics, they log 54% of successful attacks but only alert on 14%. Regular breach and attack simulation tests can help identify vulnerabilities and ensure your SIEM and EDR rules are effective in detecting threats before they cause harm.
Source: Bleeping Computer — 2026-07-21