Microsoft has fixed a known issue that caused Windows updates released since May 2025 to fail when installed via the Windows Update Standalone Installer (WUSA) from a network share.
WUSA is a built-in Windows command-line tool that helps admins install and uninstall Microsoft Standalone Update (.msu) files through the Windows Update Agent API to deploy or remove patches, updates, and hotfixes.
This known issue affects Windows 11 24H2/25H2 and Windows Server 2025 devices on enterprise networks, as WUSA isn’t a common method for installing updates on home devices. Microsoft also noted that the bug doesn’t occur with a single .msu file or when the files are stored locally.
“Windows updates installed using the Windows Update Standalone Installer (WUSA) might fail with error ERROR_BAD_PATHNAME, when the update is installed using WUSA or double-clicking a .msu file from a network share that contains multiple .msu files,” Microsoft said when it acknowledged the issue in August 2025.
“These issues might occur on devices that installed updates released May 28, 2025 (KB5058499) and later.”
Microsoft first mitigated this known issue automatically on home and non-managed business devices through a Known Issue Rollback Group Policy beginning September 2025.
Fixed in June 206 cumulative updates
As part of the June 2026 Patch Tuesday, Microsoft finally addressed this known issue for all affected systems in cumulative updates released for Windows 11 (KB5079391) and Windows Server 2025 (KB5094125).
“If you are using an update released before this date, and are experiencing this issue, you have the option to work around it by saving the .msu files locally on the device and install the update from this location,” Microsoft said in a Windows release health dashboard update.
“Also, if you’ve restarted Windows after installing an .msu file via WUSA, please wait 15 minutes or more before checking the Update History page in Settings. After this short delay, the Settings app should properly indicate if the update installed successfully.”
Microsoft resolved another issue in April 2025 preventing enterprise customers from installing the April 2025 security updates via Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), and an identical bug that caused the August 2025 Windows 11 updates to fail with 0x80240069 errors.
Earlier this week, Microsoft also warned customers that they may have issues installing the latest monthly updates on some Windows devices upgraded to Windows 11 24H2 or 25H2.
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