Patch Installation Failures on Windows Devices Showing “ERROR_INTERNET_TIMEOUT”

Issue Summary

Some Windows devices may experience patch installation failures showing the error code “ERROR_INTERNET_TIMEOUT.”

This typically occurs when the device encounters a network timeout or communication interruption while connecting to the Windows Update servers during patch download or installation.

Possible Causes

In addition to the ERROR_INTERNET_TIMEOUT error, other related Windows Update error codes such as 0x80072ee2, 0x80072efe, or 0x8024402c may also appear.
These errors are generally caused by one or more of the following:

1. Network latency or intermittent connectivity issues between the device and Windows Update servers.

2. Windows Update service not running or timing out during the patching process.

3. Firewall or security software restrictions blocking Windows Update communication.

4. Corrupted Windows Update components or cached metadata.

5. Proxy configuration or content filtering interfering with update downloads.

Resolution Steps

To resolve this issue, follow the steps below:

1. Run the Windows Update Reset Script (attached with this article) as a pre-script on the affected devices.

   • This script resets all Windows Update components and clears cached data (SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders), which can often resolve timeout or corruption-related issues.

2. Retry the Patch Remediation process from the Saner CVEM console after executing the script.

   • This allows the system to re-establish a clean connection with the Windows Update servers and reattempt the patch installation.

3. Review the Results:

   • If the patches install successfully, the issue was likely due to corrupted update data or transient network timeouts.

   • If failures persist, verify that the affected devices have stable internet connectivity and unrestricted access to Microsoft Update URLs.

Additional Recommendations

• Ensure that the Windows Update (wuauserv) service is running before starting patch installation.

• Temporarily disable any third-party antivirus or firewall software that may block Windows Update traffic.

• If your environment uses a proxy server, verify that the required Windows Update endpoints are allowed.

• Confirm that TLS 1.2 is enabled on older Windows versions, as it is required for secure communication with Microsoft servers.

Next Steps

After completing the above actions, retry the patching process.
If the issue persists, please collect the latest patching logs and reach out to support@secpod.com for further assistance.