Then re-run Get-HotFix . If Get-HotFix now returns data but the scanner still shows -21745, the scanner may have cached the old state. Restart the scanner service.
Troubleshooting Nessus Plugin 21745: OS Security Patch Assessment Failed
The "Remote Registry" service is disabled, or the "Windows SMB Registry" is not fully accessible. os security patch assessment failed -21745-
If your scanner returns -21745, immediately fall back to a native command ( Get-HotFix on Windows, rpm -qa on Linux). If the native command succeeds but the scanner fails, open a support ticket with the scanner vendor – the error is in their parsing logic, not the OS.
The fix depends on the root cause. Follow these steps in order, from least invasive to most invasive. Then re-run Get-HotFix
If none of the above steps resolve the issue, collect the following and contact your scanner’s support team:
Add a monthly scheduled task to stop and restart the update services and purge SoftwareDistribution older than 30 days. The fix depends on the root cause
: The Windows Update Agent (wuauserv) or related services may be stopped or hung. : Restart the service and run the Windows Update Troubleshooter Disk Space
net stop wuauserv net stop cryptSvc net stop bits net stop msiserver ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old net start wuauserv net start cryptSvc net start bits net start msiserver
may refer to a internal status or part of an HRESULT error (such as 0x8024402C 0x80240438 ) commonly associated with these failures. Microsoft Learn Top Causes and Solutions Network Connectivity Issues