[Bug]: win_wua.install does not install patch when the patch was previously uninstalled

[thomasdziedzic]

What happened?

I installed an update (KB5120233) manually on windows (logged in and hit install). I then uninstalled the update manually by logging in.

I run salt '*' win_wua.available and it lists KB5120233 as available

I run salt '*' win_wua.install KB5120233 and it lists success:

    ----------
    Message:
        Installation Succeeded
    NeedsReboot:
        True
    Success:
        True
    Updates:
        ----------
        3b09cc55-7cf6-4d63-a168-11b89c1a8cba:
            ----------
            AlreadyInstalled:
                False
            RebootBehavior:
                Can Require Reboot
            Result:
                Installation Succeeded
            Title:
                2026-08 Security Update (KB5120233) (26100.33296)

Rebooting and running salt '*' win_wua.available again lists KB5120233 as available.

Type of salt install

Official exe

Major version

3008.x

What supported OS are you seeing the problem on? Can select multiple. (If bug appears on an unsupported OS, please open a GitHub Discussion instead)

windows-2025

salt --versions-report output

Salt Version:
          Salt: 3008.2
 
Python Version:
        Python: 3.14.6 (main, Jun 11 2026, 02:19:05) [GCC 11.2.0]
 
Dependency Versions:
          cffi: 2.0.0
      cherrypy: 18.10.0
  cryptography: 48.0.0
      dateutil: 2.9.0.post0
     docker-py: Not Installed
         gitdb: 4.0.12
     gitpython: Not Installed
        Jinja2: 3.1.6
       libgit2: Not Installed
  looseversion: 1.3.0
      M2Crypto: Not Installed
          Mako: Not Installed
       msgpack: 1.1.2
  msgpack-pure: Not Installed
  mysql-python: Not Installed
     packaging: 24.0
     pycparser: 3.00
      pycrypto: Not Installed
  pycryptodome: 3.23.0
        pygit2: Not Installed
  python-gnupg: 0.5.6
        PyYAML: 6.0.3
         PyZMQ: 27.1.0
        relenv: 0.22.14
         smmap: 5.0.2
       timelib: 0.3.0
       Tornado: 6.5.7
           ZMQ: 4.3.5
 
Salt Package Information:
  Package Type: onedir
 
System Versions:
          dist: amzn 2023.12.20260803 
        locale: utf-8
       machine: x86_64
       release: 6.18.39-79.141.amzn2023.x86_64
        system: Linux
       version: Amazon Linux 2023.12.20260803

[thomasdziedzic]

I was able to repro this using another configuration management solution so maybe there's some weirdness going on with windows itself rather than a problem with salt. I will keep this open and see what your thoughts are on this issue to get a second pair of eyes on the problem.