"Metadata only" updates cannot be expired or revised in WSUS 3.0 SP2

Applies To
WSUS - All versions

Symptoms

You encounter one or more of the following issues on a computer that is running Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 3.0 Service Pack 2 (SP2):

  • Updates that are marked as "metadata only" are not replicated to the WSUS servers' hierarchy.

  • Updates that are marked as "metadata only" cannot be revised. Additionally, you receive the following error message:

    Note

    System.ArgumentNullException was caught
      Message=Value cannot be null.
    Parameter name: path2
      Source=mscorlib
      ParamName=path2
      StackTrace:
           at System.IO.Path.Combine(String path1, String path2)
           at Microsoft.UpdateServices.Internal.BaseApi.Publisher.LoadServerSpecificProperties()
           at Microsoft.UpdateServices.Internal.BaseApi.Publisher.RevisePackage()
    at Scup.Wizards.UpdateServicesPublisher.PublishNoContent(UpdatePackageForPublish publishItem)

  • Updates that are marked as "metadata only" cannot be expired. Additionally, the following error message is logged:

    Note

    Publish: : --- Calling update server API for *Expiring* update 'a767cd8c-792e-421b-8a6c-8ae56e52f1fb' Updates Publisher
    Publish: : Exception occured during publishing: Value cannot be null. Updates Publisher
    Parameter name: path2 Updates Publisher

    Note In this error message, the word "occured" is a misspelling for the word "occurred."

Cause

This issue occurs because WSUS criteria for processing "metadata only" updates do not match the standard that is implemented for regular updates.

Resolution

Update information

How to obtain this update

The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center website:

Processor architecture Update
x86-based versions of WSUS 3.0 SP2 Download Download the update package now.
x64-based versions of WSUS 3.0 SP2 Download Download the update package now.

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services
Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

File information

The English (United States) version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables. The dates and the times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time (DST) bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files.

For all supported x86-based versions of WSUS 3.0 SP2

File name File version File size Date Time Platform
Microsoft.updateservices.baseapi.dll 3.1.7600.236 546,728 24-Mar-2011 17:36 x86
Mwus_database_schema.sql Not applicable 762,923 22-Mar-2011 18:15 Not applicable
Popdb.sql Not applicable 92,119 22-Mar-2011 18:15 Not applicable
Wsuscertserver.exe 7.4.7600.236 66,984 24-Mar-2011 17:30 x86
Wsussigndb.cer Not applicable 689 16-Mar-2011 13:58 Not applicable
Wsussigndb.dll Not applicable 8,104 24-Mar-2011 17:30 x86
Wsussigndb.sql Not applicable 269,339 16-Mar-2011 13:58 Not applicable

For all supported x64-based versions of WSUS 3.0 SP2

File name File version File size Date Time Platform
Microsoft.updateservices.baseapi.dll 3.1.7600.236 546,728 24-Mar-2011 17:36 x86
Mwus_database_schema.sql Not applicable 762,923 23-Mar-2011 09:53 Not applicable
Popdb.sql Not applicable 92,119 23-Mar-2011 09:53 Not applicable
Wsuscertserver.exe 7.4.7600.236 77,224 24-Mar-2011 17:31 x64
Wsussigndb.cer Not applicable 689 16-Mar-2011 13:58 Not applicable
Wsussigndb.dll Not applicable 8,104 24-Mar-2011 17:31 x86
Wsussigndb.sql Not applicable 269,339 16-Mar-2011 13:58 Not applicable

Status

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

More Information

For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates