Problem

Netsh crashes on Windows 11 with KB2693643 (Remote Server Administration Tools) installed.

Solution

1. Uninstall KB2693643
   Powershell
   wusa /uninstall /kb:2693643
2. Possibly upgrade to the latest version of Windows 11 (24H2).

Details

Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT), the highly-regarded software module cherished by IT administrators globally for its capability to reset user passwords in Active Directory, took a controversial turn with the release of Windows 11.

Prior to the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, RSAT had to be installed with KB2693643. It could be installed using the option features setting in later versions of Windows. However, Microsoft didn’t make users uninstall KB2693643, or even prohibit RSAT from being installed using KB2693643 in later versions.

Why does this matter? Because Windows 11 introduced a bug where Netsh, a common application used for configuring Windows networking attributes (like IP addresses and routes), among other things, would crash with KB2693643 installed. This meant things that rely on Netsh for network configuration, like many VPN clients, stopped working.

The issue was widely reported by users when Windows 11 was released, and as usual, Microsoft choose to remain silent and ignore the problem. Fortunately, Windows users are a resourceful bunch, well-adapted to Microsoft’s indifference in such matters, and quickly came up with the solution: uninstall KB2693643.

It looks like Microsoft may have finally listened to the apt directive from Microsoft forum user Nave Keinan below, because the issue does not reproduce in the latest version of Windows 24H2.

This is **** , Microsoft must fix this issue.