The October 2026 Scan Cab is available

(Updated October 14, 2026: The availability time in this message was updated.)

IMPORTANT: This notice only affects environments where Scan Cab is used to check for update compliance.

What and why

The October 2026 Scan Cab was made available at 3:30 AM PT today, October 14, 2026. The Scan Cab can help determine whether a Windows device needs to install necessary security updates released by Microsoft without first connecting to the Windows Update service.

Rollout schedule

The October 2026 Scan Cab was made available at 3:30 AM PT today, October 14, 2026.

Who is affected

The Wsusscn2.cab file is a cabinet file that is signed by Microsoft and contains information about Microsoft security-related updates. Devices that aren't connected to the Internet can be scanned to see whether these security-related updates are present or required. The Wsusscn2.cab file doesn't contain the security updates themselves so you must obtain and install any needed security-related updates through other means.

What will happen

You can download and deploy the October 2026 Scan Cab via the usual processes. For detailed guidance, see the Additional information section below.

No action is required on environments where Scan Cab is not employed. However, please note that there might be non-Microsoft applications which utilize Scan Cab. Review the documentation for any software and update deployment tools used in your organization to understand if this is applicable in your environment.

Additional information

• Updated Scan Cab: Download the new Scan Cab here
• Announcing a smaller WSUS Scan Cab: Learn more about WSUS and the Scan Cab process
• Using WUA to Scan for Updates Offline: Windows Update Agent (WUA) can be used to scan computers for security updates without connecting to Windows Update
• WSUS and the Catalog Site: The Catalog Site used by WSUS to import updates and drivers