Overview

netsh.exe on Windows 11 will fail to run and crash if Windows Update KB2693643 (Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 10) is installed.

Since the Windows SDP client requires netsh.exe to operate, this causes the SDP client to get stuck in the Connecting or Authenticating states.

Troubleshooting

1. In the Event Viewer > Windows Logs > Application, search for netsh.exe crashes with Event ID 1000 or 1001.
   

2. Verify that Windows Update KB2693643 (Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 10) is installed under Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Update History. 

   You can also check for the update using the PowerShell command

   Get-Hotfix | findstr /i "2693643"

   If the update does exist, the output will be shown similarly in the example below.

   PS C:\Users\UserX> Get-Hotfix | findstr /i "2693643"
Example-PC  Update           KB2693643    Example-CATO-PC\cato    1/9/2023 12:00:00 AM

   If the update doesn't exist, the command will return nothing. 

Solution

The solution would be uninstalling Windows Update KB2693643.
This update causes netsh.exe, which the Windows SDP client requires to update network configuration during the connection, to crash on Windows 11.

You can uninstall the update from Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Update History > Uninstall Updates or by running the following Powershell command: 
wusa /uninstall /kb:2693643

*If Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) are eventually needed, go over the following guide to install them - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-server/system-management-components/remote-server-administration-tools