What’s the mysterious Windows 11 ‘inetpub’ folder? Microsoft says you shouldn’t delete it.

After installing the April 2025 security updates KB5055523 for Windows 11 and KB5055518 for Windows 10, some users have noticed an empty “inetpub” folder appearing in the root of their “C” drive, even on systems without Internet Information Services (IIS) installed. However, Microsoft has stated that this is not a bug and advises against making any changes to this folder.

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What’s the inetpub folder?

The “inetpub” folder is typically associated with the Internet Information Services (IIS), a system often utilized for hosting websites and web applications on the internet.

Activating IIS (Internet Information Services) on Windows 11 will result in a folder being generated at the primary level of your system drive. This folder acts as the base directory for the web application by default.

Within the “inetpub” directory, I usually come across sub-directories such as the ‘wwwroot’, ‘temp’, ‘logs’, ‘history’, and ‘custerr’. These folders further house additional sub-folders and files.

Or,

When exploring the “inetpub” folder, one often encounters other directories including ‘wwwroot’, ‘temp’, ‘logs’, ‘history’, and ‘custerr’. These directories contain more sub-directories and files as well.

Why was the folder created?

Microsoft has clarified that the appearance of the “inetpub” folder is deliberate and connected to a security enhancement aimed at resolving a weakness in the Windows Process Activation Elevation service, known as CVE-2025-21204.

As part of the fix, the company added the inetpub folder to make your computer safer.

Should you delete it?

Although the folder appears empty and may be irrelevant for those not utilizing IIS, Microsoft recommends against removing it to maintain the system’s security.

Keep in mind that moving the folder from the main system drive’s location won’t disrupt the functioning of your operating system.

What if you’ve already deleted it?

If you’ve already deleted the “inetpub” folder, there’s no need to be concerned.

Instead, you can quickly set up IIS by navigating to Start, conducting a search, and opening the “Turn Windows features on or off” settings. Next, select the “Internet Information Services” option, then hit the “OK” button. If needed, restart your computer for IIS to become active.

Ultimately, you need to disable the specific feature. You can accomplish this by unchecking the “Internet Information Services” option within the “Turn Windows features on or off” settings, then pressing the “OK” button and rebooting your device if necessary.

Once you complete these steps, the “inetpub” folder should appear one more time in the “C” drive.

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2025-04-16 14:39