A user reported wuauclt.exe crashing every 15 minutes. Analysis showed the process located at C:\Users\Public\wuauclt.exe . VirusTotal flagged it as Trojan:Win32/Emotet. Removal of the malware and repair of Windows Update via DISM resolved all crashes.
sfc /scannow DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth Why Does Wuauclt.exe Crash
[Text on screen: Why does wuauclt.exe crash?] A user reported wuauclt
This is the most common culprit. The update process involves downloading temporary files to a specific folder on your hard drive. If one of these downloaded files is corrupted (due to a bad internet connection or an unexpected shutdown), the client tries to read them and crashes. Why Does Wuauclt.exe Crash