What does NTSTATUS 0x40000015 (STATUS_FATAL_APP_EXIT) mean?

 
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STATUS_CHECKING_FILE_SYSTEM STATUS_PREDEFINED_HANDLE

STATUS_FATAL_APP_EXIT

Preserve the application-supplied fatal message before diagnosing the termination

STATUS_FATAL_APP_EXIT carries formatted message text after the fatal-application-exit label. That inserted text is critical diagnostic evidence. Microsoft documents FatalAppExit as a last-resort application termination API: it displays application-supplied text and terminates the application when the message box is closed. The API is intended for an application that is not capable of terminating another way.

The existence of this NTSTATUS does not tell you which internal invariant, startup check, or application component decided to exit. It also should not be treated as proof of an operating-system crash. The fatal message and the call stack at the first fatal-exit path are usually more discriminating than the numeric status. A later process-exit event may preserve neither.

Capture the fully formatted message, application version, command line, current directory, loaded modules, and a dump before the process disappears. Search the application or its symbols for the message text and fatal-exit path. Do not suppress FatalAppExit or patch the status to success as a repair: the application has explicitly declared that it cannot continue normally. Fix the earlier condition that led to the fatal path, then confirm that ordinary cleanup and exit behavior is restored.

What to inspect

  • Preserve the inserted %hs message text exactly; it may identify the component or invariant that failed.
  • Capture the first fatal-exit call stack rather than relying only on the final process termination event.
  • Treat the fatal status as the end of a failure chain and investigate the earlier application condition that selected this path.

References

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