What does NTSTATUS 0xC000010A (STATUS_PROCESS_IS_TERMINATING) mean?

STATUS_PROCESS_IS_TERMINATING

The process object exists, but termination is already in progress

STATUS_PROCESS_IS_TERMINATING (0xC000010A) means an operation targeted a process that has entered termination. The process object can still exist while handles and references are being released, but operations that assume a live execution context are no longer valid.

What to diagnose

• Record the target PID, process-creation identity or handle, the operation that returned the status, and the thread performing it.
• Determine whether termination was initiated normally, by another component, by job/process cleanup, or after an earlier fatal condition.
• Check for stale work queues or callbacks that retain a process reference and attempt work after exit has begun.

Recovery

Stop issuing live-process operations to the terminating instance and complete cleanup against the correct lifetime contract. If the higher-level operation requires a running process, obtain or create a new process instance rather than retrying indefinitely against the old PID or handle.

This status does not identify why the process started terminating. Preserve any earlier exception, exit status, service event, or explicit termination request separately if the root cause matters.

Official references

• Microsoft Open Specifications: NTSTATUS values
• Microsoft: Using NTSTATUS values