What does Windows error code 14086 (ERROR_SXS_MULTIPLE_DEACTIVATION) mean?

ERROR_SXS_MULTIPLE_DEACTIVATION

ERROR_SXS_MULTIPLE_DEACTIVATION — The same activation context was deactivated more than once.

The activation cookie has already been consumed by a prior DeactivateActCtx call. A second deactivation corrupts the intended stack discipline and Windows rejects it.

This often occurs when both a normal path and an error-cleanup path release the same context.

Pair every activation-context activation with exactly one deactivation on the same logical path. Inspect exception, cleanup, and nested-context handling for a second release that runs after the context has already been deactivated.

What to check

• Give each activation cookie one clear owner.
• Reset or invalidate the stored cookie immediately after deactivation.
• Use a scoped wrapper that prevents double cleanup in all return and exception paths.

Microsoft: DeactivateActCtx

Microsoft: Activation Context reference

Microsoft: About Side-by-Side assemblies