DismHost.exe

by Microsoft
Operating System

Summary

DISM Host Servicing Process executes servicing operations for the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool. Handles Windows feature and component management.

DismHost.exe is the 158th most commonly executed Windows program in EchoTrail's dataset, observed 105,165 times across enterprise environments. It typically runs from C:\Windows\Temp\... and it is most often launched by powershell.exe.

158th
most commonly executed Windows program
105,165
observed executions
medium
statistical confidence

Behavior

Top Paths

  • C:\Windows\Temp\...66.08%
  • C:\Users\...29.21%
  • C:\...3.99%
  • C:\Windows\System32\Dism0.72%

Top Hashes (SHA256)

  • c0fc152db24708d0be657d65232d6bd61a22bed4404ffe4337c82fd18bfc59dd42.01%
  • aed9c922fd6bf7a21fdd96dfe6c16280c267a5309950fd92f2b6df6a743af8cd9.82%
  • 2fb529de54d39308398e59cc7fa5caef1acf81a13bccdd645950e7f88d3842e18.81%
  • 5108587a0713975bbd79a0e1a56b0dd0d0e63d89d7b681d1e0bf7979e21080b08.1%
  • e30508e2088bc16b2a84233ced64995f738deaef2366ac6c86b35c93bbcd9d806.97%
  • 3687d79e43b9c3aa9ff31dbaafdd2f4674ce0937c7fe34813f43531f32e7aded4.06%
  • 3344be53d32153dcef6a732e3bff41ab2418f1b91f268567eb577314e34aa5003.71%
  • 95aec6d12e6f9e6e1e3045259cf024d30625bf4e520d94f333387359221735e43.21%
  • 21baef2bb5ab2df3aa4d95c8333aadadda61dee65e61ad2dbe5f3dbaddb163c72.79%
  • 0f25d825e0caa7574353951c11131bda85fd7792957467f23b24fa9a7d3d9d322.13%

Process Ancestry

Top Grandparents

Top Parents

Top Children

Rare or environment-specific process names are omitted from ancestry tables. Percentages are of all observed relationships.

Security Analysis

What does DismHost.exe normally do?

Located in C:\Windows\System32 or standard Windows/Office paths. Part of normal Windows or Office operations.

When is DismHost.exe suspicious?

Running from non-standard paths. Parent process other than expected. Spawning shells or unusual child processes.

How do attackers abuse DismHost.exe?

Not commonly abused.

Detection guidance

Low priority. Validate path and parent process.

False positive notes

Normal system/Office operation.

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Data from EchoTrail's dataset of ~346M Windows process executions. Last extracted 2026-08-04.