winlogon.exe
Summary
Windows Logon Process (winlogon.exe) manages the interactive logon and logoff sequence, handles the Secure Attention Sequence (Ctrl+Alt+Delete), loads user profiles, and manages the lock screen. It coordinates with LogonUI.exe, LSASS, and userinit.exe.
winlogon.exe is the 311th most commonly executed Windows program in EchoTrail's dataset, observed 30,245 times across enterprise environments. It typically runs from C:\Windows\System32 and it is most often launched by smss.exe.
Behavior
Top Paths
- C:\Windows\System32100%
Top Hashes (SHA256)
- b9699fd59457dbfdf4011a4a09b748c6d3d01d3780f9ec5245af652ab993642515.62%
- 97d371d49b0caeef86cd173ddabb09c7b6be4e4c7472714731ea9587eaf312378.82%
- bbaf074b7daa302b7a4e103267b62a6869a45bc850830733e65422ba0b64849b5.28%
- b0f6d64a6651cdcb5ba1d1a48cdb2236ad01c75d05001e58cdb1c75de42553c75.21%
- 6cf2dd482973ac4cf05a784b7bbc08de07fb4a55a8e2a6390250019a800d5b725.15%
- 38d1695f08ec655945ca7a40e7d9485696ffa0bfb7dc809e4cbdba09ea160bc94.63%
- 6bcb35ba7cdfe08e2c3a2e77cac9facc8152a97df411a4eec1985d0b09cf6e8c3.44%
- e267e9533b4ef658cafb08c034215d120b82761ae8e37f78e24b49d95e6c0fa13.32%
- 823ae63ba5fca8aebaffffc52ed32c4c128ab4801e59a220688460a6b3a1a43b3.26%
- c11e952b6204d81327dc135fefb765c85c648f3ad788fb39fb471f9e31621d2c3.03%
Process Ancestry
Top Grandparents
- smss.exe99.2%
- services.exe0.7%
- winlogon.exe0.08%
- wininit.exe0.02%
Top Parents
- smss.exe98.72%
- svchost.exe0.8%
- fontdrvhost.exe0.21%
- WUDFHost.exe0.06%
- dwm.exe0.04%
- LogonUI.exe0.04%
- nvvsvc.exe0.03%
- nvwmi64.exe0.02%
- atiesrxx.exe0.01%
- lsass.exe0.01%
Top Children
- LogonUI.exe56.36%
- userinit.exe9.43%
- dwm.exe9.23%
- fontdrvhost.exe6.47%
- scrnsave.scr4.91%
- AtBroker.exe3.4%
- wlrmdr.exe3.13%
- bubbles.scr2.07%
- mpnotify.exe1.07%
- Mystify.scr0.96%
Rare or environment-specific process names are omitted from ancestry tables. Percentages are of all observed relationships.
Security Analysis
What does winlogon.exe normally do?
Located in C:\Windows\System32. Created by smss.exe (which exits, so parent may appear empty). One or more instances (one per session). Runs as SYSTEM. Starts at boot.
When is winlogon.exe suspicious?
Running from non-System32 path. Spawning cmd.exe or powershell.exe (Sticky Keys / accessibility feature abuse). Name masquerading. More instances than active sessions.
How do attackers abuse winlogon.exe?
Sticky Keys attack (T1546.008): replacing sethc.exe, utilman.exe, or osk.exe so that invoking accessibility features at the logon screen (via winlogon) spawns a SYSTEM shell instead. This is a classic persistence and privilege escalation technique. Winlogon registry persistence: modifying HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Shell or Userinit values to execute malicious code at logon. Name masquerading with the winlogon.exe name.
Detection guidance
High-confidence: winlogon.exe spawning cmd.exe or powershell.exe. Modifications to accessibility feature binaries (sethc.exe, utilman.exe, osk.exe, narrator.exe, magnify.exe) via Sysmon Event ID 11 (FileCreate). Changes to Winlogon\Shell or Winlogon\Userinit registry values (Sysmon Event ID 13). winlogon.exe running from non-System32 path.
False positive notes
winlogon.exe spawning LogonUI.exe, userinit.exe, and dwm.exe is normal. Multiple instances are normal in multi-session environments (RDP servers).
Related Processes
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Data from EchoTrail's dataset of ~346M Windows process executions. Last extracted 2026-08-04.