STATUS_FWP_SESSION_ABORTED: Fix 0XC0220010 Fast

Quick Answer (for the pros)

Run net stop BFE && net start BFE as admin. If that doesn't cut it, use netsh wfp reset and reboot. Nine times out of ten, that's it.

What's Happening Here?

You're staring at 0XC0220010 — the Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) telling you its session got killed mid-stream. I've seen this crop up in three places: firewall logs, VPN connection attempts, and when a proxy or firewall client (like a corporate VPN app) loses its grip. The session handle the app was using suddenly becomes invalid. Maybe the BFE service hiccupped. Maybe the VPN timed out. Maybe something else stole the session. Either way, the fix isn't deep registry surgery — it's usually a service restart.

Last month, a client's whole sales team couldn't connect to their remote CRM. Their SSL VPN client threw this error every time. Turned out the BFE service had stopped after a Windows update. Took me ten minutes to fix.

Step-by-Step Fix

1. Restart the BFE service. Open Command Prompt as administrator. Type:

   net stop BFE && net start BFE

   That stops and restarts the Base Filtering Engine. It's the engine behind WFP. If you get a permission error, you're not running as admin — fix that first.
2. If that didn't work, reset WFP. In the same admin prompt, run:

   netsh wfp reset

   This wipes the WFP state and rebuilds it. You'll lose any custom firewall rules you've added, but default rules come back after a reboot. After this, reboot the machine.
3. Check for third-party firewall conflicts. If the error still shows, look at non-Microsoft firewall software. Symantec, McAfee, and even some VPN clients can interfere. Temporarily disable them — not uninstall, just disable — and test. I had a client using a Cisco AnyConnect client that was fighting with Windows Firewall. Disabling the Cisco firewall module fixed it.
4. Scan for corrupted system files. Run sfc /scannow and DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth. Corrupt files in the WFP stack aren't common, but they happen — especially after a botched update.

Alternative Fixes (If the Main One Fails)

If you're still stuck, try these in order:

• Reset Winsock and TCP/IP. From an admin prompt:

  netsh winsock reset
  netsh int ip reset

  Reboot after. This clears up socket conflicts that can mess with WFP sessions.
• Check the event log. Open Event Viewer, go to Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > Windows Filtering Platform. Look for error events around the time the error appeared. They often point to a specific app or driver that caused the abort.
• Update or rollback network drivers. Go to Device Manager, find your network adapter, check for driver updates. If the error started after a driver update, roll back to the previous version.

Prevention Tip

Keep your BFE service set to start automatically and monitor it. If you see it stop randomly after updates, you've got a deeper issue — maybe a driver conflict or a faulty update. Also, if you use third-party firewall software, make sure it's compatible with your Windows version. The worst WFP session aborts I've seen came from old VPN clients that didn't support Windows 11.

Final thought: This error is almost never hardware. Don't waste time testing RAM or replacing NICs. It's a software layer issue — the WFP session got yanked by something above it. Restart BFE, then reset WFP, and you'll be back in business.