Windows Defender Service service failed to start

[Matthew Stevenson]

Hello,


I have a server 2016 on which I am unable to start the Windefend service. I'm getting an error upon starting the service in the System log:


"The Windows Defender Service service failed to start due to the following error:
Windows cannot verify the digital signature for this file. A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that is signed incorrectly or damaged, or that might be malicious software from an unknown source."


I have verified the digital signature with the following: Get-AuthenticodeSignature -FilePath "C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MsMpEng.exe" The status is Valid.


Version info:

VersionInfo : File: C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MsMpEng.exe
InternalName: MsMpEng.exe
OriginalFilename: MsMpEng.exe
FileVersion: 4.10.14393.2608 (rs1_release.181024-1742)
FileDescription: Antimalware Service Executable
Product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
ProductVersion: 4.10.14393.2608
Debug: False
Patched: False
PreRelease: False
PrivateBuild: False
SpecialBuild: False
Language: English (United States)



The server is onboarded to ATP, and is visible and reporting to the Windows Defender Security Center in Azure.


Any ideas? Thanks!

Matthew

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