diff --git a/src/extension/src/ProcessHandler.py b/src/extension/src/ProcessHandler.py
index b3ea00ca..71030572 100644
--- a/src/extension/src/ProcessHandler.py
+++ b/src/extension/src/ProcessHandler.py
@@ -199,9 +199,27 @@ def is_process_running(self, pid):
                 # According to "man 2 kill" possible error values are (EINVAL, EPERM, ESRCH) Thus considering this as an error
                 return False
 
+    def is_process_patching_operation(self, pid):
+        try:
+            # Patching operation cmdline will look like:
+            # /usr/bin/python3.10 /var/lib/waagent/Microsoft.CPlat.Core.LinuxPatchExtension-1.6.69/MsftLinuxPatchCore.py <args>
+            with self.env_layer.file_system.open("/proc/{0}/cmdline".format(str(pid)), mode="rb") as cmdline_file:
+                cmdline = cmdline_file.read()
+                cmdline = cmdline.replace(b'\x00', b' ').decode("utf-8")  # cmdline is null-separated, so replacing nulls with spaces for easier parsing and logging
+                
+                if Constants.CORE_CODE_FILE_NAME in cmdline:
+                    self.logger.log_verbose("Process is a patching operation. [PID={0}]".format(str(pid)))
+                    return True
+                else:
+                    self.logger.log_debug("Process is not a patching operation. [PID={0}] [CmdLine={1}]".format(str(pid), cmdline))
+                    return False
+        except Exception as error:
+            self.logger.log_debug("Error checking if process is a patching operation. [PID={0}] [Error={1}]".format(str(pid), repr(error)))
+            return True  # If we cannot determine, assume it is a patching operation to be safe
+
     def kill_process(self, pid):
         try:
-            if self.is_process_running(pid):
+            if self.is_process_running(pid) and self.is_process_patching_operation(pid):
                 self.logger.log("Terminating process: [PID={0}]".format(str(pid)))
                 os.kill(pid, signal.SIGTERM)
         except OSError as error:
diff --git a/src/extension/tests/Test_ProcessHandler.py b/src/extension/tests/Test_ProcessHandler.py
index 99e19250..b13ad870 100644
--- a/src/extension/tests/Test_ProcessHandler.py
+++ b/src/extension/tests/Test_ProcessHandler.py
@@ -49,6 +49,9 @@ def tearDown(self):
     def mock_is_process_running_to_return_true(self, pid):
         return True
 
+    def mock_is_process_patching_operation_to_return_true(self, pid):
+        return True
+
     def mock_os_kill_to_raise_exception(self, pid, sig):
         raise OSError
 
@@ -133,6 +136,8 @@ def test_kill_process(self):
         # setting mocks
         is_process_running_backup = ProcessHandler.is_process_running
         ProcessHandler.is_process_running = self.mock_is_process_running_to_return_true
+        is_process_patching_operation_backup = ProcessHandler.is_process_patching_operation
+        ProcessHandler.is_process_patching_operation = self.mock_is_process_patching_operation_to_return_true
         os_kill_backup = os.kill
         os.kill = self.mock_os_kill_to_raise_exception
 
@@ -143,6 +148,7 @@ def test_kill_process(self):
 
         # reseting mocks
         ProcessHandler.is_process_running = is_process_running_backup
+        ProcessHandler.is_process_patching_operation = is_process_patching_operation_backup
         os.kill = os_kill_backup
 
     def test_get_python_cmd(self):