diff --git a/ddprof-lib/src/main/cpp/stackWalker.cpp b/ddprof-lib/src/main/cpp/stackWalker.cpp
index 5d293f7ca..f009a0bfd 100644
--- a/ddprof-lib/src/main/cpp/stackWalker.cpp
+++ b/ddprof-lib/src/main/cpp/stackWalker.cpp
@@ -655,6 +655,10 @@ __attribute__((no_sanitize("address"))) int StackWalker::walkVM(void* ucontext,
 
     if (vm_thread != NULL) vm_thread->exception() = saved_exception;
 
+    // Drop unknown leaf frame - it provides no useful information and breaks
+    // aggregation by lumping unrelated samples under a single "unknown" entry
+    depth = StackWalkValidation::dropUnknownLeaf(frames, depth);
+
     if (truncated) {
         if (depth > max_depth) {
             *truncated = true;
diff --git a/ddprof-lib/src/main/cpp/stackWalker.h b/ddprof-lib/src/main/cpp/stackWalker.h
index f0f1d855e..c365b8c8c 100644
--- a/ddprof-lib/src/main/cpp/stackWalker.h
+++ b/ddprof-lib/src/main/cpp/stackWalker.h
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 #define _STACKWALKER_H
 
 #include <stdint.h>
+#include <string.h>
 #include "arguments.h"
 #include "event.h"
 #include "vmEntry.h"
@@ -49,6 +50,18 @@ namespace StackWalkValidation {
     static inline bool sameStack(void* hi, void* lo) {
         return (uintptr_t)hi - (uintptr_t)lo < SAME_STACK_DISTANCE;
     }
+
+    // Drop unknown leaf frame (method_id == NULL at index 0).
+    // Returns the new depth after removal.
+    static inline int dropUnknownLeaf(ASGCT_CallFrame* frames, int depth) {
+        if (depth > 0 && frames[0].method_id == NULL) {
+            depth--;
+            if (depth > 0) {
+                memmove(frames, frames + 1, depth * sizeof(frames[0]));
+            }
+        }
+        return depth;
+    }
 }
 
 class StackWalker {
diff --git a/ddprof-lib/src/test/cpp/stackWalker_ut.cpp b/ddprof-lib/src/test/cpp/stackWalker_ut.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7017c8092
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ddprof-lib/src/test/cpp/stackWalker_ut.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2026, Datadog, Inc
+ */
+
+#include <gtest/gtest.h>
+#include "../../main/cpp/stackWalker.h"
+#include "../../main/cpp/gtest_crash_handler.h"
+
+static constexpr char STACKWALKER_TEST_NAME[] = "StackWalkerTest";
+
+class StackWalkerTest : public ::testing::Test {
+protected:
+    void SetUp() override {
+        installGtestCrashHandler<STACKWALKER_TEST_NAME>();
+    }
+
+    void TearDown() override {
+        restoreDefaultSignalHandlers();
+    }
+
+    // Helper to create a frame with a non-NULL method_id
+    static ASGCT_CallFrame knownFrame(int id) {
+        ASGCT_CallFrame f = {};
+        f.bci = 0;
+        f.method_id = (jmethodID)(uintptr_t)(id + 1);  // non-NULL
+        return f;
+    }
+
+    // Helper to create a frame with NULL method_id (unknown)
+    static ASGCT_CallFrame unknownFrame() {
+        ASGCT_CallFrame f = {};
+        f.bci = 0;
+        f.method_id = NULL;
+        return f;
+    }
+};
+
+TEST_F(StackWalkerTest, dropUnknownLeaf_empty_trace) {
+    ASGCT_CallFrame frames[1];
+    int depth = StackWalkValidation::dropUnknownLeaf(frames, 0);
+    EXPECT_EQ(0, depth);
+}
+
+TEST_F(StackWalkerTest, dropUnknownLeaf_single_unknown_frame) {
+    ASGCT_CallFrame frames[1] = { unknownFrame() };
+    int depth = StackWalkValidation::dropUnknownLeaf(frames, 1);
+    EXPECT_EQ(0, depth);
+}
+
+TEST_F(StackWalkerTest, dropUnknownLeaf_single_known_frame) {
+    ASGCT_CallFrame frames[1] = { knownFrame(1) };
+    int depth = StackWalkValidation::dropUnknownLeaf(frames, 1);
+    EXPECT_EQ(1, depth);
+    EXPECT_NE(nullptr, frames[0].method_id);
+}
+
+TEST_F(StackWalkerTest, dropUnknownLeaf_unknown_leaf_with_known_callers) {
+    // frames[0] is the leaf (top of stack), frames[1..2] are callers
+    ASGCT_CallFrame frames[3] = { unknownFrame(), knownFrame(1), knownFrame(2) };
+    int depth = StackWalkValidation::dropUnknownLeaf(frames, 3);
+    EXPECT_EQ(2, depth);
+    // The former frames[1] and frames[2] should now be at [0] and [1]
+    EXPECT_EQ((jmethodID)(uintptr_t)2, frames[0].method_id);
+    EXPECT_EQ((jmethodID)(uintptr_t)3, frames[1].method_id);
+}
+
+TEST_F(StackWalkerTest, dropUnknownLeaf_known_leaf_not_dropped) {
+    ASGCT_CallFrame frames[3] = { knownFrame(1), knownFrame(2), knownFrame(3) };
+    int depth = StackWalkValidation::dropUnknownLeaf(frames, 3);
+    EXPECT_EQ(3, depth);
+    EXPECT_EQ((jmethodID)(uintptr_t)2, frames[0].method_id);
+    EXPECT_EQ((jmethodID)(uintptr_t)3, frames[1].method_id);
+    EXPECT_EQ((jmethodID)(uintptr_t)4, frames[2].method_id);
+}
+
+TEST_F(StackWalkerTest, dropUnknownLeaf_unknown_non_leaf_not_dropped) {
+    // Only the leaf (index 0) should be checked — unknown at other positions stays
+    ASGCT_CallFrame frames[3] = { knownFrame(1), unknownFrame(), knownFrame(2) };
+    int depth = StackWalkValidation::dropUnknownLeaf(frames, 3);
+    EXPECT_EQ(3, depth);
+    EXPECT_NE(nullptr, frames[0].method_id);
+    EXPECT_EQ(nullptr, frames[1].method_id);
+    EXPECT_NE(nullptr, frames[2].method_id);
+}