sfc.exe

  • File Path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\sfc.exe
  • Description: System Integrity Check and Repair

Hashes

Type Hash
MD5 5E5EC9C796513D7184DEDAE6B3BDDB00
SHA1 25CB664712594999FCF168D44EA8C527C6F6FE27
SHA256 60C693FF38CB19EA9FAAFA76A0CCFCC84196EE6212CA5A6C8B94E970C3E97A09
SHA384 F3AC731E68B2AC8C4FBD5741F5927251E82D48EC8A83DD3F4C16DF561BACD2021C1E983602EACE27F18B38067089E75F
SHA512 E930DA09644DE65A0D71CFA56BF34C6858B26F41F2DF38F8620678CAB55929AFEDEB95AD356E28668391F58981328B3310F94473027A7285FBDC352ADA956316
SSDEEP 1536:wLEfcntZpXt6JnpXEiEnCNXRnFi75e7q/NjXQGqtM:wLVrpjnCNXRnFi7cOuGQM
IMP AD608491141A21A86DACBE39AF382F27
PESHA1 9885E265C1BA68442F25D8664B03AEDD7486B9BD
PE256 A3F180392EE57223617594282716DFDCB211B6E973F043524B874A50294B7650

Runtime Data

Usage (stdout):


Microsoft (R) Windows (R) Resource Checker Version 6.0
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Scans the integrity of all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with 
correct Microsoft versions.

SFC [/SCANNOW] [/VERIFYONLY] [/SCANFILE=<file>] [/VERIFYFILE=<file>]
    [/OFFWINDIR=<offline windows directory> /OFFBOOTDIR=<offline boot directory> [/OFFLOGFILE=<log file path>]]

/SCANNOW        Scans integrity of all protected system files and repairs files with
                problems when possible.
/VERIFYONLY     Scans integrity of all protected system files. No repair operation is
                performed.
/SCANFILE       Scans integrity of the referenced file, repairs file if problems are
                identified. Specify full path <file>
/VERIFYFILE     Verifies the integrity of the file with full path <file>.  No repair
                operation is performed.
/OFFBOOTDIR     For offline repair, specify the location of the offline boot directory
/OFFWINDIR      For offline repair, specify the location of the offline windows directory
/OFFLOGFILE     For offline repair, optionally enable logging by specifying a log file path

e.g.

        sfc /SCANNOW
        sfc /VERIFYFILE=c:\windows\system32\kernel32.dll
        sfc /SCANFILE=d:\windows\system32\kernel32.dll /OFFBOOTDIR=d:\ /OFFWINDIR=d:\windows
        sfc /SCANFILE=d:\windows\system32\kernel32.dll /OFFBOOTDIR=d:\ /OFFWINDIR=d:\windows /OFFLOGFILE=c:\log.txt
        sfc /VERIFYONLY

Loaded Modules:

Path
C:\WINDOWS\System32\KERNEL32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\System32\KERNELBASE.dll
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll
C:\WINDOWS\system32\sfc.exe

Signature

  • Status: Signature verified.
  • Serial: 33000002ED2C45E4C145CF48440000000002ED
  • Thumbprint: 312860D2047EB81F8F58C29FF19ECDB4C634CF6A
  • Issuer: CN=Microsoft Windows Production PCA 2011, O=Microsoft Corporation, L=Redmond, S=Washington, C=US
  • Subject: CN=Microsoft Windows, O=Microsoft Corporation, L=Redmond, S=Washington, C=US

File Metadata

  • Original Filename: sfc.exe.mui
  • Product Name: Microsoft Windows Operating System
  • Company Name: Microsoft Corporation
  • File Version: 10.0.22000.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800)
  • Product Version: 10.0.22000.1
  • Language: English (United States)
  • Legal Copyright: Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
  • Machine Type: 64-bit

File Scan

  • VirusTotal Detections: 0/74
  • VirusTotal Link: https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/60c693ff38cb19ea9faafa76a0ccfcc84196ee6212ca5a6c8b94e970c3e97a09/detection

Possible Misuse

The following table contains possible examples of sfc.exe being misused. While sfc.exe is not inherently malicious, its legitimate functionality can be abused for malicious purposes.

Source Source File Example License
signature-base apt_poisonivy.yar $s4 = “\sfc.exe” fullword ascii /* score: ‘11.005’ */ CC BY-NC 4.0

Additional Info*

*The information below is copied from MicrosoftDocs, which is maintained by Microsoft. Available under CC BY 4.0 license.


sfc

Applies to: Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012

Scans and verifies the integrity of all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct versions. If this command discovers that a protected file has been overwritten, it retrieves the correct version of the file from the systemroot\system32\dllcache folder, and then replaces the incorrect file.

[!IMPORTANT] You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to run this command.

Syntax

sfc [/scannow] [/verifyonly] [/scanfile=<file>] [/verifyfile=<file>] [/offwindir=<offline windows directory> /offbootdir=<offline boot directory>]

Parameters

Parameter Description
/scannow Scans the integrity of all protected system files and repairs files with problems when possible.
/verifyonly Scans the integrity of all protected system files, without performing repairs.
/scanfile <file> Scans the integrity of the specified file (full path and filename) and attempts to repair any problems if they’re detected.
/verifyfile <file> Verifies the integrity of the specified file (full path and filename), without performing repairs.
/offwindir <offline windows directory> Specifies the location of the offline windows directory, for offline repair.
/offbootdir <offline boot directory> Specifies the location of the offline boot directory for offline repair.
/? Displays help at the command prompt.

Examples

To verify the kernel32.dll file, type:

sfc /verifyfile=c:\windows\system32\kernel32.dll

To set up the offline repair of the kernel32.dll file with an offline boot directory set to D:* and an offline windows directory set to *D:\windows, type:

sfc /scanfile=D:\windows\system32\kernel32.dll /offbootdir=D:\ /offwindir=d:\windows

Additional References


MIT License. Copyright (c) 2020-2021 Strontic.