takeown.exe

  • File Path: C:\windows\system32\takeown.exe
  • Description: Takes ownership of a file

Hashes

Type Hash
MD5 B4804CA5C860C8210FB894D882E7D33E
SHA1 9DFD43D1F1FA46553C32419567B4BF5017C43258
SHA256 26B3DD8E0FD18190144EF1DDB2ED08AFFEAB2BCD1A218E091DB5671010AF4AF7
SHA384 23DB5E621872322BC4A291D9B4D42B10617D7A680E203D61B5B6A6F4CDE8D513A60501E1C6ADA9B318EA72FDF275314F
SHA512 10DF193F2D0113E217C80965FE149BEFFA128DF513CF68C69FCC428371CA40A652CFBCB39B02B2319BC39D6B185015F2F1B17E197C24054C3A802ACB459148CA
SSDEEP 1536:/nGSpfE65t75MbF8o4cbxnzuttd/Gbrj3VKMV7bvVQX4xQq:zR395MbFZzuB83VjQX4xL

Signature

  • Status: The file C:\windows\system32\takeown.exe is not digitally signed. You cannot run this script on the current system. For more information about running scripts and setting execution policy, see about_Execution_Policies at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=135170
  • Serial: ``
  • Thumbprint: ``
  • Issuer:
  • Subject:

File Metadata

  • Original Filename: takeown.exe.mui
  • Product Name: Microsoft Windows Operating System
  • Company Name: Microsoft Corporation
  • File Version: 6.3.9600.16384 (winblue_rtm.130821-1623)
  • Product Version: 6.3.9600.16384
  • Language: English (United States)
  • Legal Copyright: Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Possible Misuse

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

Source Source File Example License
sigma proc_creation_win_file_permission_modifications.yml - '\takeown.exe' DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_takeown.yml title: Suspicious Recursif Takeown DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_takeown.yml description: Adversaries can interact with the DACLs using built-in Windows commands takeown which can grant adversaries higher permissions on specific files and folders DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_takeown.yml - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/takeown DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_takeown.yml - https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/master/atomics/T1222.001/T1222.001.md#atomic-test-1---take-ownership-using-takeown-utility DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_takeown.yml Image\|endswith: '\takeown.exe' DRL 1.0
malware-ioc oceanlotus-macOS.misp.event.json "https:\/\/docs.microsoft.com\/windows-server\/administration\/windows-commands\/takeown", © ESET 2014-2018
atomic-red-team index.md - Atomic Test #1: Take ownership using takeown utility [windows] MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team windows-index.md - Atomic Test #1: Take ownership using takeown utility [windows] MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1222.001.md Adversaries can interact with the DACLs using built-in Windows commands, such as icacls, cacls, takeown, and attrib, which can grant adversaries higher permissions on specific files and folders. Further, PowerShell provides cmdlets that can be used to retrieve or modify file and directory DACLs. Specific file and directory modifications may be a required step for many techniques, such as establishing Persistence via Accessibility Features, Boot or Logon Initialization Scripts, or tainting/hijacking other instrumental binary/configuration files via Hijack Execution Flow.</blockquote> MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1222.001.md - Atomic Test #1 - Take ownership using takeown utility MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1222.001.md ## Atomic Test #1 - Take ownership using takeown utility MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1222.001.md | file_folder_to_own | Path of the file or folder for takeown to take ownership. | Path | %temp%\T1222.001_takeown_folder| MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1222.001.md takeown.exe /f #{file_folder_to_own} /r MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1546.008.md takeown /F C:\Windows\System32\sethc.exe /A MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
signature-base cn_pentestset_scripts.yar $s1 = “success = obj.run("cmd /c takeown /f %SystemRoot%\system32\sethc.exe&echo y| “ ascii /* PEStudio Blacklist: strings */ 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.

takeown

Enables an administrator to recover access to a file that previously was denied, by making the administrator the owner of the file. This command is typically used on batch files.

Syntax

takeown [/s <computer> [/u [<domain>\]<username> [/p [<password>]]]] /f <filename> [/a] [/r [/d {Y|N}]]

Parameters

Parameter Description
/s <computer> Specifies the name or IP address of a remote computer (do not use backslashes). The default value is the local computer. This parameter applies to all of the files and folders specified in the command.
/u [<domain>\]<username> Runs the script with the permissions of the specified user account. The default value is system permissions.
/p [<[password>] Specifies the password of the user account that is specified in the /u parameter.
/f <filename> Specifies the file name or directory name pattern. You can use the wildcard character * when specifying the pattern. You can also use the syntax <sharename>\<filename>.
/a Gives ownership to the Administrators group instead of the current user. If you don’t specify this option, file ownership is given to the user who is currently logged on to the computer.
/r Performs a recursive operation on all files in the specified directory and subdirectories.
/d {Y | N} Suppresses the confirmation prompt that is displayed when the current user does not have the List Folder permission on a specified directory, and instead uses the specified default value. Valid values for the /d option are:<ul><li>Y - Take ownership of the directory.</li><li>N - Skip the directory.<p>NOTE
You must use this option in conjunction with the /r option.</li></ul>
/? Displays help at the command prompt.

Remarks

  • Mixed patterns using (? and *) aren’t supported by takeown command.

  • After deleting the lock with takeown, you might have to use Windows Explorer to give yourself full permissions to the files and directories before you can delete them.

Examples

To take ownership of a file named Lostfile, type:

takeown /f lostfile

Additional References

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