taskkill.exe

  • File Path: C:\windows\system32\taskkill.exe
  • Description: Terminates Processes

Hashes

Type Hash
MD5 0BDA7EC0A57799EF56854017F57E9F9B
SHA1 38B1DF4EF753FF67B2EA5069B1B18841F58AA02F
SHA256 864D801AEC0B788EB0880A4DE45B202796273867CF08DAF247B672A25704035B
SHA384 62DD9F819DD80EFBF1C78BFB5D7571500B53241666900D6D847F100348EC00EFC0EF84BAAF1571CC0275B092D953F563
SHA512 7A7C167C08F5121EC179F06DABCEAF8662F54F858CD369AE1BEDEE76DC55151ED02E666EB3ACDC1CBD29849E9E3A1EA50CE69E2C71CEE8BD7B05C6761365363B
SSDEEP 3072:EH3ZD80M/Xp6hy2XCquuYZeH5ToM+J/8tDu2xQ:8I0MB1eHlt0ktDu

Signature

  • Status: The file C:\windows\system32\taskkill.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: taskkill.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 taskkill.exe being misused. While taskkill.exe is not inherently malicious, its legitimate functionality can be abused for malicious purposes.

Source Source File Example License
sigma proc_creation_win_apt_babyshark.yml - cmd.exe /c taskkill /im cmd.exe DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_multiple_suspicious_cli.yml - taskkill.exe DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_del.yml #cmd.exe (PID: 1044 cmdline: 'C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe' /c taskkill /im A8D4.exe /f & timeout /t 6 & del /f /q 'C:\Users\user~1\AppData\Local\Temp\A8D4.exe' & del C:\ProgramData\*.dll & exit DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_disable_raccine.yml - 'taskkill ' DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_spoolsv_child_processes.yml - \taskkill.exe DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_taskkill.yml title: Suspicious Execution of Taskkill DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_taskkill.yml taskkill: DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_taskkill.yml Image\|endswith: \taskkill.exe DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_taskkill.yml condition: taskkill DRL 1.0
LOLBAS Rundll32.yml - Command: rundll32.exe javascript:"\..\mshtml,RunHTMLApplication ";document.write();h=new%20ActiveXObject("WScript.Shell").run("calc.exe",0,true);try{h.Send();b=h.ResponseText;eval(b);}catch(e){new%20ActiveXObject("WScript.Shell").Run("cmd /c taskkill /f /im rundll32.exe",0,true);}  
atomic-red-team T1027.md taskkill /f /im calculator.exe >nul 2>nul MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1036.md taskkill /IM Calculator.exe /f >$null 2>$null MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1047.md taskkill /f /im calculator.exe MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1489.md taskkill.exe /f /im #{process_name} MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1574.002.md taskkill /F /IM #{process_name} >nul 2>&1 MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
signature-base apt_golddragon.yar $s3 = “taskkill /f /im daumcleaner.exe” fullword ascii CC BY-NC 4.0
signature-base apt_greenbug.yar $s4 = “taskkill /im winit.exe /f” fullword ascii CC BY-NC 4.0
signature-base apt_irontiger.yar $s5 = “taskkill /im conime.exe” fullword ascii CC BY-NC 4.0
signature-base apt_keyboys.yar $s1 = “taskkill /f /pid %s” fullword ascii CC BY-NC 4.0
signature-base apt_leviathan.yar $x2 = “.Run "taskkill /im mshta.exe” ascii CC BY-NC 4.0
signature-base apt_oilrig.yar $a1 = “taskkill /F /IM cscript.exe” fullword ascii CC BY-NC 4.0
signature-base apt_op_honeybee.yar $x1 = “cmd /c taskkill /im cliconfg.exe /f /t && del /f /q” fullword ascii CC BY-NC 4.0
signature-base apt_winnti_burning_umbrella.yar $s1 = “Taskkill /IM %s /F & %s” fullword ascii CC BY-NC 4.0
signature-base crime_cn_campaign_njrat.yar $a1 = “taskkill /f /im cmd.exe” fullword ascii CC BY-NC 4.0
signature-base crime_cn_campaign_njrat.yar $a2 = “taskkill /f /im mstsc.exe” fullword ascii CC BY-NC 4.0
signature-base crime_cn_campaign_njrat.yar $a3 = “taskkill /f /im taskmgr.exe” fullword ascii CC BY-NC 4.0
signature-base crime_cn_campaign_njrat.yar $a4 = “taskkill /f /im regedit.exe” fullword ascii CC BY-NC 4.0
signature-base crime_cn_campaign_njrat.yar $a5 = “taskkill /f /im mmc.exe” fullword ascii CC BY-NC 4.0
signature-base crime_nansh0u.yar $s1 = “taskkill /im cmd.exe /f” fullword ascii CC BY-NC 4.0
stockpile 95727b87-175c-4a69-8c7a-a5d82746a753.yml taskkill /s \\#{remote.host.fqdn} /FI "Imagename eq s4ndc4t.exe" Apache-2.0
stockpile ece5dde3-d370-4c20-b213-a1f424aa8d03.yml wmic /node:”#{remote.host.fqdn}" /user:”#{domain.user.name}" /password:”#{domain.user.password}" process call create "taskkill /f /im s4ndc4t.exe" Apache-2.0

Additional Info*

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


taskkill

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

Ends one or more tasks or processes. Processes can be ended by process ID or image name. You can use the tasklist command command to determine the process ID (PID) for the process to be ended.

[!NOTE] This command replaces the kill tool.

Syntax

taskkill [/s <computer> [/u [<domain>\]<username> [/p [<password>]]]] {[/fi <filter>] [...] [/pid <processID> | /im <imagename>]} [/f] [/t]

Parameters

Parameter Description
/s <computer> Specifies the name or IP address of a remote computer (do not use backslashes). The default is the local computer.
/u <domain>\<username> Runs the command with the account permissions of the user who is specified by <username> or by <domain>\<username>. The /u parameter can be specified only if /s is also specified. The default is the permissions of the user who is currently logged on to the computer that is issuing the command.
/p <password> Specifies the password of the user account that is specified in the /u parameter.
/fi <filter> Applies a filter to select a set of tasks. You can use more than one filter or use the wildcard character (*) to specify all tasks or image names. The valid filters are listed in the Filter names, operators, and values section of this article.
/pid <processID> Specifies the process ID of the process to be terminated.
/im <imagename> Specifies the image name of the process to be terminated. Use the wildcard character (*) to specify all image names.
/f Specifies that processes be forcefully ended. This parameter is ignored for remote processes; all remote processes are forcefully ended.
/t Ends the specified process and any child processes started by it.
Filter names, operators, and values
Filter Name Valid Operators Valid Value(s)
STATUS eq, ne RUNNING | NOT RESPONDING | UNKNOWN
IMAGENAME eq, ne Image name
PID eq, ne, gt, lt, ge, le PID value
SESSION eq, ne, gt, lt, ge, le Session number
CPUtime eq, ne, gt, lt, ge, le CPU time in the format HH:MM:SS, where MM and SS are between 0 and 59 and HH is any unsigned number
MEMUSAGE eq, ne, gt, lt, ge, le Memory usage in KB
USERNAME eq, ne Any valid user name (<user> or <domain\user>)
SERVICES eq, ne Service name
WINDOWTITLE eq, ne Window title
MODULES eq, ne DLL name

Remarks

  • The WINDOWTITLE and STATUS filters aren’t supported when a remote system is specified.

  • The wildcard character (*) is accepted for the */im option, only when a filter is applied.

  • Ending a remote process is always carried out forcefully, regardless whether the /f option is specified.

  • Providing a computer name to the hostname filter causes a shutdown, stopping all processes.

Examples

To end the processes with process IDs 1230, 1241, and 1253, type:

taskkill /pid 1230 /pid 1241 /pid 1253

To forcefully end the process Notepad.exe if it was started by the system, type:

taskkill /f /fi "USERNAME eq NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" /im notepad.exe

To end all processes on the remote computer Srvmain with an image name beginning with note, while using the credentials for the user account Hiropln, type:

taskkill /s srvmain /u maindom\hiropln /p p@ssW23 /fi "IMAGENAME eq note*" /im *

To end the process with the process ID 2134 and any child processes that it started, but only if those processes were started by the Administrator account, type:

taskkill /pid 2134 /t /fi "username eq administrator"

To end all processes that have a process ID greater than or equal to 1000, regardless of their image names, type:

taskkill /f /fi "PID ge 1000" /im *

Additional References


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