taskkill.exe

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

Hashes

Type	Hash
MD5	`A599D3B2FAFBDE4C1A6D7D0F839451C7`
SHA1	`0225BBEC16CB7B23B189F811065767180EDA9801`
SHA256	`56F8CC2C1790C389394733B84C3FB55E10977E9F0FE0C08110AC11F0FE47F05E`
SHA384	`94A9CBC5732353B92378FD8BCE2941AEA223991653BFD2FE330FE40C79AFE239E8CEA5FCC16439C82D8320E4094FFD83`
SHA512	`ACFD16B245A667C3766D36EA753AA7002A03C206B7C3117CCAC92315401B536F56CEFF606D8112178DD8916A20378AB91818E0E65E6CCFD5D75955F511D6FBFB`
SSDEEP	`1536:mr0UyaEu4C1f5FJHLK9eHckIe5VZ67IrujQR4I+9TrxxIzN:y0UBEu4kNysIe5V8MCj5xxIB`
IMP	`71212588549FB37A46C8556278F180CD`
PESHA1	`D79571C64CF61F2668BEE3A5D1A944BC6D97C8A8`
PE256	`4EA4FAC43EEE4D1B3F7D37B81A7ABE05E880D9A7361A1A190A5014092AE585EC`

Runtime Data

Usage (stdout):

TASKKILL [/S system [/U username [/P [password]]]]
         { [/FI filter] [/PID processid | /IM imagename] } [/T] [/F]

Description:
    This tool is used to terminate tasks by process id (PID) or image name.

Parameter List:
    /S    system           Specifies the remote system to connect to.

    /U    [domain\]user    Specifies the user context under which the
                           command should execute.

    /P    [password]       Specifies the password for the given user
                           context. Prompts for input if omitted.

    /FI   filter           Applies a filter to select a set of tasks.
                           Allows "*" to be used. ex. imagename eq acme*

    /PID  processid        Specifies the PID of the process to be terminated.
                           Use TaskList to get the PID.

    /IM   imagename        Specifies the image name of the process
                           to be terminated. Wildcard '*' can be used
                           to specify all tasks or image names.

    /T                     Terminates the specified process and any
                           child processes which were started by it.

    /F                     Specifies to forcefully terminate the process(es).

    /?                     Displays this help message.

Filters:
    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
                                            of hh:mm:ss.
                                            hh - hours,
                                            mm - minutes, ss - seconds
    MEMUSAGE      eq, ne, gt, lt, ge, le    Memory usage in KB
    USERNAME      eq, ne                    User name in [domain\]user
                                            format
    MODULES       eq, ne                    DLL name
    SERVICES      eq, ne                    Service name
    WINDOWTITLE   eq, ne                    Window title

    NOTE
    ----
    1) Wildcard '*' for /IM switch is accepted only when a filter is applied.
    2) Termination of remote processes will always be done forcefully (/F).
    3) "WINDOWTITLE" and "STATUS" filters are not considered when a remote
       machine is specified.

Examples:
    TASKKILL /IM notepad.exe
    TASKKILL /PID 1230 /PID 1241 /PID 1253 /T
    TASKKILL /F /IM cmd.exe /T 
    TASKKILL /F /FI "PID ge 1000" /FI "WINDOWTITLE ne untitle*"
    TASKKILL /F /FI "USERNAME eq NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" /IM notepad.exe
    TASKKILL /S system /U domain\username /FI "USERNAME ne NT*" /IM *
    TASKKILL /S system /U username /P password /FI "IMAGENAME eq note*"

Usage (stderr):

ERROR: Invalid argument/option - '--help'.
Type "TASKKILL /?" for usage.

Loaded Modules:

Path
C:\Windows\System32\KERNEL32.DLL
C:\Windows\System32\KERNELBASE.dll
C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll
C:\Windows\system32\taskkill.exe

Signature

Status: Signature verified.
Serial: 3300000266BD1580EFA75CD6D3000000000266
Thumbprint: A4341B9FD50FB9964283220A36A1EF6F6FAA7840
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: taskkill.exe.mui
Product Name: Microsoft Windows Operating System
Company Name: Microsoft Corporation
File Version: 10.0.19041.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800)
Product Version: 10.0.19041.1
Language: English (United States)
Legal Copyright: Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Machine Type: 64-bit

File Scan

VirusTotal Detections: 0/75
VirusTotal Link: https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/56f8cc2c1790c389394733b84c3fb55e10977e9f0fe0c08110ac11f0fe47f05e/detection

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 *