waitfor.exe

  • File Path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\waitfor.exe
  • Description: waitfor - wait/send a signal over a network

Hashes

Type Hash
MD5 F5617CDB42AD05AB03110CCE1E4EF50E
SHA1 5443E7BFE1F154431F714D7D2EF0E4BD5B732B84
SHA256 BB97E4BAB12679A25D3169B358541DDD313E7C13711D787CD2A6C559D2CE5DBC
SHA384 EE974564270E7040BE7ADA1DDE7543D95349BE9BD06860213987062C3D91553142EDD97142D99416F71F8A7D8C8156C9
SHA512 DEB7514BD8993F9065AFE04A8D2520197B3C52249E52DD4D077B6773A5434BCDB7D7FD8E7E61A114ACE2D59DF00788A8D1CCD485F8CC9C0C101EBE31E34AA287
SSDEEP 768:HfrvuSE5kNFQdxitL1Z16lDOmPA5UpCe/aReHKXjJOxXfe:HfbNE5O0WL1Z16JOz2p/HKoxPe
IMP EC6BDF00E84FBC5DCE72206B4309E937
PESHA1 2D56619E2D4BC7C68169C7E9813DAC749BB54AC6
PE256 4D935E6A10A6F0468999CF7D21339151B4B57A13DF38C3921C3E1546E62E7E15

Runtime Data

Usage (stdout):


WaitFor has two ways of working: 

Syntax 1: to send a signal
    WAITFOR [/S system [/U user [/P [password]]]] /SI signal

Syntax 2: to wait for a signal
    WAITFOR [/T timeout] signal 

Description:
    This tool sends, or waits for, a signal on a system. When /S is not
    specified, the signal will be broadcasted to all the systems in a
    domain. If /S is specified, then the signal will be sent only
    to the specified system.

Parameter List:
    /S     system         Specifies remote system to send signal to.

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

    /P     [password]     Specifies the password for the given user context.

    /SI                   Sends the signal across the net to waiting machines

    /T     timeout        Number of seconds to wait for signal. Valid range
                          is 1 - 99999. Default is to wait forever for signal.

    signal                The name of the signal to wait for or to send.

    /?                    Displays this help message.

    NOTE: A system can wait for multiple unique signal names.
    The signal name cannot exceed 225 characters and cannot
    contain characters other than a-z, A-Z, 0-9 and ASCII 
    characters in the range 128-255.

Examples:
    WAITFOR /?
    WAITFOR SetupReady 
    WAITFOR CopyDone /T 100 
    WAITFOR /SI SetupReady 
    WAITFOR /S system  /U user /P password /SI CopyDone

Usage (stderr):

ERROR: The signal cannot contain characters other than a-z, A-Z, 0-9 
and ASCII characters in the range 128-255.

Child Processes:

conhost.exe

Open Handles:

Path Type
(R-D) C:\Windows\System32\en-US\waitfor.exe.mui File
(RW-) C:\Windows\System32 File
\BaseNamedObjects\C:*ProgramData*Microsoft*Windows*Caches*{6AF0698E-D558-4F6E-9B3C-3716689AF493}.2.ver0x0000000000000001.db Section
\BaseNamedObjects\C:*ProgramData*Microsoft*Windows*Caches*{DDF571F2-BE98-426D-8288-1A9A39C3FDA2}.2.ver0x0000000000000001.db Section
\BaseNamedObjects\C:*ProgramData*Microsoft*Windows*Caches*cversions.2.ro Section
\Sessions\2\BaseNamedObjects\NLS_CodePage_1252_3_2_0_0 Section
\Sessions\2\BaseNamedObjects\NLS_CodePage_437_3_2_0_0 Section

Loaded Modules:

Path
C:\WINDOWS\System32\KERNEL32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\System32\KERNELBASE.dll
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll
C:\WINDOWS\system32\waitfor.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: waitfor.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: 0/73
  • VirusTotal Link: https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/bb97e4bab12679a25d3169b358541ddd313e7c13711d787cd2a6c559d2ce5dbc/detection

Possible Misuse

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

Source Source File Example License
signature-base apt_oilrig.yar $x2 = “wss.Run "powershell.exe " & Chr(34) & "& {waitfor haha /T 2}" & Chr(34), 0” fullword ascii 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.

waitfor

Sends or waits for a signal on a system. This command is used to synchronize computers across a network.

Syntax

waitfor [/s <computer> [/u [<domain>\]<user> [/p [<password>]]]] /si <signalname>
waitfor [/t <timeout>] <signalname>

Parameters

Parameter Description
/s <computer> Specifies the name or IP address of a remote computer (don’t use backslashes). The default is the local computer. This parameter applies to all files and folders specified in the command. If you don’t use this parameter, the signal is broadcast to all the systems in a domain. If you do use this parameter, the signal is sent only to the specified system.
/u [<domain>]<user> Runs the script using the credentials of the specified user account. By default, waitfor uses the current user’s credentials.
/p [\<password>] Specifies the password of the user account that is specified in the /u parameter.
/si Sends the specified signal across the network. This parameter also lets you manually activate a signal.
/t <timeout> Specifies the number of seconds to wait for a signal. By default, waitfor waits indefinitely.
<signalname> Specifies the signal that waitfor waits for or sends. This parameter isn’t case-sensitive and can’t exceed 225 characters. Valid characters include a-z, A-Z, 0-9, and the ASCII extended character set (128-255).
/? Displays help at the command prompt.
Remarks

  • You can run multiple instances of waitfor on a single computer, but each instance of waitfor must wait for a different signal. Only one instance of waitfor can wait for a given signal on a given computer.

  • Computers can only receive signals if they are in the same domain as the computer sending the signal.

  • You can use this command when you test software builds. For example, the compiling computer can send a signal to several computers running waitfor after the compile has completed successfully. On receipt of the signal, the batch file that includes waitfor can instruct the computers to immediately start installing software or running tests on the compiled build.

Examples

To wait until the espresso\build007 signal is received, type:

waitfor espresso\build007

By default, waitfor waits indefinitely for a signal.

To wait 10 seconds for the espresso\compile007 signal to be received before timing out, type:

waitfor /t 10 espresso\build007

To manually activate the espresso\build007 signal, type:

waitfor /si espresso\build007

Additional References

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