taskkill.exe
Sources: 300M+ executions observed in the wild.
Summary
Windows Task Kill utility - terminates processes by name or PID. Used legitimately by admins and scripts but also by attackers to kill security tools.
taskkill.exe is the 409th most commonly executed Windows program in EchoTrail's dataset, observed 17,993 times across enterprise environments. It typically runs from C:\Windows\System32 and it is most often launched by cmd.exe.
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https://api.echotrail.io/v1/process/taskkill.exeFree returns the summary. Team returns the full record you see on this page. Endpoint docs
Behavior
Top Paths
- C:\Windows\System3258.9%
- C:\Windows\SysWOW6441.1%
Top Hashes (SHA256)
- 4e664b35e8de6c6b38e3231dfaf00744435ffb806e00355fece1e0cc1d2121c127.77%
- 6ad8a1f2e5412cdd146243b7be25f955cc3f52c193f56d8a4e9b03ba68261db515.45%
- d9e29313d2127ff1983a050d84626765d01682edb2c1c5d5f209dda20c3eab8711.63%
- d3723916e8f8ab3ed3c7c261d33111b0124f47a901ecffd744513cb4f48905776.88%
- 26b9b184c2f7f60811c0c4cb25c12568d996ac1ece0ef64aa1b9e8f39aea74d76.3%
- ea3a07c527f431d3c1ae733cf0f1a1c2e221079fdd36f1c56bf71e5eeb96ff1b5.47%
- 640a44278ac9d06068de7e7e771c7c63c806c00dcd8ba2ecc1c023d10662ed615.39%
- 031fa2ab892dd560fcfb87377eac92e0252b2026634c0530d2ed60c39b35d9483.99%
- 9472f2da48163a7bf36af3d5a923957788721dce35a3da543cc5e7a1f5ca54753.52%
- 56f8cc2c1790c389394733b84c3fb55e10977e9f0fe0c08110ac11f0fe47f05e3.5%
Code Signing
Signers by share of executions
- 100%Microsoft WindowsValidCatalog signed · 2 hashes · 2 certificates
- Chain
- Microsoft Windows
- Microsoft Windows Production PCA 2011
- Microsoft Root Certificate Authority 2010
- Valid
- Apr 16, 2026 to Oct 17, 2026
- Hashes
- 1249717315fc8f4d2df17d5db9da0444795fdb9fb83dfb1f763c3f39282244f795% of executions, first seen Sep 17, 2026
- 806fcd3ba14d4d7d9c5c0e4eb6cb75cf87d6ef2f8593f379ca3617de3715209c5% of executions, first seen Sep 25, 2026
Full certificate detail on Team.
Process Ancestry
Top Grandparents
- AsusTPLoader.exe49.63%
- msiexec.exe14.58%
- services.exe4.12%
- igfxCUIService.exe3.83%
- powershell.exe2.42%
- svchost.exe2.09%
- HPSF.exe1.99%
- explorer.exe1.7%
Top Parents
- cmd.exe45.25%
- zCCT.exe22.09%
- MsMpEng.exe6.44%
- msiexec.exe5.86%
- HPSSFUpdater.exe2.28%
- rubyw.exe1.9%
- powershell.exe1.64%
Top Children
- conhost.exe100%
Security Analysis
What does taskkill.exe normally do?
Invoked by administrators or scripts to stop unresponsive or unwanted processes.
When is taskkill.exe suspicious?
Killing security software processes (AV, EDR, SIEM agents). Rapid successive calls targeting multiple processes. Called from unusual parent processes.
How do attackers abuse taskkill.exe?
Ransomware and malware use taskkill to disable security products, backup agents, and database services before encryption or data theft. Common pattern: taskkill /f /im <security_product>.exe
Detection guidance
Monitor for taskkill targeting known security product process names. Alert on batch termination of multiple processes in quick succession.
False positive notes
Developers and admins legitimately use taskkill. Software installers may kill processes during updates. Focus detection on security product targets.
Related Processes
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