PowerShell Commands

Set-AuthenticodeSignature

Set-AuthenticodeSignature [-Certificate*] <X509Certificate2> [-Confirm] -Content* <Byte[]> [-Force] [-HashAlgorithm<String>] [-IncludeChain {signer | notroot | all}] -SourcePathOrExtension* <String[]> [-TimestampServer <String>][-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
Set-AuthenticodeSignature [-FilePath*] <String[]> [-Certificate*] <X509Certificate2> [-Confirm] [-Force][-HashAlgorithm <String>] [-IncludeChain {signer | notroot | all}] [-TimestampServer <String>] [-WhatIf][<CommonParameters>]
Set-AuthenticodeSignature [-Certificate*] <X509Certificate2> [-Confirm] [-Force] [-HashAlgorithm <String>][-IncludeChain {signer | notroot | all}] -LiteralPath* <String[]> [-TimestampServer <String>] [-WhatIf][<CommonParameters>]

The Set-AuthenticodeSignature cmdlet adds an Authenticode signature to any file that supports Subject Interface Package (SIP).

In a Windows PowerShell script file, the signature takes the form of a block of text that indicates the end of the instructions that are executed in the script. If there is a signature in the file when this cmdlet runs, that signature is removed.

Parameters

-Certificate <X509Certificate2>

  • This value is required
  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the certificate that will be used to sign the script or file. Enter a variable that stores an object representing the certificate or an expression that gets the certificate.

To find a certificate, use Get-PfxCertificate or use the Get-ChildItem cmdlet in the Certificate (Cert:) drive. If the certificate is not valid or does not have code-signing authority, the command fails.

-Confirm [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.

-Content <Byte[]>

  • This value is required
  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

To find a certificate, use Get-PfxCertificate or use the Get-ChildItem cmdlet in the Certificate (Cert:) drive. If the certificate is not valid or does not have code-signing authority, the command fails.

-FilePath <String[]>

  • This value is required
  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Specifies the path to a file that is being signed.

-Force [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Allows the cmdlet to append a signature to a read-only file. Even using the Force parameter, the cmdlet cannot override security restrictions.

-HashAlgorithm <String>

  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the hashing algorithm that Windows uses to compute the digital signature for the file.

For Windows PowerShell 3.0, the default is SHA-256, which is the Windows default hashing algorithm. For Windows PowerShell 2.0, the default is SHA-1. Files that are signed with a different hashing algorithm might not be recognized on other systems.

-IncludeChain <String>

  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Determines which certificates in the certificate trust chain are included in the digital signature. NotRoot is the default. The acceptable values for this parameter are:

- Signer. Includes only the signer's certificate. - NotRoot. Includes all of the certificates in the certificate chain, except for the root authority. - All. Includes all the certificates in the certificate chain.

-LiteralPath <String[]>

  • This value is required
  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Specifies the path to a file that is being signed. Unlike FilePath , the value of the LiteralPath parameter is used exactly as it is typed. No characters are interpreted as wildcards. If the path includes escape characters, enclose it in single quotation marks. Single quotation marks tell Windows PowerShell not to interpret any characters as escape sequences.

-SourcePathOrExtension <String[]>

  • This value is required
  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

To find a certificate, use Get-PfxCertificate or use the Get-ChildItem cmdlet in the Certificate (Cert:) drive. If the certificate is not valid or does not have code-signing authority, the command fails.

-TimestampServer <String>

  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Uses the specified time stamp server to add a time stamp to the signature. Type the URL of the time stamp server as a string.

The time stamp represents the exact time that the certificate was added to the file. A time stamp prevents the script from failing if the certificate expires because users and programs can verify that the certificate was valid at the time of signing.

-WhatIf [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.

<CommonParameters>

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug,ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, WarningAction, WarningVariable,OutBuffer, PipelineVariable, and OutVariable.

Inputs
System.String
You can pipe a string that contains the file path to Set-AuthenticodeSignature .
Outputs
System.Management.Automation.Signature
Examples
  1. Get a code-signing certificate and sign a script:
    PS C:\> $Cert = Get-ChildItem -Path "Cert:\CurrentUser\My" -CodeSigningCert
    PS C:\>  Set-AuthenticodeSignature -FilePath "PsTestInternet2.ps1" -Certificate $Cert
    

    These commands get a code-signing certificate from the Windows PowerShell certificate provider and use it to sign a Windows PowerShell script.

    The first command uses the Get-ChildItem cmdlet and the Windows PowerShell certificate provider to get the certificates in the Cert:\CurrentUser\My subdirectory of the certificate store. (The Cert: drive is the drive exposed by the certificate provider.) The CodeSigningCert parameter, which is supported only by the certificate provider, limits the certificates retrieved to those with code-signing authority. The command stores the result in the $Cert variable.

    The second command uses the Set-AuthenticodeSignature cmdlet to sign the PSTestInternet2.ps1 script. It uses the FilePath parameter to specify the name of the script and the Certificate parameter to specify that the certificate is stored in the $Cert variable.

  2. Get a code-signing certificate and sign a script:
    PS C:\> $Cert = Get-PfxCertificate -FilePath "C:\Test\Mysign.pfx"
    PS C:\> Set-AuthenticodeSignature -FilePath "ServerProps.ps1" -Certificate $Cert
    

    These commands use the Get-PfxCertificate cmdlet to find a code signing certificate. Then, they use it to sign a Windows PowerShell script.

    The first command uses the Get-PfxCertificate cmdlet to find the C:\Test\MySign.pfx certificate and store it in the $Cert variable.

    The second command uses Set-AuthenticodeSignature to sign the script. The FilePath parameter of Set-AuthenticodeSignature specifies the path to the script file being signed and the Certificate parameter passes the $Cert variable containing the certificate to Set-AuthenticodeSignature .

    If the certificate file is password protected, Windows PowerShell prompts you for the password.

  3. Add a digital signature with the root authority:
    PS C:\> Set-AuthenticodeSignature -FilePath "C:\scripts\Remodel.ps1" -Certificate $Cert -IncludeChain "All" -TimeStampServer "http://timestamp.fabrikam.com/scripts/timstamper.dll"
    

    This command adds a digital signature that includes the root authority in the trust chain, and it is signed by a third-party timestamp server.

    The command uses the FilePath parameter to specify the script being signed and the Certificate parameter to specify the certificate that is saved in the $Cert variable. It uses the IncludeChain parameter to include all of the signatures in the trust chain (including the root authority). It also uses the TimeStampServer parameter to add a timestamp to the signature. This prevents the script from failing when the certificate expires.

Additional Notes

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. It is attributed to Microsoft Corporation and can be found here.

PowerShell Commands