Download makecab.exe: How to Make and Manage Cabinet Files with Makecab Utility
- herbiemosteller537
- Aug 15, 2023
- 6 min read
Adversaries may abuse various utilities to compress or encrypt data before exfiltration. Some third party utilities may be preinstalled, such as tar on Linux and macOS or zip on Windows systems. On Windows, diantz or makecab may be used to package collected files into a cabinet (.cab) file. diantz may also be used to download and compress files from remote locations (i.e. Remote Data Staging).[1] Additionally, xcopy on Windows can copy files and directories with a variety of options.
If the makecab.exe missing error appears on your PC, you can use the methods below. Some are automatic, which means you can start a process to let the system automatically restore the file. Others are manual, meaning you will have to manually download makecab.exe and move it to the correct program installation folder. If you are not very experienced with digging through system files and would prefer not to, you can simply go straight to an automatic method.
Download makecab.exe
Outbyte PC Repair allows you to automatically repair EXE errors, without you having to worry about choosing the right file or registering it. The utility will not only download the correct version of makecab.exe for free and suggest the right directory to install it to but will also resolve other issues related to the makecab.exe file.
Driver updates for the Windows operating system, as well as for network adapters, monitors, printers, etc., can be downloaded individually and installed from the Windows Update Center or by using specialized utilities.
This operation will take a while and it is important to wait until it is complete. When finished, close the command prompt and restart the computer as usual. You should find that the makecab.exe missing error is gone.
System Restore is very useful if you want to fix makecab.exe error, or almost any other error. Using the "System Restore" function, you can choose to restore Windows to a date when the makecab.exe file was not damaged. Restoring Windows to an earlier date cancels changes that were made to system files since that date. Please follow the steps below to roll back Windows using System Restore and get rid of the makecab.exe error.
Then you download makecab.exe and write the ddf-Diamondfile on the fly (a file that describes your deployment package). Create a process that will execute makecab and give it your ddf-File as an argument. This should result into a new cab-File that has the merged data from the both initial files.
The tools mentioned in this topic (i.e., inf2cat.exe and signtool.exe) are included in the Windows Kit, which is installed with Visual Studio and many other development tools. Also, it can be downloaded for free from the Microsoft's website. makecab.exe is the Windows system utility.
In order to use the scripts, you'll first need to specify certain paths and certificate properties in the set_env.cmd script so that all files and certificates are found correctly by external tools (i.e., inf2cat.exe, signtool.exe, and makecab.exe).Specifically, you'll need to set the following variables in set_env.cmd:CBTBASE: the path to the product's files. The default value should be sufficient unless the scripts have been moved, or the product's directory structure has been modified.
SIGN_SHA1_HASH and SIGN_SHA256_HASH: the SHA1 hashes of your SHA1 and SHA256 code signing certificates, respectively.
CERTPATH: the path of the root certificate file used to countersign your code signing certificates.
WINKITDIR: the path to the Windows SDK. By default, this variable is set to the path to the Windows 10 SDK on 64-bit machines.
SIGNTOOLDIR: the path to the signtool.exe utility. The signtool.exe utility is included in Windows 10 SDK, but the exact path will differ depending on the build number of the SDK that you have installed; the script will warn you if the default path must be changed.
INF2CATDIR: the path to the inf2cat.exe utility. The inf2cat.exe utility is included in Windows 10 SDK, but the exact path will differ depending on the build number of the SDK that you have installed; the script will warn you if the default path must be changed.
SEVENZIPPATH: the path to the 7zip executable (including the EXE name). 7zip is used to extract the signed driver files from the ZIP file that Microsoft provides for download. You can use another unzip utility if you wish, but you'll likely need to modify the relevant commands in the prepare_sign_new.cmd script if you do.
To sign the drivers for use with Windows 10, you'll need to obtain an Extended Validation (EV) code signing certificate and register it with Microsoft for kernel-mode signing;refer to Microsoft's Driver Signing Policy article for more information.Then, either use the provided scripts, or follow these steps (adapted from Microsoft's Attestation Signing a Kernel Driver for Public Release article):Ensure that the cbdirect.cab file's contents have been unpacked into the INSTALL_DIR\drivers\scripts directory.
Create a new CAB file for submission (this is different from the CAB unpacked in step 1).To do this, run the prepare_sign_new.cmd script in the INSTALL_DIR\drivers\scripts directory; it performs the following steps:Creates a CAB File for submission to Microsoft:makecab.exe /V3 /D "ver"="20" /F cbdirect_ms.ddf
Signs the newly-created CAB file with your EV certificate using the following command (any recent version of signtool.exe will work):%SIGNTOOLDIR%\signtool.exe sign /T /n "your-cert-subject" cbdirect.cab
Opens the Microsoft Partner Center, and then pauses so that you can do steps 4-8 manually:
On the opened page, create a driver signing submission by filling in the form fields as follows:File: Upload the cbdirect.cab file created in step 2 (not the one included with the product).
Product name: A name of your choosing which is used to identify this driver signing submission.
Perform test-signing ...: Leave unchecked.
Requested Signatures: All checkboxes must be checked.
Then, click the "Submit" button.The signing process will be displayed at the top of the page.
In the "Distribution" section, none of the actions are required.
After signing is complete (i.e., when the progress reaches the "Finalize" stage), a Signed_XXXXXXX.zip file will be available for downloading. This ZIP file will contain the signed driver files for all architectures.To download the ZIP file, click the "More" link in the "Packages and signing properties" section of the page, then click the "Download signed files" button.
Save the ZIP file to the same directory where the previously-submitted CAB file is (i.e., INSTALL_DIR\drivers\scripts\Sign), then continue the script.
The script will finish by unpacking the downloaded ZIP file's contents.
After the ZIP file is unpacked, you may proceed with preparation of the final CAB file (i.e., the one that will be distributed to end-users). Refer to the "Creation of Installation CAB File" section, below.
Typically, CAB files contain Windows system or device driver updates. For example, a CAB file might contain driver updates for a printer. Windows often automatically downloads and installs the updates CAB files contain, using installers such as Setup API, Device Installer, and AdvPack. However, users can also manually download CAB files from the Microsoft Update Catalog.
Additionally, Windows users can create their own CAB files using a command-line utility called makecab. To use makecab, open a Command Prompt window, enter makecab.exe, and press Enter. This will show instructions for how to use makecab.
The genuine makecab.exe file is a software component of Microsoft Windows by Microsoft.Microsoft Windows is an operating system. Microsoft Cabinet Maker is a file archiving utility for Microsoft Windows. Makecab.exe is used to install Microsoft Cabinet Maker, and does not cause issues with your PC.Cabinet Maker is a file archiving program for Microsoft Windows. It supports embedded digital certificates and lossless data compression that are used to maintain the archive registry. A CAB archive can reserve empty slots for each file in the archive and even digital signatures or arbitrary data for some application specific uses, and is used by a wide range of Microsoft installation technologies. The archived files of this program are often associated with self-extracting programs like IExpress, where the executable program extracts the relevant CAB file.The Microsoft Corporation was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. The company is renowned for its vast range of leading products such as the Windows range of operating systems, Xbox consoles and Surface tablets. Microsoft acquired LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in 2016 and Skype Technologies for $8,5 billion in 2011, and its first IPO (Initial Public Offering) helped create three billionaires and roughly 12,000 millionaires from its employees.
The .exe extension on a filename indicates an executable file. Executable files may, in some cases, harm your computer. Therefore, please read below to decide for yourself whether the makecab.exe on your computer is a Trojan that you should remove, or whether it is a file belonging to the Windows operating system or to a trusted application.
Description: Makecab.exe is an important part of Windows, but often causes problems. The file makecab.exe is located in the C:\Windows\System32 folder.Known file sizes on Windows 10/11/7 are 98,816 bytes (88% of all occurrences), 69,120 bytes, 68,608 bytes or 57,344 bytes. The makecab.exe file is a Windows system file. The file is a trustworthy file from Microsoft. The program is not visible.Therefore the technical security rating is 1% dangerous, but you should also take into account the user reviews.
Important: Some malware disguises itself as makecab.exe, particularly when not located in the C:\Windows\System32 folder. Therefore, you should check the makecab.exe process on your PC to see if it is a threat. We recommend Security Task Manager for verifying your computer's security. This was one of the Top Download Picks of The Washington Post and PC World. 2ff7e9595c
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