What causes "({0}) The target file is a directory, not a file: [{1}]" in peass-ng/PEASS-ng?

Use Directory.Delete(path) for directories and File.Delete(path) only for files

peass-ng/PEASS-ng · error · UnauthorizedAccessException

( ) The target file is a directory, not a file: [ ]

Error message

({0}) The target file is a directory, not a file: [{1}]

What it means

DeleteFileCore throws UnauthorizedAccessException when the target of a file delete is actually a directory (localized resource string Target_File_Is_A_Directory). File.Delete must only target files; when the dwFileAttributes indicate a directory, AlphaFS raises this before calling native DeleteFile. Message includes the Win32 lastError code and the resolved long path.

Solutions

Use Directory.Delete(path) for directories and File.Delete(path) only for files
Check (File.GetAttributes(path) & FileAttributes.Directory) != 0 before deleting
Filter enumerated entries by type before passing them to File.Delete

Example fix

// before
File.Delete(entry);
// after
var attrs = File.GetAttributes(entry);
if ((attrs & FileAttributes.Directory) != 0)
    Directory.Delete(entry, true);
else
    File.Delete(entry);

Defensive patterns

Strategy: type-guard

Validate before calling

var attrs = File.GetAttributes(path);
bool isDir = (attrs & FileAttributes.Directory) != 0;
if (isDir) { Directory.Delete(path, true); return; }

Type guard

bool IsDirectory(string p) => File.GetAttributes(p).HasFlag(FileAttributes.Directory);

Try / catch

try { File.Delete(path); }
catch (UnauthorizedAccessException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("directory")) { Directory.Delete(path, true); }

Prevention

Check FileAttributes.Directory before any delete
Filter enumerated entries by type before deletion
Route deletes through one helper that dispatches file vs directory

When it happens

Trigger: Calling File.Delete or File.DeleteTransacted on a path that resolves to a directory, e.g. when a scan enumerates mixed entries and passes directory paths to File.Delete.

Common situations: Iterating Directory.GetFileSystemEntries and deleting everything with File.Delete; path points at a folder created by a previous run; filename/dirname confusion from user input.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of peass-ng/PEASS-ng@53fb989abc (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/709d1b5768ab274d. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at winPEAS/winPEASexe/winPEAS/3rdParty/AlphaFS/Filesystem/File Class/File Core Methods/File.DeleteFileCore.cs:112

                  NativeError.ThrowException(lastError, pathLp);
                  break;


               case Win32Errors.ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED:

                  if (attributes == 0)
                  {
                     var attrs = new NativeMethods.WIN32_FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DATA();

                     if (FillAttributeInfoCore(transaction, pathLp, ref attrs, false, true) == Win32Errors.NO_ERROR)

                        attributes = attrs.dwFileAttributes;
                  }


                  // MSDN: .NET 3.5+: UnauthorizedAccessException: Path is a directory.
                  if (IsDirectory(attributes))
                     throw new UnauthorizedAccessException(string.Format(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, "({0}) {1}", lastError.ToString(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture), string.Format(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, Resources.Target_File_Is_A_Directory, pathLp)));


                  if (IsReadOnlyOrHidden(attributes))
                  {
                     if (ignoreReadOnly)
                     {
                        // Reset attributes to Normal.
                        SetAttributesCore(transaction, false, pathLp, FileAttributes.Normal, PathFormat.LongFullPath);

                        goto startDeleteFile;
                     }


                     // MSDN: .NET 3.5+: UnauthorizedAccessException: Path specified a read-only file.
                     throw new FileReadOnlyException(pathLp);
                  }

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