How to Fix ‘SignTool Error: Invalid Parameter (0x80080057)’

Buy Code Signing Certificate
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)

This quick guide will help you resolve this size-related issue in a snap

Editor’s Note: This article is one in a series of pieces we will publish over the next few weeks that aim to help resolve code signing-related errors for SignTool, Jarsigner, Electron, and Windows.

Let’s check another ambiguous but pretty common code signing-related error on Windows:

SignTool Error: invalid parameter (0x80080057)

But wait, isn’t this a SignTool error? Not exactly. It’s technically an error that impacts Windows 7 and later devices for code signing, regardless of which signing tool is used. However, since SignTool is a popular tool, it only makes sense that we’d speak about it from that perspective.

What the SignTool Error ‘Invalid Parameter (0x80080057)’ Means

The invalid parameter code signing error denotes a problem with one of the code’s parameters in its header. This error typically impacts portable executable (PE) files (e.g., .exe and .sys. files), which have header size limitations.

Possible Cause(s) of the Invalid Parameter (0x80080057) Error

This happens because the header for the portable executable (PE) file you attempted to sign is larger than 4 gigabytes (GB), which is Windows’ maximum limit. As a result, in general, the code won’t be signed. You might still be able to sign some .cat files. However, the generated hash value will be inaccurate. 

How to Fix This SignTool Error

Reduce the size of the PE file you want to sign so that it’s equal to or smaller than 4GB.

Platform(s) or System(s) Affected

SignTool.exe (Windows, Visual Studio Developer Command Prompt, Visual Studio Developer PowerShell).