For a quick start, tell SetACL the following:
- Object name (-on): This is the path to the object SetACL should operate on (file/directory/registry key/network share/service/printer).
- Object type (-ot): What kind of object does the object name refer to: file or directory (file), registry key (reg), service (srv), printer (prn), network share (shr)?
- Action (-actn): What should SetACL do with the object specified?
Example:
SetACL.exe -on c:\Windows -ot file -actn list
This lists the permissions set on the Windows directory in the default list format (CSV).
Have a look at the examples section to get an idea what more complex commands look like.
Syntax^
SetACL -on ObjectName -ot ObjectType -actn Action1 ParametersForAction1
[-actn Action2 ParametersForAction2] [Options]
It basically works like this: you specify one or more actions. Although actions have default parameters where that makes sense, in many cases you need to give SetACL some data to work with. That happens via additional parameters. Example: if the action is “set permissions”, then you need one additional parameter for each permission (ACE) to set, like “full control for everybody”.
Return codes^
SetACL returns 0 upon successful execution and a higher number if errors occured. A complete list of all return codes can be found here.
Parameter List^
Lists all command-line parameters SetACL can digest. Some are mandatory, others are required if a certain other parameters has been specified, some are optional.
Required parameters^
Object Name^
- -on ObjectName
-
Sets path and/or name of the object to process.
Required.
Object Type^
- -ot ObjectType
-
Sets the type of object.
Required.
Action parameters^
ACE^
- -actn ace -ace “n: Trustee;p: Permission;s: IsSID;i: Inheritance;m: Mode;w: Where“
-
Adds or modifies access control entries (ACEs).
Multiple ACEs may be specified like this: -actn ace -ace “params for ACE 1″ -ace “params for ACE 2″.
Trustee^
- -actn trustee -trst “n1: Trustee;n2: Trustee;s1: IsSID;s2: IsSID;ta: TrusteeAction;w: Where“
-
Removes, replaces or copies ACEs from a given trustee (which is another term for ‘user or group’).
Multiple trustees may be specified like this: -actn trustee -trst “params for trustee 1″ -trst “params for trustee 2″.
Domain^
- -actn domain -dom “n1: Domain;n2: Domain;da: DomainAction;w: Where“
-
Removes, replaces or copies ACEs from a given domain.
Multiple domains may be specified like this: -actn domain -dom “params for domain 1″ -dom “params for domain 2″.
Set Owner^
- -actn setowner -ownr “n: Trustee;s: IsSID“
- Sets the owner.
Set Primary Group^
- -actn setgroup -grp “n: Trustee;s: IsSID“
- Sets the primary group.
Set Protection Flags^
- -actn setprot -op “dacl: Protection;sacl: Protection“
- Configures protection from inheritance (whether to ‘allow inheritable permissions from the parent object to propagate to this object’).
Reset Children^
- -actn rstchldrn -rst Where
- Resets permissions on all sub-objects and enables propagation of inherited permissions.
Clear^
- -actn clear -clr Where
- Clears the ACL of any non-inherited ACEs. You can configure whether to remove non-inherited ACEs from the DACL, the SACL or both.
List^
- -actn list -lst “f: Format;w: What;i: ListInherited;s: DisplaySID” [-bckp Filename]
- Lists permissions. The result can optionally be written to a backup file.
Restore^
- -actn restore -bckp Filename
- Restores entire or parts of security descriptors from a file created with the list function. Please note that the listing needs to be in SDDL format.
Multiple Actions^
If multiple actions are specified, they are processed in this order:
- restore
- clear
- trustee
- domain
- ace, setowner, setgroup, setprot
- rstchldrn
- list
Optional parameters^
Recursion^
- -rec Recursion
- Configures recursion.
Log File^
- -log Filename
- Sets the name of a log file.
Filter Keyword^
- -fltr Keyword
-
Adds a filter keyword.
May be specified more than once.
Silent^
- -silent
- Enables silent mode (no output written to screen).
Ignore Errors^
- -ignoreerr
- Enables the error ignore mode, where SetACL does not stop upon an error.
Raw Mode^
- -raw
- In version 2.1.1 filtering of pseudo-inherited ACEs was introduced. This changes pseudo-inherited ACEs into truly inherited ACEs right before they are set. This behavior may not be desired, so it can be switched off with the command-line parameter “-raw” beginning with version 2.2.2.
Parameter Description^
ObjectName^
Name of the object to process. The format depends on the object type, but you should be able to specify names in all common variations. If you want to access a remote machine, prepend “\\Servername\” to the name of the object.
File system paths can be relative, but should be absolute; only then can SetACL convert them to the format required by the kernel for very long paths – in other words, if you want SetACL to work with paths longer than MAX_PATH (260 characters), use absolute paths. You can use drive letters for local and mapped network drives and UNC paths for remote computers. You can also use volume GUIDs, typically to specify a mounted volume. Here are some examples of valid file system paths:
- C:\Data
- Directory “Data” on local drive C:
- M:\Data
- Directory “Data” on mapped network drive M:
- \\Server\Share\Data
- Directory “Data” on file server “Server” below share “Share”
- \\Server.domain.com\Share\Data
- Same as before, but the server name specified as DNS name instead of NetBIOS name
- \\?\Volume{8a78ee92-4b22-11df-89ee-bb2cb99ebac7}\
- Root directory of a volume identified by its GUID
- \\?\Volume{8a78ee92-4b22-11df-89ee-bb2cb99ebac7}
-
(Note the missing backslash at the end)
Volume identify by its GUID. Tip: typically you do not want to set permissions on a volume, but on it’s root directory.
Registry paths can be specified flexibly, using the full hive names (e.g. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE) or the well-known short forms (e.g. HKLM).
Note: On remote computers only the hives HKU and HKLM can be accessed!
Examples:
- HKLM\Software
- The registry key “Software” below hive HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software
- The registry key “Software” below hive HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
- \\Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software
- The registry key “Software” below hive HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE on the remote computer “Computer”.
Paths to the other supported object types are specified in a way similar to file system paths. Here are some examples:
- LanmanWorkstation
- The workstation service on the local computer.
- \\Server\LanmanWorkstation
- The workstation service on the remote computer “Server”.
- “HP LaserJet 4200 PCL 6″
- The HP 4200 printer on the local computer.
- “\\Server\HP LaserJet 4200 PCL 6″
- The HP 4200 printer on the remote computer “Server”.
- Data$
- The share Data$ on the local computer.
- \\Server\Data$
- The share Data$ on the remote computer “Server”.
- root
- The root of the WMI namespace.
If the object name ends with a backslash and you enclose it in quotes, make sure to escape the last backslash with another backslash. For example, use C:\\ instead of C:\.
ObjectType^
Type of object:
- file
- Directory/file
- reg
- Registry key
- srv
- Service
- prn
- Printer
- shr
- Network share
- wmi
- WMI object
TrusteeAction^
Action to perform on the trustee specified:
- remtrst
- Remove all ACEs belonging to trustee specified.
- repltrst
- Replace trustee ‘n1′ by ‘n2′ in all ACEs.
- cpytrst
- Copy the permissions for trustee ‘n1′ to ‘n2′.
DomainAction^
Action to perform on the domain specified:
- remdom
- Remove all ACEs belonging to trustees of the domain specified.
- repldom
- Replace trustees from domain ‘n1′ by trustees with the same name from domain ‘n2′ in all ACEs.
- cpydom
- Copy permissions from trustees from domain ‘n1′ to trustees with the same name from domain ‘n2′ in all ACEs.
Explanation:
For every SID in the ACEs of the ACL(s), the name of the domain and user/group of the corresponding account is looked up. If the domain name is equal to the domain name ‘n1′ specified, the ACE is deleted in the case of ‘remdom’. In the case of ‘repldom’ or ‘cpydom’ a user/group of the same name is searched in the domain ‘n2′ specified. If such a user/group is found, either a new ACE with the same permissions and flags is created (‘cpydom’), or the SID in the ACE is replaced with the SID of the user/group in the domain ‘n2′ specified (‘repldom’).
Trustee^
Name or SID of a trustee (a user or group). Supported formats:
- [{computer | domain}\]name
- SID string
Where:
- computer: DNS or NetBIOS name of a computer -> ‘name’ must be a local account on that computer.
- domain: DNS or NetBIOS name of a domain -> ‘name’ must be a domain user or group.
- name: user or group name.
- SID string: String representation of a SID, e.g. S-1-5-32-544 for the group Administrators. Here is a list of well-known SIDs that are the same across Windows-versions and languages. When specifying SIDs instead of names you need to tell SetACL.
If no computer or domain name is given, SetACL tries to find a SID for ‘name’ in the following order:
- built-in accounts and well-known SIDs
- local accounts
- primary domain
- trusted domains
Domain^
Name of a domain (NetBIOS or DNS name).
Permission^
Permission(s) to set. Comma-separated list.
Here is a list of all permissions that can be set.
Example: ‘read,write_ea,write_dacl’
IsSID^
Is the trustee name a SID?
- y
- Yes
- n
- No
Specifying trustees as SIDs instead of using their names can be very useful in multi-language environments, because SIDs are language-independent, whereas predefined names are not. An example: the group ‘administrators’ is called ‘administratoren’ in german Windows versions. If you want your SetACL script to run on servers installed in either language you can use the well-known SID of the group ‘administrators’. Well-known SIDs are identical on every system. A list can be found here.
DisplaySID^
Display trustee names as SIDs?
- y
- Yes
- n
- No
- b
- Both (names and SIDs)
Inheritance^
Inheritance flags for the ACE. This may be a comma-separated list containing the following:
- so
- sub-objects
- sc
- sub-containers
- np
- no propagation
- io
- inherit only
Example: ‘io,so’
Mode^
Access mode of this ACE.
The following access modes are valid with DACLs:
- set
- Replace all permissions for given trustee by those specified.
- grant
- Add permissions specified to existing permissions for given trustee.
- deny
- Deny permissions specified.
- revoke
- Remove permissions specified from existing permissions for given trustee.
These access modes are valid with SACLs:
- aud_succ
- Add an audit success ACE.
- aud_fail
- Add an audit failure ACE.
- revoke
- Remove permissions specified from existing permissions for given trustee.
Where^
Apply settings to DACL, SACL, or both (comma-separated list):
- dacl
- Process the DACL (permissions list).
- sacl
- Process the SACL (auditing list).
- dacl,sacl
- Process DACL and SACL.
Recursion^
These recursion settings are valid for file system objects:
- no
- No recursion.
- cont
- Recurse, and process directories only.
- obj
- Recurse, and process files only.
- cont_obj
- Recurse, and process directories and files.
These recursion settings are valid for registry objects:
- no
- Do not recurse.
- yes
- Do Recurse.
Recursion is not supported for other object types.
Protection^
Controls the flag ‘allow inheritable permissions from the parent object to propagate to this object’:
- nc
- Do not change the current setting.
- np
- Object is not protected, i.e. inherits from parent.
- p_c
- Object is protected, ACEs from parent are copied.
- p_nc
- Object is protected, ACEs from parent are not copied.
Format^
Which list format to use:
- sddl
- Standardized SDDL format. Only listings in this format can be restored.
- csv/own
- SetACL’s own format. Easier to read than SDDL.
- tab
- SetACL’s tabular format. Humans prefers this over CSV and SDDL (especially over SDDL).
What^
Which components of security descriptors to include in the listing (comma-separated list):
- d
- DACL
- s
- SACL
- o
- Owner
- g
- Primary group
Example: ‘d,s’
ListInherited^
List inherited permissions? If no, only permissions set directly on an object are listed (default).
- y
- Yes
- n
- No
Filename^
Name of a file used for list/backup/restore operations or logging. The file is written in UNICODE.
Keyword^
Keyword to filter object names by. Names and paths containing this keyword are not processed.
Valid Standard Permissions^
Standard permissions sets provide easy access to the most commonly used combinations of specific permissions (for a list of the latter, see below).
Files / Directories^
- read
- Read (FILE_LIST_DIRECTORY + FILE_READ_EA + FILE_READ_ATTRIBUTES + READ_CONTROL)
- write
- Write (FILE_ADD_FILE + FILE_ADD_SUBDIRECTORY + FILE_WRITE_EA + FILE_WRITE_ATTRIBUTES)
- list_folder
- List folder (FILE_LIST_DIRECTORY + FILE_READ_EA + FILE_TRAVERSE + FILE_READ_ATTRIBUTES + READ_CONTROL)
- read_ex
- Read, execute (FILE_LIST_DIRECTORY + FILE_READ_EA + FILE_TRAVERSE + FILE_READ_ATTRIBUTES + READ_CONTROL)
- change
- Change (FILE_LIST_DIRECTORY + FILE_ADD_FILE + FILE_ADD_SUBDIRECTORY + FILE_READ_EA + FILE_WRITE_EA + FILE_TRAVERSE + FILE_READ_ATTRIBUTES + FILE_WRITE_ATTRIBUTES + READ_CONTROL + DELETE)
- full
- Full access (FILE_LIST_DIRECTORY + FILE_ADD_FILE + FILE_ADD_SUBDIRECTORY + FILE_READ_EA + FILE_WRITE_EA + FILE_TRAVERSE + FILE_DELETE_CHILD + FILE_READ_ATTRIBUTES + FILE_WRITE_ATTRIBUTES + READ_CONTROL + WRITE_OWNER + WRITE_DAC + DELETE)
Registry^
- read
- Read (KEY_ENUMERATE_SUB_KEYS + KEY_EXECUTE + KEY_NOTIFY + KEY_QUERY_VALUE + KEY_READ + READ_CONTROL)
- full
- Full access (KEY_CREATE_LINK + KEY_CREATE_SUB_KEY + KEY_ENUMERATE_SUB_KEYS + KEY_EXECUTE + KEY_NOTIFY + KEY_QUERY_VALUE + KEY_READ + KEY_SET_VALUE + KEY_WRITE + READ_CONTROL + WRITE_OWNER + WRITE_DAC + DELETE)
Printers^
- Print (PRINTER_ACCESS_USE + READ_CONTROL)
- man_printer
- Manage printer (PRINTER_ACCESS_ADMINISTER + PRINTER_ACCESS_USE + READ_CONTROL + WRITE_OWNER + WRITE_DAC + DELETE)
- man_docs
- Manage documents (JOB_ACCESS_ADMINISTER + JOB_ACCESS_READ + READ_CONTROL + WRITE_OWNER + WRITE_DAC + DELETE)
- full
- Full access (manage printer + manage documents)
Services^
- read
- Read (SERVICE_ENUMERATE_DEPENDENTS + SERVICE_INTERROGATE + SERVICE_QUERY_CONFIG + SERVICE_QUERY_STATUS + SERVICE_USER_DEFINED_CONTROL + READ_CONTROL)
- start_stop
- Start / Stop (SERVICE_ENUMERATE_DEPENDENTS + SERVICE_INTERROGATE + SERVICE_PAUSE_CONTINUE + SERVICE_QUERY_CONFIG + SERVICE_QUERY_STATUS + SERVICE_START + SERVICE_STOP + SERVICE_USER_DEFINED_CONTROL + READ_CONTROL)
- full
- Full access (SERVICE_CHANGE_CONFIG + SERVICE_ENUMERATE_DEPENDENTS + SERVICE_INTERROGATE + SERVICE_PAUSE_CONTINUE + SERVICE_QUERY_CONFIG + SERVICE_QUERY_STATUS + SERVICE_START + SERVICE_STOP + SERVICE_USER_DEFINED_CONTROL + READ_CONTROL + WRITE_OWNER + WRITE_DAC + DELETE)
Shares^
- read
- Read (SHARE_CHANGE + READ_CONTROL + SYNCHRONIZE)
- change
- Change (SHARE_READ + DELETE + READ_CONTROL + SYNCHRONIZE)
- full
- Full access (SHARE_READ + SHARE_CHANGE + SHARE_WRITE + READ_CONTROL + WRITE_OWNER + WRITE_DAC + DELETE + SYNCHRONIZE)
WMI^
- full
- Full access (WBEM_ENABLE + WBEM_METHOD_EXECUTE + WBEM_FULL_WRITE_REP + WBEM_PARTIAL_WRITE_REP + WBEM_WRITE_PROVIDER + WBEM_REMOTE_ACCESS + READ_CONTROL + WRITE_DAC)
- execute
- Execute access (WBEM_ENABLE + WBEM_METHOD_EXECUTE + WBEM_WRITE_PROVIDER)
- remote_access
- Remote access (WBEM_ENABLE + WBEM_REMOTE_ACCESS + WBEM_WRITE_PROVIDER)
- enable_account
- Enable account (WBEM_ENABLE)
Valid Specific Permissions^
Files / Directories^
- traverse
-
Traverse Folder/Execute File
Traverse Folder allows or denies moving through folders to reach other files or folders, even if the user has no permissions for the traversed folders (applies to folders only). Traverse folder takes effect only when the group or user is not granted the “Bypass traverse checking” user right in the Group Policy snap-in. (By default, the Everyone group is given the Bypass traverse checking user right.)
Execute File allows or denies running program files (applies to files only).
Setting the Traverse Folder permission on a folder does not automatically set the Execute File permission on all files within that folder. - list_dir
-
List Folder/Read Data
List Folder allows or denies viewing file names and subfolder names within the folder. List Folder only affects the contents of that folder and does not affect whether the folder you are setting the permission on will be listed. Applies to folders only.
Read Data allows or denies viewing data in files (applies to files only). - read_attr
-
Read Attributes
Allows or denies viewing the attributes of a file or folder, such as read-only and hidden. Attributes are defined by NTFS. - read_ea
-
Read Extended Attributes
Allows or denies viewing the extended attributes of a file or folder. Extended attributes are defined by programs and may vary by program. - add_file
-
Create Files/Write Data
Create Files allows or denies creating files within the folder (applies to folders only).
Write Data allows or denies making changes to the file and overwriting existing content (applies to files only). - add_subdir
-
Create Folders/Append Data
Create Folders allows or denies creating folders within the folder (applies to folders only).
Append Data allows or denies making changes to the end of the file but not changing, deleting, or overwriting existing data (applies to files only). - write_attr
-
Write Attributes
Allows or denies changing the attributes of a file or folder, such as read-only or hidden. Attributes are defined by NTFS.
The Write Attributes permission does not imply creating or deleting files or folders, it only includes the permission to make changes to the attributes of a file or folder. In order to allow (or deny) create or delete operations, see “Create Files/Write Data”, “Create Folders/Append Data”, “Delete Subfolders and Files”, and “Delete”. - write_ea
-
Write Extended Attributes
Allows or denies changing the extended attributes of a file or folder. Extended attributes are defined by programs and may vary by program.
The Write Extended Attributes permission does not imply creating or deleting files or folders, it only includes the permission to make changes to the attributes of a file or folder. In order to allow (or deny) create or delete operations, see “Create Files/Write Data”, “Create Folders/Append Data”, “Delete Subfolders and Files”, and “Delete”. - del_child
-
Delete Subfolders and Files
Allows or denies deleting subfolders and files, even if the Delete permission has not been granted on the subfolder or file. (applies to folders) - delete
-
Delete
Allows or denies deleting the file or folder. If you don’t have Delete permission on a file or folder, you can still delete it if you have been granted Delete Subfolders and Files on the parent folder. - read_dacl
-
Read Permissions
Allows or denies reading permissions of the file or folder, such as Full Control, Read, and Write. - write_dacl
-
Write Permissions
Allows or denies changing permissions of the file or folder, such as Full Control, Read, and Write. - write_owner
-
Take Ownership
Allows or denies taking ownership of the file or folder. The owner of a file or folder can always change permissions on it, regardless of any existing permissions that protect the file or folder.
Registry^
- query_val
- Query value
- set_val
- Set value
- create_subkey
- Create subkeys
- enum_subkeys
- Enumerate subkeys
- notify
- Notify
- create_link
- Create link
- delete
- Delete
- write_dacl
- Write permissions
- write_owner
- Take ownership
- read_access
- Read control
Services^
- SERVICE_CHANGE_CONFIG
- Required to call the ChangeServiceConfig or ChangeServiceConfig2 function to change the service configuration.
- SERVICE_ENUMERATE_DEPENDENTS
- Required to call the EnumDependentServices function to enumerate all the services dependent on the service.
- SERVICE_INTERROGATE
- Required to call the ControlService function to ask the service to report its status immediately.
- SERVICE_PAUSE_CONTINUE
- Required to call the ControlService function to pause or continue the service.
- SERVICE_QUERY_CONFIG
- Required to call the QueryServiceConfig and QueryServiceConfig2 functions to query the service configuration.
- SERVICE_QUERY_STATUS
- Required to call the QueryServiceStatus or QueryServiceStatusEx function to ask the service control manager about the status of the service. Required to call the NotifyServiceStatusChange function to receive notification when a service changes status.
- SERVICE_START
- Required to call the StartService function to start the service.
- SERVICE_STOP
- Required to call the ControlService function to stop the service.
- SERVICE_USER_DEFINED_CONTROL
- Required to call the ControlService function to specify a user-defined control code.