cacls.exe

  • File Path: C:\WINDOWS\SysWOW64\cacls.exe
  • Description: Control ACLs Program

Hashes

Type Hash
MD5 B304B0EF47E125F696425BD99096D3E3
SHA1 494AF17B85558A09C77629B2AC7145A9BBA3AFEC
SHA256 7E32B9948FE3D9C99B34C2A8A6B85A160891C909B7358E2D621F1A40469EE6EA
SHA384 6EDF461BB0BCAE5BA07363781FC9373021CB53C033A7B37592DEF40AE04A81150E3F1C3D23AED861C9E18807D844F726
SHA512 33DB4F1A207762FF7587DA7CB0F366911D18F63998F38D12D2263552E9EFF85BEE47BBB34F0063B95746B2AD8E4E7CE6A8F80D341668E8BFF031A7CA488C872E
SSDEEP 384:tSCcR08Y0F7eNrvT4alMzJS5zEtE0HVSwRb1dBt1535RFvZzmi0D+GwNRdWtDWub:mR0F0FoX2zU1QECdRZ7N8D+Gwkf

Runtime Data

Usage (stdout):


 NOTE: Cacls is now deprecated, please use Icacls.

 Displays or modifies access control lists (ACLs) of files

 CACLS filename [/T] [/M] [/L] [/S[:SDDL]] [/E] [/C] [/G user:perm]
        [/R user [...]] [/P user:perm [...]] [/D user [...]]
    filename      Displays ACLs.
    /T            Changes ACLs of specified files in
                  the current directory and all subdirectories.
    /L            Work on the Symbolic Link itself versus the target
    /M            Changes ACLs of volumes mounted to a directory
    /S            Displays the SDDL string for the DACL.
    /S:SDDL       Replaces the ACLs with those specified in the SDDL string
                  (not valid with /E, /G, /R, /P, or /D).
    /E            Edit ACL instead of replacing it.
    /C            Continue on access denied errors.
    /G user:perm  Grant specified user access rights.
                  Perm can be: R  Read
                               W  Write
                               C  Change (write)
                               F  Full control
    /R user       Revoke specified user's access rights (only valid with /E).
    /P user:perm  Replace specified user's access rights.
                  Perm can be: N  None
                               R  Read
                               W  Write
                               C  Change (write)
                               F  Full control
    /D user       Deny specified user access.
 Wildcards can be used to specify more than one file in a command.
 You can specify more than one user in a command.

 Abbreviations:
    CI - Container Inherit.
         The ACE will be inherited by directories.
    OI - Object Inherit.
         The ACE will be inherited by files.
    IO - Inherit Only.
         The ACE does not apply to the current file/directory.
    ID - Inherited.
         The ACE was inherited from the parent directory's ACL.

Signature

  • Status: Signature verified.
  • Serial: 330000023241FB59996DCC4DFF000000000232
  • Thumbprint: FF82BC38E1DA5E596DF374C53E3617F7EDA36B06
  • Issuer: CN=Microsoft Windows Production PCA 2011, O=Microsoft Corporation, L=Redmond, S=Washington, C=US
  • Subject: CN=Microsoft Windows, O=Microsoft Corporation, L=Redmond, S=Washington, C=US

File Metadata

  • Original Filename: CACLS.EXE
  • Product Name: Microsoft Windows Operating System
  • Company Name: Microsoft Corporation
  • File Version: 10.0.18362.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800)
  • Product Version: 10.0.18362.1
  • Language: English (United States)
  • Legal Copyright: Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Possible Misuse

The following table contains possible examples of cacls.exe being misused. While cacls.exe is not inherently malicious, its legitimate functionality can be abused for malicious purposes.

Source Source File Example License
sigma proc_creation_win_file_permission_modifications.yml - '\cacls.exe' DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_hiding_malware_in_fonts_folder.yml CommandLine\|re: '(?i).*(echo\|copy\|type\|file createnew\|cacls).*C:\\\\Windows\\\\Fonts\\\\.*(.sh\|.exe\|.dll\|.bin\|.bat\|.cmd\|.js\|.msh\|.reg\|.scr\|.ps\|.vb\|.jar\|.pl\|.inf\|.cpl\|.hta\|.msi\|.vbs).*' DRL 1.0
atomic-red-team index.md - Atomic Test #2: cacls - Grant permission to specified user or group recursively [windows] MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team windows-index.md - Atomic Test #2: cacls - Grant permission to specified user or group recursively [windows] MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1222.001.md Adversaries can interact with the DACLs using built-in Windows commands, such as icacls, cacls, takeown, and attrib, which can grant adversaries higher permissions on specific files and folders. Further, PowerShell provides cmdlets that can be used to retrieve or modify file and directory DACLs. Specific file and directory modifications may be a required step for many techniques, such as establishing Persistence via Accessibility Features, Boot or Logon Initialization Scripts, or tainting/hijacking other instrumental binary/configuration files via Hijack Execution Flow.</blockquote> MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1222.001.md - Atomic Test #2 - cacls - Grant permission to specified user or group recursively MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1222.001.md ## Atomic Test #2 - cacls - Grant permission to specified user or group recursively MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
signature-base cn_pentestset_tools.yar $s1 = “cacls %s /t /c /e /r administrators” fullword ascii /* PEStudio Blacklist: strings */ CC BY-NC 4.0

Additional Info*

*The information below is copied from MicrosoftDocs, which is maintained by Microsoft. Available under CC BY 4.0 license.


cacls

[!IMPORTANT] This command has been deprecated. Please use icacls instead.

Displays or modifies discretionary access control lists (DACL) on specified files.

Syntax

cacls <filename> [/t] [/m] [/l] [/s[:sddl]] [/e] [/c] [/g user:<perm>] [/r user [...]] [/p user:<perm> [...]] [/d user [...]]

Parameters

Parameter Description
<filename> Required. Displays ACLs of specified files.
/t Changes ACLs of specified files in the current directory and all subdirectories.
/m Changes ACLs of volumes mounted to a directory.
/l Works on the Symbolic Link itself instead of the target.
/s:sddl Replaces the ACLs with those specified in the SDDL string. This parameter is not valid for use with the /e, /g, /r, /p, or /d parameters.
/e Edit an ACL instead of replacing it.
/c Continue after access denied errors.
/g user:<perm> Grants specified user access rights, including these valid values for permission:<ul><li>n - None</li><li>r - Read</li><li>w - Write</li><li>c - Change (write)</li><li>f - Full control</li></ul>
/r user […] Revoke specified user’s access rights. Only valid when used with the /e parameter.
[/p user:<perm> [...] Replace specified user’s access rights, including these valid values for permission:<ul><li>n - None</li><li>r - Read</li><li>w - Write</li><li>c - Change (write)</li><li>f - Full control</li></ul>
[/d user […] Deny specified user access.
/? Displays help at the command prompt.
Sample output
Output Access control entry (ACE) applies to
OI Object inherit. This folder and files.
CI Container inherit. This folder and subfolders.
IO Inherit only. The ACE does not apply to the current file/directory.
No output message This folder only.
(OI)(CI) This folder, subfolders, and files.
(OI)(CI)(IO) Subfolders and files only.
(CI)(IO) Subfolders only.
(OI)(IO) Files only.
Remarks
  • You can use wildcards (? and *) to specify multiple files.

  • You can specify more than one user.

Additional References


MIT License. Copyright (c) 2020-2021 Strontic.