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How To Use ADSI to Set Automatic Inheritance of File/Folder Permissions

Article ID:266461
Last Review:March 29, 2007
Revision:5.2
This article was previously published under Q266461

SUMMARY

File permissions that are set on files and folders using Active Directory Services Interface (ADSI) and the ADSI resource kit utility, ADsSecurity.DLL, do not automatically propagate down the subtree to the existing folders and files.

To accomplish automatic propagation of inheritable Access Control Entries (ACEs) using ADSI, you need to enumerate existing subfolders and files yourself and apply the inheritable ACEs. Alternatively, you can call the SetSecurityInfo or SetNamedSecurityInfo function directly instead of using ADSI.

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MORE INFORMATION

The reason that you cannot use ADSI to set ACEs to propagate down to existing files and folders is because ADSSecurity.dll uses the low-level SetFileSecurity function to set the security descriptor on a folder. There is no flag that can be set by using SetFileSecurity to automatically propagate the ACEs down to existing files and folders. The SE_DACL_AUTO_INHERIT_REQ control flag will only set the SE_DACL_AUTO_INHERITED flag in the security descriptor that is associated with the folder.

Automatic propagation of inheritable ACEs is done only when using the high-level SetSecurityInfo or SetNamedSecurityInfo function. These functions propagate the inheritable ACEs (CONTAINER_INHERIT_ACE or OBJECT_INHERIT_ACE) set on a folder to all existing subfolders and files, as long as the child object's DACL is not SE_DACL_PROTECTED. This is done only in the high-level access control implementation by enumerating the subfolders as well as files, and applying all of the inheritable ACEs.

The following sample VB Script demonstrates how to enumerate folders and files and set file permissions using ADSI and ADsSecurity.DLL:
1.Create a file called SetPerms.vbs and paste the following code:
'====================================================================
'SetPerms.vbs
'====================================================================
'Variable Declarations
Dim sec 
Dim sd 
Dim Dacl 
Dim ace
Dim ace1
Dim ace2
Dim oSid
Dim sidHex

'Option Explicit

'Flags: Specifies Inheritance
const ADS_ACEFLAG_INHERIT_ACE = &h2
const ADS_ACEFLAG_NO_PROPAGATE_INHERIT_ACE = &h4
const ADS_ACEFLAG_INHERIT_ONLY_ACE = &h8
const ADS_ACEFLAG_INHERITED_ACE = &h10
const ADS_ACEFLAG_VALID_INHERIT_FLAGS = &h1f
const ADS_ACEFLAG_SUCCESSFUL_ACCESS = &h40
const ADS_ACEFLAG_FAILED_ACCESS = &h80

'Permission Type: Allow or Deny
const ADS_ACETYPE_ACCESS_ALLOWED = &h0
const ADS_ACETYPE_ACCESS_DENIED = &h1

'Permissions: Read, Write, FullControl
const ADS_RIGHT_GENERIC_READ = &h80000000
const ADS_RIGHT_GENERIC_WRITE = &h40000000
const ADS_RIGHT_GENERIC_EXECUTE = &h20000000
const ADS_RIGHT_GENERIC_ALL = &h10000000

const ADS_SID_RAW = 0
const ADS_SID_HEXSTRING	= 1
const ADS_SID_SAM = 2
const ADS_SID_UPN = 3
const ADS_SID_SDDL = 4
const ADS_SID_WINNT_PATH = 5
const ADS_SID_ACTIVE_DIRECTORY_PATH	= 6
const ADS_SID_SID_BINDING = 7
const fldname = "C:\test2" '<----Change this to the top folder name
const usrname = "Domain\User" '<---Change this to the user you want to add permissions for

Dim fso, fldr, fc, f1', fldname, usrname

' Get instance of FileSystemObject.
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Call ApplyPerms (fldname)
Set fldr = fso.GetFolder(fldname)

Recurse fldr ',usrname

Set fldr = Nothing
Set fso = Nothing
wscript.echo "done"
Wscript.Quit


Public Sub Recurse( ByRef fldr)', ByRef usrname )
dim subfolders,files,folder,file
	Set subfolders = fldr.SubFolders
	Set files = fldr.Files

   'Display the path and all of the folders.
   Wscript.Echo ""
   Wscript.Echo fldr.Path

   For Each folder in subfolders
      Wscript.Echo folder.Name

	  Call ApplyPerms (folder.path)', usrname)
   Next
	
   'Display all of the files.
	For Each file in files
	  wscript.echo file.name 

  	  Call ApplyPerms (file.path)', usrname)
	Next  

   'Recurse all of the subfolders.
	For Each folder in subfolders
      Recurse folder', usrname
	Next  

	Set subfolders = Nothing
   Set files = Nothing

End Sub

Sub ApplyPerms(ByRef path)' , Byref usrname)

Set sec = CreateObject("AdsSecurity") 
Set sd = sec.GetSecurityDescriptor("FILE://" & path)
Set Dacl = sd.DiscretionaryAcl

Set oSid = CreateObject("AdsSid")
oSid.SetAs ADS_SID_SAM, Cstr(usrname) 
sidHex = oSid.GetAs(ADS_SID_SDDL)
Wscript.Echo sidHex

'----Add a new ACE so User has Full Control on Files.
Set ace1 = CreateObject ("AccessControlEntry")
ace1.Trustee = sidHex
ace1.AccessMask = ADS_RIGHT_GENERIC_ALL
ace1.AceType = ADS_ACETYPE_ACCESS_ALLOWED
ace1.AceFlags = ADS_ACEFLAG_INHERIT_ACE Or ADS_ACEFLAG_INHERIT_ONLY_ACE Or 1 
dacl.AddAce ace1

'----Add a new ACE so User has Full Control on Folders.
Set ace2 = CreateObject ("AccessControlEntry")
ace2.Trustee = sidHex
ace2.AccessMask = ADS_RIGHT_GENERIC_ALL
ace2.AceType = ADS_ACETYPE_ACCESS_ALLOWED
ace2.AceFlags = ADS_ACEFLAG_INHERIT_ACE Or 1
dacl.AddAce ace2


sd.DiscretionaryAcl = dacl
sec.SetSecurityDescriptor sd

End Sub
2.Set the constant "fldname" to the folder where you want to start applying the permissions.
3.Set the constant "usrname" to the name of the Domain account that you are adding the permissions for.
4.Register ADsSecurity.dll (which is in the Platform SDK) by running regsvr32 ADsSecurity.dll at a command prompt.
5.Run SetPerms.vbs by double-clicking it on a computer that has Windows Scripting Host (WSH) installed.

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REFERENCES

For operating system specific ADSI run-time downloads and additional information, see the following Microsoft Web site:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa772170.aspx (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa772170.aspx)
The ADsSecurity.dll file is available as a resource kit object at the Platform SDK documentation in the ADSI SDK.

For more information on Windows Scripting Host, see the following article:
188135 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/188135/EN-US/) Description of Windows Script Host (WSH)

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APPLIES TO
Microsoft Active Directory Service Interfaces 2.5, when used with:
   the operating system: Microsoft Windows 2000

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Keywords: 
kbhowto kbmsg KB266461

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