Microsoft KB Archive/258437

FIX: GetEffectiveRightsFromAcl() fails in Service Pack 6

Q258437

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Win32 Application Programming Interface (API), used with:
- Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 4.0 SP6, 4.0 SP6a
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 4.0 SP6, 4.0 SP6a

SYMPTOMS

In Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6 (SP6) and SP6a, the GetEffectiveRightsFromAcl function is broken. For a given discretionary access-control list (DACL), GetEffectiveRightsFromAcl returns the same access mask for all users (even though different users may have different access rights). The function works correctly in Windows NT 4.0 in SP5.

RESOLUTION

Without GetEffectiveRightsFromAcl, there is not a good way to enumerate a user's access rights for a particular object. However, if you just want to determine whether a user has access to an object and you have the user's token, you can use the AccessCheck function.

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem described in this article and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://support.microsoft.com/directory/overview.asp

NOTE: In special cases, charges that are normally incurred for support calls may be canceled, if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. Normal support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

   Date        Time    Size    File name     Platform
   --------------------------------------------------
   04/25/2000  03:00p  84,240  Ntmarta.dll   x86
   04/25/2000  02:59p  40,048  Ntmarta.dll   Alpha

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

REFERENCES

For additional information on how to call AccessCheck(), click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q171273 HOWTO: Program a Secure Server on Windows NT

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbAPI kbKernBase kbSDKWin32 kbSecurity kbDSupport kbGrpDSKernBase kbWinNT400PreSP7Fix
Issue type : kbbug
Technology : kbAudDeveloper kbWin32sSearch kbWin32API