DirectorySecurity Class (System.Security.AccessControl)

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Microsoft Visual Studio 2005/.NET Framework 2.0

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.NET Framework Class Library

DirectorySecurity Class

Note: This class is new in the .NET Framework version 2.0.

Represents the access control and audit security for a directory. This class cannot be inherited.

Namespace: System.Security.AccessControl
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

Public NotInheritable Class DirectorySecurity
    Inherits FileSystemSecurity

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As DirectorySecurity

public sealed class DirectorySecurity : FileSystemSecurity

C++

public ref class DirectorySecurity sealed : public FileSystemSecurity

public final class DirectorySecurity extends FileSystemSecurity

JScript

public final class DirectorySecurity extends FileSystemSecurity

Remarks

The DirectorySecurity class specifies the access rights for a system directory and how access attempts are audited. This class represents access and audit rights as a set of rules. Each access rule is represented by a FileSystemAccessRule object, while each audit rule is represented by a FileSystemAuditRule object.

The DirectorySecurity class is an abstraction of the underlying Microsoft Windows file security system. In this system, each directory has a discretionary access control list (DACL), which controls access to the directory, and a system access control list (SACL), which specifies the access control attempts that are audited. The FileSystemAccessRule and FileSystemAuditRule classes are abstractions of the access control entries (ACEs) that comprise DACLs and SACLs.

The DirectorySecurity class hides many of the details of DACLs and SACLs; you do not have to worry about ACE ordering or null DACLS.

Use the FileSecurity class to retrieve, add, or change the access rules that represent the DACL and SACL of a file.

To persist new or changed access or audit rules to a directory, use the SetAccessControl or SetAccessControl method. To retrieve access or audit rules from an existing directory, use the GetAccessControl or GetAccessControl method.

Example

The following code example uses the DirectorySecurity class to add and then remove an access control list (ACL) entry from a directory. You must supply a valid user or group account to run this example.

Visual Basic

Imports System
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Security.AccessControl



Module DirectoryExample

    Sub Main()
        Try
            Dim DirectoryName As String = "TestDirectory"

            Console.WriteLine("Adding access control entry for " + DirectoryName)

            ' Add the access control entry to the directory.
            AddDirectorySecurity(DirectoryName, "MYDOMAIN\MyAccount", FileSystemRights.ReadData, AccessControlType.Allow)

            Console.WriteLine("Removing access control entry from " + DirectoryName)

            ' Remove the access control entry from the directory.
            RemoveDirectorySecurity(DirectoryName, "MYDOMAIN\MyAccount", FileSystemRights.ReadData, AccessControlType.Allow)

            Console.WriteLine("Done.")
        Catch e As Exception
            Console.WriteLine(e)
        End Try

        Console.ReadLine()

    End Sub


    ' Adds an ACL entry on the specified directory for the specified account.
    Sub AddDirectorySecurity(ByVal FileName As String, ByVal Account As String, ByVal Rights As FileSystemRights, ByVal ControlType As AccessControlType)
        ' Create a new DirectoryInfoobject.
        Dim dInfo As New DirectoryInfo(FileName)

        ' Get a DirectorySecurity object that represents the 
        ' current security settings.
        Dim dSecurity As DirectorySecurity = dInfo.GetAccessControl()

        ' Add the FileSystemAccessRule to the security settings. 
        dSecurity.AddAccessRule(New FileSystemAccessRule(Account, Rights, ControlType))

        ' Set the new access settings.
        dInfo.SetAccessControl(dSecurity)

    End Sub


    ' Removes an ACL entry on the specified directory for the specified account.
    Sub RemoveDirectorySecurity(ByVal FileName As String, ByVal Account As String, ByVal Rights As FileSystemRights, ByVal ControlType As AccessControlType)
        ' Create a new DirectoryInfo object.
        Dim dInfo As New DirectoryInfo(FileName)

        ' Get a DirectorySecurity object that represents the 
        ' current security settings.
        Dim dSecurity As DirectorySecurity = dInfo.GetAccessControl()

        ' Add the FileSystemAccessRule to the security settings. 
        dSecurity.RemoveAccessRule(New FileSystemAccessRule(Account, Rights, ControlType))

        ' Set the new access settings.
        dInfo.SetAccessControl(dSecurity)

    End Sub
End Module

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Security.AccessControl;

namespace FileSystemExample
{
    class DirectoryExample
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            try
            {
                string DirectoryName = "TestDirectory";

                Console.WriteLine("Adding access control entry for " + DirectoryName);

                // Add the access control entry to the directory.
                AddDirectorySecurity(DirectoryName, @"MYDOMAIN\MyAccount", FileSystemRights.ReadData, AccessControlType.Allow);

                Console.WriteLine("Removing access control entry from " + DirectoryName);

                // Remove the access control entry from the directory.
                RemoveDirectorySecurity(DirectoryName, @"MYDOMAIN\MyAccount", FileSystemRights.ReadData, AccessControlType.Allow);

                Console.WriteLine("Done.");
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                Console.WriteLine(e);
            }

            Console.ReadLine();
        }

        // Adds an ACL entry on the specified directory for the specified account.
        public static void AddDirectorySecurity(string FileName, string Account, FileSystemRights Rights, AccessControlType ControlType)
        {
            // Create a new DirectoryInfo object.
            DirectoryInfo dInfo = new DirectoryInfo(FileName);

            // Get a DirectorySecurity object that represents the 
            // current security settings.
            DirectorySecurity dSecurity = dInfo.GetAccessControl();

            // Add the FileSystemAccessRule to the security settings. 
            dSecurity.AddAccessRule(new FileSystemAccessRule(Account,
                                                            Rights,
                                                            ControlType));

            // Set the new access settings.
            dInfo.SetAccessControl(dSecurity);

        }

        // Removes an ACL entry on the specified directory for the specified account.
        public static void RemoveDirectorySecurity(string FileName, string Account, FileSystemRights Rights, AccessControlType ControlType)
        {
            // Create a new DirectoryInfo object.
            DirectoryInfo dInfo = new DirectoryInfo(FileName);

            // Get a DirectorySecurity object that represents the 
            // current security settings.
            DirectorySecurity dSecurity = dInfo.GetAccessControl();

            // Add the FileSystemAccessRule to the security settings. 
            dSecurity.RemoveAccessRule(new FileSystemAccessRule(Account,
                                                            Rights,
                                                            ControlType));

            // Set the new access settings.
            dInfo.SetAccessControl(dSecurity);

        }
    }
}

C++

using namespace System;
using namespace System::IO;
using namespace System::Security::AccessControl;

// Adds an ACL entry on the specified directory for the
// specified account.
void AddDirectorySecurity(String^ directoryName, String^ account, 
     FileSystemRights rights, AccessControlType controlType)
{
    // Create a new DirectoryInfo object.
    DirectoryInfo^ dInfo = gcnew DirectoryInfo(directoryName);

    // Get a DirectorySecurity object that represents the
    // current security settings.
    DirectorySecurity^ dSecurity = dInfo->GetAccessControl();

    // Add the FileSystemAccessRule to the security settings.
    dSecurity->AddAccessRule( gcnew FileSystemAccessRule(account,
        rights, controlType));

    // Set the new access settings.
    dInfo->SetAccessControl(dSecurity);
}

// Removes an ACL entry on the specified directory for the
// specified account.
void RemoveDirectorySecurity(String^ directoryName, String^ account,
     FileSystemRights rights, AccessControlType controlType)
{
    // Create a new DirectoryInfo object.
    DirectoryInfo^ dInfo = gcnew DirectoryInfo(directoryName);

    // Get a DirectorySecurity object that represents the
    // current security settings.
    DirectorySecurity^ dSecurity = dInfo->GetAccessControl();

    // Add the FileSystemAccessRule to the security settings.
    dSecurity->RemoveAccessRule(gcnew FileSystemAccessRule(account,
        rights, controlType));

    // Set the new access settings.
    dInfo->SetAccessControl(dSecurity);
}    

int main()
{
    String^ directoryName = "TestDirectory";
    String^ accountName = "MYDOMAIN\\MyAccount";
    if (!Directory::Exists(directoryName))
    {
        Console::WriteLine("The directory {0} could not be found.", 
            directoryName);
        return 0;
    }
    try
    {
        Console::WriteLine("Adding access control entry for {0}",
            directoryName);

        // Add the access control entry to the directory.
        AddDirectorySecurity(directoryName, accountName,
            FileSystemRights::ReadData, AccessControlType::Allow);

        Console::WriteLine("Removing access control entry from {0}",
            directoryName);

        // Remove the access control entry from the directory.
        RemoveDirectorySecurity(directoryName, accountName, 
            FileSystemRights::ReadData, AccessControlType::Allow);

        Console::WriteLine("Done.");
    }
    catch (UnauthorizedAccessException^)
    {
        Console::WriteLine("You are not authorised to carry" +
            " out this procedure.");
    }
    catch (System::Security::Principal::
        IdentityNotMappedException^)
    {
        Console::WriteLine("The account {0} could not be found.", accountName);
    }
}

Inheritance Hierarchy

System.Object
   System.Security.AccessControl.ObjectSecurity
     System.Security.AccessControl.CommonObjectSecurity
       System.Security.AccessControl.NativeObjectSecurity
         System.Security.AccessControl.FileSystemSecurity
          System.Security.AccessControl.DirectorySecurity

Thread Safety

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

Platforms

Windows 98, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Starter Edition

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see System Requirements.

Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 2.0

Reference

DirectorySecurity Members
System.Security.AccessControl Namespace

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