<SYSTEMDRIVE>:\$Secure

Overview

The $Secure file contains the security descriptor for all the files and folders on a NTFS volume.

The security descriptors are stored within the $SDS named data stream of the $Secure file. The $Secure file additionally defines two other named streams ($SDH and $SII) for lookup in the $SDS stream.

Information of interest

Each file or folder is referenced in the $Secure file with its volume-unique Security ID and security descriptor.

The Security ID of the file is referenced in the MFT file record associated with the file (in the $STANDARD_INFORMATION attribute). While no metadata information is present in the $Secure file (only the file’s security descriptor), the file’s Security ID can be used to map the file’s information/data from the MFT to its security descriptor in the $Secure file.

The security descriptor (SECURITY_DESCRIPTOR data structure) references:

  • The owner of the file (as a pointer to a SID structure).

  • The access rights to the file in the Discretionary Access Control List (DACL) attribute.

  • The audit rights that control how access is audited (which access will generate events) in the System Access Control List (SACL) attribute.

Tool(s)

References

Tags: windows_ntfs_filesystem

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