How Can Applications Control Windows Services Without Administrator Privileges?

Controlling Windows Service from Applications Without Administrator Privileges

Windows services provide a convenient way to run long-running tasks in the background without user intervention. However, by default, starting or stopping these services requires administrator rights. This poses a limitation for applications that need to manage services on behalf of users.

Solution

The solution to this problem lies in modifying the permissions of the service object. This allows applications to interact with the service without requiring elevated privileges. Here's a suggested approach using C :

<code class="c++">wchar_t sddl[] = L"D:"
  L"(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)"           // default permissions for local system
  L"(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)"   // default permissions for administrators
  L"(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)"                 // default permissions for authenticated users
  L"(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU)"           // default permissions for power users
  L"(A;;RP;;;IU)"                           // added permission: start service for interactive users
  ;

PSECURITY_DESCRIPTOR sd;

if (!ConvertStringSecurityDescriptorToSecurityDescriptor(sddl, SDDL_REVISION_1, &amp;sd, NULL))
{
   // Handle error
}

if (!SetServiceObjectSecurity(service, DACL_SECURITY_INFORMATION, sd))
{
   // Handle error
}</code>

Explanation

This code opens the security descriptor of the specified service and modifies its DACL (discretionary access control list). It adds a new ACE (access control entry) that grants the "Start Service" right to interactive users (non-admin users).

To stop the service as well, add the "Stop Service" right (WP) to the list:

<code class="c++">L"(A;;RPWP;;;IU)"                           // added permissions: start service, stop service for interactive users</code>

By modifying the service object's permissions, you can empower applications with the ability to manage Windows services seamlessly without the need for administrator elevation.

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