icacls.exe
Sources: 300M+ executions observed in the wild.
Summary
Integrity Control Access Control Lists (icacls.exe) displays and modifies discretionary access control lists (DACLs) on files and directories. It replaces the older cacls.exe tool.
icacls.exe is the 385th most commonly executed Windows program in EchoTrail's dataset, observed 20,853 times across enterprise environments. It typically runs from C:\Windows\System32 and it is most often launched by CoreSync.exe.
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Behavior
Top Paths
- C:\Windows\System3262.27%
- C:\Windows\SysWOW6437.73%
Top Hashes (SHA256)
- 3a81ea6caf1c141b4f848db77e67948131340110772316cabaea5749a6eff04225.66%
- b027bc868d5c167804b33d0ccefcef0753d49eb2fb57f21f43e3fbb08d327e2e16.34%
- 70b6b1fc978df2e608af138da4eff5bdea6ff77434a1defcf8675ff0cc45282913.65%
- 21ea0935fac295d21c26dbb6ea14a31556e2f3dad0c88e03c6812e760a107a6b7.26%
- 1846f6d397391b7cf59db370472895f53d65a5d0ef05f2a2c2da4f940dde82905.79%
- 3524ede090fe503a30dec8f629a74b8f720c9a230e5c4e49a3bb151c8ac1424a5.45%
- 222ea0e9d8ed1d337dbaedd75a13b8f28fa5c3711dcdf4307e75cede5b5f6b9a4.86%
- 55f6d2483307499de4bd0fe81359b648734c905e3ef02dac2ff04b0a1331ce6d4.16%
- 468f69606e8f341b8822d20f6557cc1c2be1ba61ffbc47988540c8674f46017b3.45%
- 0dbee1f682db7a4e279261a3e24acbb5cfa789196b85ccde54a32b04b0465f633.05%
Process Ancestry
Top Grandparents
- UACSdk.exe18.42%
- Creative Cloud.exe7.03%
- services.exe3.27%
- OneDriveSetup.exe1.74%
- msiexec.exe1.32%
- svchost.exe1.03%
- Tvsukernel.exe0.64%
- susetsched.exe0.51%
Top Parents
- CoreSync.exe33.7%
- Tvsukernel.exe14.75%
- cmd.exe6.47%
- msiexec.exe0.59%
- rundll32.exe0.54%
- vmware-cip-init.exe0.29%
- PMESetup.tmp0.17%
Top Children
- conhost.exe100%
Security Analysis
What does icacls.exe normally do?
Located in C:\Windows\System32 or C:\Windows\SysWOW64. Launched by various applications (CoreSync, Lenovo tools), management agents, and cmd.exe. Used for permission management during software installation and deployment.
When is icacls.exe suspicious?
Granting broad permissions (icacls ... /grant Everyone:F). Modifying permissions on system directories, security tool directories, or sensitive files. Removing permissions from security product directories. Changing ownership of system files.
How do attackers abuse icacls.exe?
Defense evasion: modifying permissions on security product directories to prevent them from operating. Persistence preparation: granting write access to system directories for payload placement. Data access: modifying ACLs on sensitive files or directories to gain access.
Detection guidance
Medium-confidence: icacls granting Everyone:F or Users:F on system directories. icacls modifying permissions on security product paths. High-confidence: icacls targeting C:\Windows\System32 or other protected directories.
False positive notes
Software installers (Adobe CoreSync, Lenovo, etc.) modify permissions during installation. Deployment tools adjust ACLs as part of normal operations.
Related Processes
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