Questions tagged [uac]

User Account Control, or UAC, is a security feature first introduced in Microsoft Windows Vista. It aims to improve security by limiting application software to user level privileges unless the process is authorized to run with elevated privileges.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
66 votes
3 answers
72k views

How does the Windows "Secure Desktop" mode work?

Can anyone explain (or provide a link to a simple explanation) of what the Windows "Secure Desktop" mode is and how it works? I just heard about it in the KeePass documentation (KeePass - Enter ...
snth's user avatar
  • 995
14 votes
1 answer
2k views

What are the differences between "simple" UAC and two user accounts on Windows?

I'm currently thinking about increasing security on my Windows machine. As part of this harderning I considered the least-privilege principle and want to apply this on Windows using two different ...
SEJPM's user avatar
  • 9,760
13 votes
2 answers
7k views

Custom Metasploit payload with UAC bypass

The machine I am attacking has anti-virus installed. I have managed to use Veil Framework in order to create an initial reverse shell payload that is undetected by the AV. However, UAC is enabled on ...
SilverlightFox's user avatar
13 votes
2 answers
1k views

How is UAC a security improvement?

What does User Account Control on Windows offer in terms of security? It's just an extra click to potentially run a virus.
Moshe's user avatar
  • 1,861
13 votes
2 answers
4k views

How does consent.exe know what to display?

consent.exe is responsible for showning the UAC dialog. Looking at the command line parameters with Process Explorer, I see the following: consent.exe 1316 748 000000004385BD60 I have read How ...
Thomas Weller's user avatar
12 votes
5 answers
18k views

UAC and Windows Services

A user has a PowerShell script that does some things that require administrative access on Windows Server 2012 with UAC enabled. When they run the script as a Local Administrator, it fails with ...
Paul Stovell's user avatar
11 votes
4 answers
5k views

Microsoft said UAC is not a security barrier. But in what cases?

After Vista came out, security professionals argued that UAC wasn't actually a security barrier, and Microsoft eventually admitted it isn't. But the case they were talking about was a local ...
Sad IT admin's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
5k views

Do applications installing into AppData folder make UAC useless?

When UAC was first introduced, most well-behaving applications were installed into Program Files folder, so any tampering with executable files without explicit user consent became impossible. So when ...
Athari's user avatar
  • 191
8 votes
4 answers
7k views

Should I worry about this UAC bypass exploit for Windows 7?

It appears that there is an exploit out there that allegedly allows you to bypass the UAC on Windows 7 computers and gain administrator access. I was wondering if this exploit is still a dangerous ...
Gastrocnemius's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
5k views

Windows mandatory access control: How to remove “mandatory level” label from the file?

How to remove "mandatory level" label from the file? I have two files, for the first one icacls returns Mandatory Label\Medium Mandatory Level:(NW) for the second icacls doesn't return ...
Roman Pokrovskij's user avatar
7 votes
4 answers
10k views

Preferred UAC configuration in Enterprises that use Login scripts to map drives?

In Windows 7, Vista and newer OS's, UAC will prevent logon scripts from mapping hard drives so that the following logon script code won't work: Dim WshNetwork Set WshNetwork = WScript.CreateObject("...
makerofthings7's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
5k views

Why is it a security issue to load Notepad++ plugins from %APPDATA% folder?

I have used the Notepad++ installer several times. However, it caught my eye that in one of the installer windows there is an option of: Allow plugins to be loaded from %APPDATA%." Below it there ...
Amadeus Sanchez's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
242 views

Isn't separating privileges less useful on a PC, as all my critical data is in my normal user account?

Separating privileges, i.e using a non-admin account and escalating only when needed, seems to be something everyone agrees on. I can roughly understand why it's important on every system : prevent an ...
Hey's user avatar
  • 1,955
5 votes
2 answers
4k views

Is UAC actually worth it? [duplicate]

Windows UAC: It's annoying. It seems pointless. Should I just disable it? Or in other words - is there actually a real risk of something malicious happening if I do? Is there malware out there that ...
xorsyst's user avatar
  • 153
5 votes
6 answers
876 views

Is UAC enabled and set to Elevate without prompt actually a security protection?

Does enabling UAC and setting the Admin approval behavior to Elevate without prompting provide any form of extra security to Administrator account. Note that my use case is for a Kiosk application ...
johndoe's user avatar
  • 51
4 votes
2 answers
8k views

Windows 7 consent.exe attempting to access the internet

Looking at Firewall logs, I see that consent.exe, which is responsible for the Windows 7 UAC UI, attempts to connect to the internet. I have verified the file is a genuine executable provided by ...
End Anti-Semitic Hate's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
966 views

Why does this Windows process run with High integrity?

Background I'm trying to understand more about the Mandatory Integrity Control system in Windows, and have been looking through the background processes that are running at High integrity on my laptop....
David Alexander's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
2k views

Secure UAC prompt

In this comment there is a comment mentioning a "secure UAC prompt" where the user can enter a password. KeePass actually does have systems in place to stop keyloggers (such as only allowing the ...
bolov's user avatar
  • 135
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

Should UAC be turned on or off on servers?

So there a number of sources (e.g. this) that recommend leaving UAC (User Account Control) turned on on PCs, however there isn't much talk about UAC on servers. In fact the only thing I could find ...
mYnDstrEAm's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
601 views

Safe to disable UAC?

I have programmed my own Windows kiosk application (.NET) which requires admin rights from the OS to ensure certain services are running (amongst other things). However, this causes the UAC prompt ...
Panjo's user avatar
  • 23
2 votes
1 answer
161 views

UAC or logging into admin account first before installing software?

When installing software on a standard user account, is it safer to use the UAC pop up to type the admin password into, or switch user to admin then do the install in that user?
Smiith's user avatar
  • 157
2 votes
1 answer
99 views

Could Mozilla MaintenanceService be used by an other program to avoid permission problems on Program File?

While updating my Firefox, I discovered that no permission was asked. Frist, I thought that something went wrong. But I quickly discover that they have a service to launch the update in session 0. ...
Drag and Drop's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
367 views

Suspicious app name in Windows 10 permission prompt

I downloaded MongoDB 3.4 from the MongoDB website here When I run the .msi file to install, I am prompted with the following screen asking me if I trust a39adfe.msi A Google search for a39adfe.msi ...
CodyBugstein's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
434 views

How is using the standard Windows account more secure than using the administrator Windows account with highest UAC settings?

If someone uses the administrator Windows account for everyday work while having the default UAC settings they will be prompted by UAC whenever an application other than certain predefined system apps ...
gaazkam's user avatar
  • 5,955
1 vote
1 answer
400 views

How are malware able to start on boot on windows without administrator rights? [closed]

I know that a malware could create a new Run registry key to make itself start at boot, but an user could simply remove the registry key and reboot and that would stop the virus, but this is usually ...
ddev's user avatar
  • 55
1 vote
1 answer
216 views

Is it worth it to force UAC to ask for a password?

I've tried to harden my Windows 10 by using an unprivileged account, which I know reduces the attack surface a lot. I'm running Ableton (a music program) which is running after UAC has given admin ...
JulianGR's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
132 views

Win10 Group Policy - Allow specific programs to run: Protection from malware?

In Windows 10 group policy editor you can restrict and allow only certain programs to run. I'm wondering if that protects against malware? I can think of following cases: 1) If you start a program ...
user3200534's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
344 views

Can ransomware run without prompting user? [duplicate]

That is, a user downloads attachment from email and runs it, will the ransomware run silently without showing the security prompt/UAC (that should block non-administrator users...)
Riccardo's user avatar
  • 145
1 vote
1 answer
215 views

How to protect against portable applications

There are many portable apps around that could be downloaded and run on local PCs. Usually running of exe could be blocked by using UAC. however, in this case of portable applications, how do I ...
dorothy's user avatar
  • 725
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

Bypass UAC without meterpreter session?

I have a research project about "Malvertising". I try to show an attack by using metasploit and I am using a Flash Plugin to hack the victim (exploit/multi/browser/adobe_flash_hacking_team_uaf) This ...
Ulf 's user avatar
  • 21
1 vote
1 answer
373 views

Can a program change the shortcut location of a browser to itself without UAC (Admin) in Windows?

I was reading an article on .desktop files used to spread malware on Gnome and KDE. I just thought that the same could be applied to Windows. On Windows: Malware is disguised as a picture by ...
Ufoguy's user avatar
  • 151
1 vote
0 answers
256 views

Do WebEx's requirements open security holes?

After a WebEx presentation is recorded, the recording cannot be played in-browser without installing a browser extension that requires invasive permissions to access the user's data for all websites: ...
SAE's user avatar
  • 11
1 vote
0 answers
642 views

Why can't programs run as administrator be a drag/drop target?

Ever since UAC was introduced in Windows, you haven't been able to use the elevated program as a drag/drop target - the "no entry" icon just appears when the mouse hovers over it. I don't think there'...
Jez's user avatar
  • 314
0 votes
1 answer
282 views

If windows already has all admin rights, wouldn't a malicious program just need to pretend to be windows?

Windows can do things that require UAC without prompting for UAC. For example, Windows can change any file in C:\Windows without requiring UAC. Could a malicious program "pretend" to be windows and ...
Jon's user avatar
  • 386
0 votes
1 answer
539 views

How do I stop local users from bypassing the UAC on Windows 10?

I'm the admin for a Windows 10 machine with a few local users. While I understand there are other ways to bypass security with access to the physical machine, I'd like to protect against hacks that ...
Hooked's user avatar
  • 304
0 votes
1 answer
424 views

DLL hijack privileges

DLL hijacking means that malicious software gets admin rights from default or it means you need to elevate your privileges first? Because I tried to change a DLL in Windows/System32 folder, but I can'...
Balabol's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
74 views

Pass-the-hash, why do I get a shell with high integrity?

I am testing the security of a Windows Server 2019 machine and have a question about remote access to the machine. The user on the machine has the permission "SeBackupPrivilege". I can ...
EEVV's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
0 answers
64 views

Disabling UAC (Windows 10) for Administrator accounts

To help improve the user experience on admin workstations, would it be ok to disable the UAC or maybe set it with a more permissive mode?
IscarioteSXIII's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
182 views

Is UAC an overestimated protection measure in Windows? Does Linux do it better?

Windows is an API-based operating system, whereas Linux is file-based. Hence in my opinion, any operating system API security measures alone aren't effective in Windows. One of such examples would be ...
Sir Muffington's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
212 views

Is Windows UAC's clicking OK authentication as secure as macOS/Linux's password authentication?

Windows only show [Yes] or [No] for the same thing as Linux's sudo. macOS/Linux both require you to type the password. Is the password-less Windows implementation almost as secure as password-...
Damn Vegetables's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
115 views

No UAC appearing for newly installed applications

Recently I have noticed that my system doesn't show the UAC prompt whenever I install some application from another source, I have UAC on and everything is working fine, I also have an administrator ...
Elytra's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
0 answers
254 views

Vulnerability scanner connecting to remote registry service is failing

I am trying to perform full vulnerability scans against all of my corporate PCs, servers and laptops. However, I'm unable to read/connect to the target registry despite the 'Remote Registry' service ...
KingJohnno's user avatar
  • 1,155
0 votes
0 answers
159 views

Would a mechanism for a same-password separate admin account solve the problem of UAC bypasses in Windows?

The standard role-separation mechanism in Windows for a local administrator is to have a single account, but protect it using UAC, and configure it for Always Notify if increased security is desired. ...
Sad IT admin's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
768 views

Possible ways to bypass UAC if user not in admin group? [closed]

i hate my work devices and other network PC's, All they do is setup password and enable UAC on the all computers, i need to install some application that requires UAC and admin rights as well as my ...
vinnt2's user avatar
  • 1