[ACCESSENUM]

GUI-based permission scanner for rapid security audits and permission enumeration across Windows systems

Difficulty: Beginner
Category: Security

Key Features

Graphical Interface
User-friendly GUI for permission enumeration
Directory Scanning
Recursive permission analysis of directory trees
User Filtering
Filter results by specific users or groups
Export Results
Save scan results for documentation and reporting

How to Use AccessEnum

Basic Operation

1
Launch AccessEnum: Double-click accessenum.exe to start the GUI application
2
Select Directory: Browse to the directory you want to analyze (e.g., C:\\Program Files)
3
Configure Scan: Choose scan depth and filtering options
4
Start Scan: Click "Scan" to begin permission enumeration

Advanced Features

  • Filter by Access Type: Show only Full Control, Modify, or specific permissions
  • User/Group Filtering: Focus on specific users or security groups
  • Export Options: Save results to text file for further analysis
  • Recursive Scanning: Analyze entire directory trees with subdirectories

Security Use Cases

🔍 Permission Auditing

Quickly identify excessive permissions and security misconfigurations.

Target: Program Files, Windows directory, user folders

📋 Compliance Reporting

Generate documentation for compliance audits and security assessments.

Output: Detailed permission reports exportable to text files

🚨 Incident Response

Rapidly assess system permissions during security incidents.

Speed: GUI-based tool ideal for quick visual analysis

🔧 System Hardening

Identify and remediate permission weaknesses before deployment.

Focus: User writable directories in system locations

Common Security Findings

🚨 Critical Issues

  • Users group with Full Control: Standard users shouldn't have full control over system directories
  • Everyone group permissions: Broad permissions to the Everyone group create security risks
  • Writable Program Files: User-writable application directories enable DLL hijacking

âš ī¸ Warning Issues

  • Authenticated Users modify access: May allow privilege escalation in some contexts
  • Service account permissions: Service accounts with excessive file system permissions
  • Temporary directory access: Overly permissive temp directory configurations

â„šī¸ Information Findings

  • User profile permissions: Expected permissions within user directories
  • Application data access: Standard permissions for application-specific folders
  • Public folder permissions: Expected shared folder permissions

Best Practices & Tips

Focus on system directories: Start with C:\\Program Files, C:\\Windows, and C:\\ProgramData
Use appropriate scan depth: Deep scans provide comprehensive results but take longer
Export results for analysis: Save findings to text files for detailed review and reporting
Filter by problematic groups: Focus on Everyone, Users, and Authenticated Users groups
Run with administrative rights: Administrator privileges provide complete permission visibility

Get AccessEnum

Download AccessEnum as part of the Sysinternals Suite

Download AccessEnum.exe