PowerShell Commands

Set-Acl

Set-Acl [-Path*] <String[]> [-AclObject*] <Object> [[-CentralAccessPolicy] <String>] [-ClearCentralAccessPolicy][-Confirm] [-Exclude <String[]>] [-Filter <String>] [-Include <String[]>] [-Passthru] [-UseTransaction] [-WhatIf][<CommonParameters>]
Set-Acl [-AclObject*] <Object> [[-CentralAccessPolicy] <String>] [-ClearCentralAccessPolicy] [-Confirm] [-Exclude<String[]>] [-Filter <String>] [-Include <String[]>] -LiteralPath* <String[]> [-Passthru] [-UseTransaction][-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
Set-Acl [-InputObject*] <PSObject> [-AclObject*] <Object> [-Confirm] [-Exclude <String[]>] [-Filter <String>][-Include <String[]>] [-Passthru] [-UseTransaction] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]

The Set-Acl cmdlet changes the security descriptor of a specified item, such as a file or a registry key, to match the values in a security descriptor that you supply.

To use Set-Acl , use the Path or InputObject parameter to identify the item whose security descriptor you want to change. Then, use the AclObject or SecurityDescriptor parameter to supply a security descriptor that has the values you want to apply. Set-Acl applies the security descriptor that is supplied. It uses the value of the AclObject parameter as a model and changes the values in the item's security descriptor to match the values in the AclObject parameter.

Parameters

-AclObject <Object>

  • This value is required
  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByValue

Specifies an ACL with the desired property values. Set-Acl changes the ACL of item specified by the Path or InputObject parameter to match the values in the specified security object.

You can save the output of a Get-Acl command in a variable and then use the AclObject parameter to pass the variable, or type a Get-Acl command.

-CentralAccessPolicy <String>

  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Establishes or changes the central access policy of the item. Enter the CAP ID or friendly name of a central access policy on the computer.

Beginning in Windows Serverr 2012, administrators can use Active Directory and Group Policy to set central access policies for users and groups.

This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

-ClearCentralAccessPolicy [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Removes the central access policy from the specified item.

Beginning in Windows Serverr 2012, administrators can use Active Directory and Group Policy to set central access policies for users and groups.

This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

-Confirm [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.

-Exclude <String[]>

  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Omits the specified items. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern, such as "*.txt". Wildcards are permitted.

-Filter <String>

  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies a filter in the provider's format or language. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. The syntax of the filter, including the use of wildcards, depends on the provider. Filters are more efficient than other parameters, because the provider applies them when retrieving the objects, rather than having Windows PowerShell filter the objects after they are retrieved.

-Include <String[]>

  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Changes only the specified items. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern, such as "*.txt". Wildcards are permitted.

-InputObject <PSObject>

  • This value is required
  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Changes the security descriptor of the specified object. Enter a variable that contains the object or a command that gets the object.

You cannot pipe the object to be changed to Set-Acl . Instead, use the InputObject parameter explicitly in the command.

This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

-LiteralPath <String[]>

  • This value is required
  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Changes the security descriptor of the specified item. Unlike Path , the value of the LiteralPath parameter is used exactly as it is typed. No characters are interpreted as wildcards. If the path includes escape characters, enclose it in single quotation marks. Single quotation marks tell Windows PowerShell not to interpret any characters as escape sequences.

This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

-Passthru [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Returns an object that represents the security descriptor that was changed. By default, this cmdlet does not generate any output.

-Path <String[]>

  • This value is required
  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Changes the security descriptor of the specified item. Enter the path to an item, such as a path to a file or registry key. Wildcards are permitted.

If you pass a security object to Set-Acl (either by using the AclObject or SecurityDescriptor parameter, or by passing a security object from Get-Acl to Set-Acl ), and you omit the Path parameter (name and value), Set-Acl uses the path that is included in the security object.

-UseTransaction [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress.

-WhatIf [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.

<CommonParameters>

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug,ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, WarningAction, WarningVariable,OutBuffer, PipelineVariable, and OutVariable.

Inputs
System.Security.AccessControl.ObjectSecurity, System.Security.AccessControl.CommonSecurityDescriptor
You can pipe an ACL object or a security descriptor to Set-Acl .
Outputs
System.Security.AccessControl.FileSecurity
By default, Set-Acl does not generate any output. However, if you use the Passthru parameter, it generates a security object. The type of the security object depends on the type of the item.
Examples
  1. Copy a security descriptor from one file to another:
    PS C:\> $DogACL = Get-Acl -Path "C:\Dog.txt"
    PS C:\> Set-Acl -Path "C:\Cat.txt" -AclObject $DogACL
    

    These commands copy the values from the security descriptor of the Dog.txt file to the security descriptor of the Cat.txt file. When the commands complete, the security descriptors of the Dog.txt and Cat.txt files are identical.

    The first command uses the Get-Acl cmdlet to get the security descriptor of the Dog.txt file. The assignment operator (=) stores the security descriptor in the value of the $DogACL variable.

    The second command uses Set-Acl to change the values in the ACL of Cat.txt to the values in $DogACL.

    The value of the Path parameter is the path to the Cat.txt file. The value of the AclObject parameter is the model ACL, in this case, the ACL of Dog.txt as saved in the $DogACL variable.

  2. Use the pipeline operator to pass a descriptor:
    PS C:\> Get-Acl -Path "C:\Dog.txt" | Set-Acl -Path "C:\Cat.txt"
    

    This command is almost the same as the command in the previous example, except that it uses a pipeline operator to send the security descriptor from a Get-Aclcommand to a Set-Acl command.

    The first command uses the Get-Acl cmdlet to get the security descriptor of the Dog.txt file. The pipeline operator (|) passes an object that represents the Dog.txt security descriptor to the Set-Acl cmdlet.

    The second command uses Set-Acl to apply the security descriptor of Dog.txt to Cat.txt. When the command completes, the ACLs of the Dog.txt and Cat.txt files are identical.

  3. Apply a security descriptor to multiple files:
    PS C:\> $NewAcl = Get-Acl File0.txt
    PS C:\> Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\temp" -Recurse -Include "*.txt" -Force | Set-Acl -AclObject $NewAcl
    

    These commands apply the security descriptors in the File0.txt file to all text files in the C:\Temp directory and all of its subdirectories.

    The first command gets the security descriptor of the File0.txt file in the current directory and uses the assignment operator (=) to store it in the $NewACL variable.

    The first command in the pipeline uses the Get-ChildItem cmdlet to get all of the text files in the C:\Temp directory. The Recurse parameter extends the command to all subdirectories of C:\temp. The Include parameter limits the files retrieved to those with the ".txt" file name extension. The Force parameter gets hidden files, which would otherwise be excluded. (You cannot use "c:\temp\ .txt", because the Recurse* parameter works on directories, not on files.)

    The pipeline operator (|) sends the objects representing the retrieved files to the Set-Acl cmdlet, which applies the security descriptor in the AclObject parameter to all of the files in the pipeline.

    In practice, it is best to use the WhatIf parameter with all Set-Acl commands that can affect more than one item. In this case, the second command in the pipeline would be `Set-Acl -AclObject $NewAcl -WhatIf`. This command lists the files that would be affected by the command. After reviewing the result, you can run the command again without the WhatIf parameter.

Additional Notes
 The Set-Acl * cmdlet is supported by the Windows PowerShell file system and registry providers. As such, you 
 can use it to change the security descriptors of files, directories, and registry keys.

 *

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. It is attributed to Microsoft Corporation and can be found here.

PowerShell Commands