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Overview

The ldaptypes module provides structures for working with Windows security descriptors, Access Control Lists (ACLs), and Security Identifiers (SIDs) in their LDAP/non-RPC binary format.

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Security Identifiers

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LDAP_SID

Represents a Security Identifier in LDAP format. 
from impacket.ldap.ldaptypes import LDAP_SID

sid = LDAP_SID(data=binary_sid_data)
print(sid.formatCanonical())  # S-1-5-21-...

​
Methods

formatCanonical() Returns the SID in canonical string format. 
sid_string = sid.formatCanonical()
# Returns: 'S-1-5-21-3623811015-3361044348-30300820-1013'
fromCanonical(canonical) Parse a canonical SID string into the structure. 
sid = LDAP_SID()
sid.fromCanonical('S-1-5-21-3623811015-3361044348-30300820-1013')

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Security Descriptors

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SR_SECURITY_DESCRIPTOR

Self-relative security descriptor as defined in MS-DTYP 2.4.6. 
from impacket.ldap.ldaptypes import SR_SECURITY_DESCRIPTOR

sd = SR_SECURITY_DESCRIPTOR(data=descriptor_bytes)

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Structure Fields

  • Revision (byte): Descriptor revision (usually 1)
  • Control (short): Control flags
  • OwnerSid (LDAP_SID): Owner SID
  • GroupSid (LDAP_SID): Primary group SID
  • Sacl (ACL): System ACL
  • Dacl (ACL): Discretionary ACL

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Example

# Read security descriptor from LDAP
result = conn.search(
    searchFilter='(sAMAccountName=admin)',
    attributes=['nTSecurityDescriptor']
)

for entry in result:
    for attr in entry['attributes']:
        if str(attr['type']) == 'nTSecurityDescriptor':
            sd_data = bytes(attr['vals'][0])
            sd = SR_SECURITY_DESCRIPTOR(data=sd_data)
            
            print(f"Owner: {sd['OwnerSid'].formatCanonical()}")
            print(f"Group: {sd['GroupSid'].formatCanonical()}")

​
Access Control Lists

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ACL

Represents an Access Control List containing multiple ACEs. 
from impacket.ldap.ldaptypes import ACL

acl = ACL(data=acl_bytes)
print(f"ACE Count: {acl['AceCount']}")

for ace in acl.aces:
    print(f"ACE Type: {ace['TypeName']}")
    print(f"SID: {ace['Ace']['Sid'].formatCanonical()}")

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Structure Fields

  • AclRevision (byte): ACL revision
  • AceCount (short): Number of ACEs
  • aces (list): List of ACE objects

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Access Control Entries

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ACE

Base ACE structure. The actual ACE type is determined by the AceType field. 
from impacket.ldap.ldaptypes import ACE

ace = ACE(data=ace_bytes)
print(f"Type: {ace['TypeName']}")
print(f"Flags: 0x{ace['AceFlags']:02x}")

​
ACE Flags

from impacket.ldap.ldaptypes import ACE

CONTAINER_INHERIT_ACE = 0x02
INHERIT_ONLY_ACE = 0x08
INHERITED_ACE = 0x10
OBJECT_INHERIT_ACE = 0x01

if ace.hasFlag(ACE.CONTAINER_INHERIT_ACE):
    print("ACE inherits to child containers")

​
ACCESS_ALLOWED_ACE

Grants access rights to a trustee. 
from impacket.ldap.ldaptypes import ACCESS_ALLOWED_ACE

# ACE Type: 0x00
ace_data = ace['Ace']  # Parsed from ACE
mask = ace_data['Mask']
sid = ace_data['Sid']

print(f"Allowed rights: 0x{mask['Mask']:08x}")
print(f"Trustee: {sid.formatCanonical()}")

​
ACCESS_ALLOWED_OBJECT_ACE

Object-specific access control for Active Directory. 
from impacket.ldap.ldaptypes import ACCESS_ALLOWED_OBJECT_ACE

# ACE Type: 0x05
ace_data = ace['Ace']

if ace_data.hasFlag(ACCESS_ALLOWED_OBJECT_ACE.ACE_OBJECT_TYPE_PRESENT):
    # ObjectType is a GUID identifying the property/extended right
    object_guid = ace_data['ObjectType']
    print(f"Object GUID: {object_guid.hex()}")

if ace_data.hasFlag(ACCESS_ALLOWED_OBJECT_ACE.ACE_INHERITED_OBJECT_TYPE_PRESENT):
    # Inherited object type
    inherited_guid = ace_data['InheritedObjectType']

​
Object ACE Rights

from impacket.ldap.ldaptypes import ACCESS_ALLOWED_OBJECT_ACE

ADS_RIGHT_DS_CONTROL_ACCESS = 0x00000100  # Extended rights
ADS_RIGHT_DS_CREATE_CHILD = 0x00000001    # Create child objects
ADS_RIGHT_DS_DELETE_CHILD = 0x00000002    # Delete child objects  
ADS_RIGHT_DS_READ_PROP = 0x00000010       # Read property
ADS_RIGHT_DS_WRITE_PROP = 0x00000020      # Write property
ADS_RIGHT_DS_SELF = 0x00000008            # Self modification

​
ACCESS_DENIED_ACE

Denies access rights to a trustee. 
# ACE Type: 0x01
# Structure identical to ACCESS_ALLOWED_ACE

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ACCESS_DENIED_OBJECT_ACE

Object-specific access denial. 
# ACE Type: 0x06  
# Structure identical to ACCESS_ALLOWED_OBJECT_ACE

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Access Masks

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ACCESS_MASK

Represents access rights in an ACE. 
from impacket.ldap.ldaptypes import ACCESS_MASK

mask = ACCESS_MASK()
mask['Mask'] = 0x001f01ff

if mask.hasPriv(ACCESS_MASK.GENERIC_ALL):
    print("Has full control")

​
Standard Rights

GENERIC_READ = 0x80000000
GENERIC_WRITE = 0x40000000
GENERIC_EXECUTE = 0x20000000
GENERIC_ALL = 0x10000000

DELETE = 0x00010000
READ_CONTROL = 0x00020000
WRITE_DACL = 0x00040000
WRITE_OWNER = 0x00080000

​
Methods

hasPriv(priv) Check if a specific privilege is set. 
if mask.hasPriv(ACCESS_MASK.WRITE_DACL):
    print("Can modify DACL")
setPriv(priv) Set a specific privilege. 
mask.setPriv(ACCESS_MASK.READ_CONTROL)
removePriv(priv) Remove a specific privilege. 
mask.removePriv(ACCESS_MASK.WRITE_OWNER)

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Security Descriptor Flags

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LDAP_SERVER_SD_FLAGS

Control which parts of the security descriptor to retrieve. 
from impacket.ldap.ldaptypes import LDAP_SERVER_SD_FLAGS
from impacket.ldap.ldapasn1 import Control

# Request only DACL
sd_flags_control = Control()
sd_flags_control['controlType'] = '1.2.840.113556.1.4.801'
sd_flags_control['controlValue'] = struct.pack('<I', 
    LDAP_SERVER_SD_FLAGS.OWNER_SECURITY_INFORMATION.value |
    LDAP_SERVER_SD_FLAGS.DACL_SECURITY_INFORMATION.value
)

results = conn.search(
    searchFilter='(sAMAccountName=user)',
    attributes=['nTSecurityDescriptor'],
    searchControls=[sd_flags_control]
)

​
Flags

  • OWNER_SECURITY_INFORMATION (0x1): Owner SID
  • GROUP_SECURITY_INFORMATION (0x2): Group SID
  • DACL_SECURITY_INFORMATION (0x4): DACL
  • SACL_SECURITY_INFORMATION (0x8): SACL

​
Object Type GUIDs

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OBJECTTYPE_GUID_MAP

Common object class GUIDs for Active Directory. 
from impacket.ldap.ldaptypes import OBJECTTYPE_GUID_MAP

user_guid = OBJECTTYPE_GUID_MAP[b'user']
# 'bf967aba-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2'

group_guid = OBJECTTYPE_GUID_MAP[b'group']  
# 'bf967a9c-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2'

​
Complete Example

from impacket.ldap import ldap
from impacket.ldap.ldaptypes import (
    SR_SECURITY_DESCRIPTOR, ACE, ACCESS_ALLOWED_OBJECT_ACE
)

# Connect and authenticate
conn = ldap.LDAPConnection('ldap://dc.example.com')
conn.login('admin', 'password', 'EXAMPLE')

# Query security descriptor
results = conn.search(
    searchFilter='(sAMAccountName=testuser)',
    attributes=['nTSecurityDescriptor']
)

for entry in results:
    if not entry.get('objectName'):
        continue
        
    for attr in entry['attributes']:
        if str(attr['type']) == 'nTSecurityDescriptor':
            sd_data = bytes(attr['vals'][0])
            sd = SR_SECURITY_DESCRIPTOR(data=sd_data)
            
            print(f"Owner: {sd['OwnerSid'].formatCanonical()}")
            
            # Parse DACL
            dacl = sd['Dacl']
            print(f"DACL has {dacl['AceCount']} ACEs")
            
            for ace in dacl.aces:
                ace_info = ace['Ace']
                print(f"  Type: {ace['TypeName']}")
                print(f"  SID: {ace_info['Sid'].formatCanonical()}")
                print(f"  Mask: 0x{ace_info['Mask']['Mask']:08x}")
                
                # Check for object ACEs
                if ace['AceType'] == ACCESS_ALLOWED_OBJECT_ACE.ACE_TYPE:
                    if ace_info.hasFlag(ACCESS_ALLOWED_OBJECT_ACE.ACE_OBJECT_TYPE_PRESENT):
                        print(f"  Object GUID: {ace_info['ObjectType'].hex()}")

conn.close()

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