FIX: SetEntriesInAcl() May Produce Undesired Results

• Microsoft Win32 Application Programming Interface (API) included with: - Microsoft Windows NT versions 3.51, 4.0

SYMPTOMS

As described in the Win32 Programmer's Reference, the SetEntriesInAcl() function creates a new access-control list (ACL) by merging new access- control or audit-control information into an existing ACL.

When you perform this merge operation on a container object ACL, SetEntriesInAcl() occasionally discards inheritance flags. You will notice this by closely examining the object ACL before and after calling SetEntriesInAcl().

CAUSE

When you merge like entries, SetEntriesInAcl() often ignores dissenting inherit flags.

RESOLUTION

If an application needs to modify ACL information and needs to produce reliable results on any version of Windows NT 4.0 prior to Service Pack 3, you should use the APIs documented in the Win32 Programmer's Reference under the section titled "Low-Level Access Control Functions".

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem has been fixed in Service Pack 3 for Windows NT 4.0.