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How to Delete Orphaned SIDs in ACLs and Improve Your Security

If you are a Windows user, you may have encountered the term “orphaned SIDs” in your system. Orphaned SIDs are security identifiers that are left behind when a user or a group is deleted from the system. They can cause problems for your security and performance, such as:

• They can consume disk space and registry entries.
• They can slow down your system scans and backups.
• They can make your access control lists (ACLs) inconsistent and confusing.
• They can allow unauthorized access to your files and folders.

To avoid these problems, you should delete orphaned SIDs from your ACLs regularly. In this article, we will show you how to do that in a few simple steps.

What are SIDs and ACLs?

Before we explain how to delete orphaned SIDs, let’s review what SIDs and ACLs are and how they work.

A SID is a unique identifier that is assigned to every user and group in a Windows system. It is used to identify and grant permissions to the user or group. For example, a SID may look like this: S-1-5-21-1234567890-1234567890-1234567890-1001.

An ACL is a list of permissions that is attached to every file and folder in a Windows system. It specifies who can access the file or folder and what they can do with it. For example, an ACL may look like this: (A;ID;FA;;;S-1-5-21-1234567890-1234567890-1234567890-1001) (A;ID;FA;;;S-1-5-21-1234567890-1234567890-1234567890-1002).

The first part of the ACL entry (A) indicates the type of permission (allow or deny). The second part (ID) indicates whether the permission is inherited or explicit. The third part (FA) indicates the level of permission (full access, read-only, etc.). The last part (S-1-5…) indicates the SID of the user or group that has the permission.

How to find orphaned SIDs in ACLs?

To find orphaned SIDs in ACLs, you need to use a tool that can scan your system and display the ACLs of your files and folders. One such tool is AccessEnum, which is a free utility from Microsoft Sysinternals. You can download it from here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/accessenum

To use AccessEnum, follow these steps:

1. Run AccessEnum.exe as an administrator.
2. Select the drive or folder that you want to scan and click Scan.
3. Wait for the scan to finish and review the results.
4. Look for any ACL entries that have an unknown SID instead of a user or group name. These are orphaned SIDs. For example, an orphaned SID may look like this: *S-1-5-21-1234567890-1234567890-1234567890-1003*.

You can also use other tools or commands to find orphaned SIDs in ACLs, such as PowerShell, icacls, or subinacl. However, AccessEnum is one of the easiest and fastest tools to use.

How to delete orphaned SIDs in ACLs?

Once you have found the orphaned SIDs in ACLs, you can delete them using a tool that can modify the ACLs of your files and folders. One such tool is SubInACL, which is a free command-line tool from Microsoft. You can download it from here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=23510

To use SubInACL, follow these steps:

1. Run SubInACL.exe as an administrator.
2. Enter the following command to delete the orphaned SID from the ACL of a file or folder: subinacl /subdirectories /revoke=. For example: subinacl /subdirectories C:\Users\John\Documents /revoke=*S-1-5-21-1234567890-1234567890-1234567890-1003*.
3. Wait for the command to finish and check the output for any errors or warnings.
4. Repeat the command for any other files or folders that have orphaned SIDs in their ACLs.

You can also use other tools or commands to delete orphaned SIDs in ACLs, such as PowerShell, icacls, or AccessChk. However, SubInACL is one of the most powerful and flexible tools to use.

What are the best practices for managing SIDs and ACLs?

To prevent orphaned SIDs from occurring in your system and to keep your ACLs consistent and secure, you should follow these best practices:

• Use built-in groups instead of individual users. You should use built-in groups such as Administrators, Users, or Everyone to assign permissions to your files and folders. This way, you don’t have to worry about updating the ACLs when a user is added or removed from the system.
• Use inheritance instead of explicit permissions. You should use inheritance to propagate permissions from parent folders to child folders and files. This way, you don’t have to manually set permissions for each file and folder.
• Use least privilege principle instead of full access. You should use the least privilege principle to grant only the minimum level of permissions that a user or group needs to perform their tasks. This way, you reduce the risk of unauthorized access or modification of your files and folders.
• Use auditing instead of guessing. You should use auditing to monitor and record who accesses your files and folders and what they do with them. This way, you can detect and troubleshoot any issues or anomalies in your ACLs.

By following these best practices, you will be able to manage your SIDs and ACLs effectively and efficiently.

How to backup and restore your ACLs?

Before you delete orphaned SIDs or make any changes to your ACLs, you should backup your ACLs so that you can restore them in case something goes wrong. You can use a tool that can export and import your ACLs to a file. One such tool is Icacls, which is a built-in command-line tool in Windows. You can use it as follows:

1. Run Icacls.exe as an administrator.
2. Enter the following command to export the ACLs of a file or folder to a file: icacls /save . For example: icacls C:\Users\John\Documents /save C:\Backup\ACLs.txt.
3. Wait for the command to finish and check the output for any errors or warnings.
4. Repeat the command for any other files or folders that you want to backup.

To restore your ACLs from a file, you can use the following command: icacls /restore . For example: icacls C:\Users\John\Documents /restore C:\Backup\ACLs.txt.

You can also use other tools or commands to backup and restore your ACLs, such as PowerShell, SubInACL, or AccessChk. However, Icacls is one of the easiest and fastest tools to use.

Conclusion

In conclusion, orphaned SIDs are security identifiers that are left behind when a user or a group is deleted from the system. They can cause problems for your security and performance, such as consuming disk space and registry entries, slowing down your system scans and backups, making your access control lists inconsistent and confusing, and allowing unauthorized access to your files and folders. To avoid these problems, you should delete orphaned SIDs from your ACLs regularly. You can use tools such as AccessEnum, SubInACL, or Icacls to find and delete orphaned SIDs in ACLs. You should also follow some best practices for managing SIDs and ACLs, such as using built-in groups instead of individual users, using inheritance instead of explicit permissions, using least privilege principle instead of full access, and using auditing instead of guessing. You should also backup and restore your ACLs before making any changes to them.

We hope this article has helped you understand how to delete orphaned SIDs in ACLs and improve your security. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.

How to prevent orphaned SIDs from occurring in the future?

The best way to prevent orphaned SIDs from occurring in your system is to avoid deleting users or groups from the system. Instead, you should disable or deactivate them. This way, their SIDs will remain in the system and their permissions will be revoked. You can use a tool that can disable or deactivate users or groups in bulk. One such tool is AD Tidy, which is a free utility that can manage Active Directory users and groups. You can download it from here: https://www.cjwdev.com/Software/ADTidy/Info.html

To use AD Tidy, follow these steps:

1. Run AD Tidy.exe as an administrator.
2. Select the domain and the domain controller that you want to scan and click Scan Now.
3. Wait for the scan to finish and review the results.
4. Select the users or groups that you want to disable or deactivate and click Actions.
5. Select the action that you want to perform, such as Disable Account, Move To OU, Remove From All Groups, etc.
6. Click Apply Selected Actions and confirm your choice.

You can also use other tools or commands to disable or deactivate users or groups in bulk, such as PowerShell, Dsmod, or Net User. However, AD Tidy is one of the most user-friendly and feature-rich tools to use.

How to troubleshoot common issues with SIDs and ACLs?

Sometimes, you may encounter some issues with SIDs and ACLs that could affect your security or performance. Some of these issues are:

• You see an error message that says “Access is denied” when you try to access a file or folder.
• You see an error message that says “The system cannot find the file specified” when you try to backup or restore your ACLs.
• You see an error message that says “The parameter is incorrect” when you try to delete or modify an orphaned SID.
• You see an error message that says “The specified account name is not valid” when you try to add or remove a user or group from an ACL.

To troubleshoot these issues, you can use a tool that can diagnose and fix SIDs and ACLs. One such tool is SIDCHG, which is a free utility that can change SIDs and ACLs. You can download it from here: https://www.stratesave.com/html/sidchg.html

To use SIDCHG, follow these steps:

1. Run SIDCHG.exe as an administrator.
2. Select the drive or folder that you want to diagnose and fix and click Scan.
3. Wait for the scan to finish and review the results.
4. Select the issue that you want to fix and click Fix.
5. Wait for the fix to finish and check the output for any errors or warnings.

You can also use other tools or commands to troubleshoot and fix SIDs and ACLs, such as PowerShell, SubInACL, or Icacls. However, SIDCHG is one of the most convenient and effective tools to use.

Conclusion

In conclusion, SIDs and ACLs are important components of the Windows security system. They identify and grant permissions to users and groups and files and folders. However, sometimes, SIDs and ACLs can become orphaned, inconsistent, or corrupted. This can cause problems for your security and performance, such as consuming disk space and registry entries, slowing down your system scans and backups, making your access control lists inconsistent and confusing, and allowing unauthorized access to your files and folders. To avoid these problems, you should delete orphaned SIDs from your ACLs regularly. You can use tools such as AccessEnum, SubInACL, or Icacls to find and delete orphaned SIDs in ACLs. You should also follow some best practices for managing SIDs and ACLs, such as using built-in groups instead of individual users, using inheritance instead of explicit permissions, using least privilege principle instead of full access, and using auditing instead of guessing. You should also backup and restore your ACLs before making any changes to them. You should also avoid deleting users or groups from the system and instead disable or deactivate them. You can use tools such as AD Tidy to do that. You should also troubleshoot and fix any issues with SIDs and ACLs that may occur. You can use tools such as SIDCHG to do that.

We hope this article has helped you understand how to delete orphaned SIDs in ACLs and improve your security. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.

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