cacls.exe
Summary
Legacy Windows command-line tool for displaying or modifying file access control lists (ACLs). Deprecated in favor of icacls.exe.
cacls.exe is the 482nd most commonly executed Windows program in EchoTrail's dataset, observed 12,674 times across enterprise environments. It typically runs from C:\Windows\System32 and it is most often launched by LTSVC.exe.
Behavior
Top Paths
- C:\Windows\System3299.04%
- C:\Windows\SysWOW640.96%
Top Hashes (SHA256)
- 53c803043f6f3ab0788d37e4b0c0940d8a9732fc882b554faafddcdbfe1db8c043.98%
- 1f0afe20a68c0b4a2b43ebfbb6c6e963d4b4531152375b0ea7899c8bf23c278d16.41%
- d134eb94124645e73c9bf7f97a834a6e6261d2890cc9bd11a75a34f4e16e812c11.84%
- 1e7c610f63ba1e22f8ce1350df98f0825a4a23328c15928be67ee6e8b58e02909.76%
- 4162faf99c4fd924ac71151ce344f38eecd424cefa1b6b9018a22b44a9532bac6.38%
- 69fc832a234847ffbc7691144f4ed21d28322bfea13d15a98fef79cf6b59a5954.68%
- 57d6f4f972c59f262d37333679140c29022315fdc1f83c0f40142fd4e02423564.54%
- e16021c07d09ec1faba9196323bfef861e808f49cb960837f7951cede7725d570.71%
- d6e40b4ed7c0bc8ac18b15d265ed2edab9efc260332ef0a98623f943be3a43fa0.7%
- c81018f19c8c104e568d5168c7ca7011faa9c7ba7310510b303e54a7fafce84c0.57%
Process Ancestry
Top Grandparents
- services.exe58.41%
- EvtEng.exe38.99%
- LTClient.exe1.1%
- msiexec.exe0.8%
- svchost.exe0.1%
- chrome.exe0.02%
- unins000.exe0.02%
- cacls.exe0.01%
- cmd.exe0.01%
Top Parents
- LTSVC.exe48.5%
- iWrap.exe30.6%
- LTClient.exe0.79%
- cmd.exe0.14%
- setup.exe0.12%
- svchost.exe0.08%
- conhost.exe0.04%
- unsecapp.exe0.04%
- nvcontainer.exe0.03%
- WmiPrvSE.exe0.03%
Top Children
- conhost.exe99.99%
- LMIGuardianSvc.exe0.01%
Rare or environment-specific process names are omitted from ancestry tables. Percentages are of all observed relationships.
Security Analysis
What does cacls.exe normally do?
Legacy ACL management. Rarely used in modern environments as icacls.exe replaced it.
When is cacls.exe suspicious?
Any usage in modern environments is unusual. Granting Everyone full control. Modifying permissions on system directories or security tool folders.
How do attackers abuse cacls.exe?
Attackers use cacls to weaken file permissions before modifying protected files, or to lock out defenders from their own tools.
Detection guidance
Alert on any execution as it is deprecated. Monitor for permission changes to sensitive directories.
False positive notes
Very old scripts may still reference cacls.exe. Migration to icacls.exe is recommended.
MITRE ATT&CK techniques
Related Processes
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Data from EchoTrail's dataset of ~346M Windows process executions. Last extracted 2026-08-04.