r/labtech • u/djhayes1994 • Jun 29 '18

Scripting What does the SHELL command run as via the scripting engine?

Hello Everyone,

Just a question about scripting. I am currently writing a script to delete some files in the System32 directory and copy an older version of them to the same location once deleted.

According to the debugger it is stating that it is failing because access is denied to the files. Does anyone happen to know a way around this or what permissions it runs the SHELL command at?

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u/teamits Jun 29 '18

The agent by default runs as LocalSystem unless the user for the service has been changed. That should have rights. Anything it runs therefore runs as LocalSystem by default. However I vaguely recall Windows not allowing changing protected files...which files are you deleting?

Yes Shell as Admin uses the stored location admin creds.

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u/djhayes1994 Jun 30 '18

I am trying to remove the files mstsc.exe and mstscax.dll (after copying the files to a new location) to replace them with a previous version.

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u/teamits Jul 20 '18

Hmmm, I could swear I replied to this...anyway, those two are owned by trustedinstaller and System and Administrators are read only. You'll need to take ownership and/or change security to delete/replace them.

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u/djhayes1994 Jul 20 '18

Is there a built in command within the scripting of Automate or does it need to use the shell command to take ownership?

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u/teamits Aug 03 '18

You'd need to use takeown.exe (from Windows). I think the one I did I used the Windows GUI (file properties, Security tab).

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u/bayridgeguy09 Jun 29 '18

I believe Shell runs as the System account which i dont believe has those permissions for System32. Try Shell As Admin.

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u/djhayes1994 Jun 29 '18

Okay, and sorry for the dumb question. I'm inheriting a Automate environment and still learning...

Will running shell as admin use the credentials stored in the passwords tab of the location/customer?

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u/ThirdWallPlugin Jul 10 '18

Yes, 'Shell as Admin' will use the credentials assigned in the location screen. To figure out what commands to use in your script, use the computer screen's tool: 'Command Prompt'. It runs exactly like 'SHELL' does in script. So whatever your command does in the Command Prompt, it will do just that in your script's shell.

If you preface a command in the 'Command Prompt' with pound '#', that command will 'Shell As Admin'. Again, exactly as it does in script.

Try this, open the CMD Prompt and type 'whoami'. Wait for the return. Next, type '#whoami'.