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NCryptCreateProtectionDescriptor function (ncryptprotect.h)

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The NCryptCreateProtectionDescriptor function retrieves a handle to a protection descriptor object.

Syntax

SECURITY_STATUS NCryptCreateProtectionDescriptor(
  [in]  LPCWSTR                  pwszDescriptorString,
  [in]  DWORD                    dwFlags,
  [out] NCRYPT_DESCRIPTOR_HANDLE *phDescriptor
);

Parameters

[in] pwszDescriptorString

Null-terminated Unicode string that contains a protection descriptor rule string or a registered display name for the rule.

If you specify the display name and you want this function to look in the registry for the associated protection descriptor rule string, you must set the dwFlags parameter to NCRYPT_NAMED_DESCRIPTOR_FLAG.

[in] dwFlags

Flag that specifies whether the string in pwszDescriptorString represents the display name of a protection descriptor and, if so, where in the registry the function should search for the associated protection rule string. The following value combinations can be set:

  • To indicate that the value set in the pwszDescriptorString parameter is a complete protection descriptor rule string rather than a display name, set the dwFlags parameter to zero (0).
  • To indicate that the string is a display name and that it is saved, along with its associated descriptor rule string, in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry hive, bitwise-OR the NCRYPT_NAMED_DESCRIPTOR_FLAG value and the NCRYPT_MACHINE_KEY_FLAG value.
  • To indicate that the string is a display name and that it is saved, along with its associated descriptor string rule, in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry hive, set only the NCRYPT_NAMED_DESCRIPTOR_FLAG value. That is, there is no unique flag to specify the current user registry hive.
Note  To associate a descriptor rule with a display name and save both in the registry, call the NCryptRegisterProtectionDescriptorName function.
 

[out] phDescriptor

Pointer to a protection descriptor object handle.

Return value

Returns a status code that indicates the success or failure of the function. Possible return codes include, but are not limited to, the following.

Return code Description
ERROR_SUCCESS
 The function was successful.
NTE_INVALID_PARAMETER
 The phDescriptor parameter cannot be NULL.

The pwszDescriptorString parameter cannot be NULL and it cannot be an empty sting.
NTE_BAD_FLAGS
 The dwFlags parameter must be NCRYPT_MACHINE_KEY_FLAG or NCRYPT_NAMED_DESCRIPTOR_FLAG.
NTE_NO_MEMORY
 Memory could not be allocated to retrieve the registered protection descriptor string.
NTE_NOT_FOUND
 The protection descriptor name specified in the pwszDescriptorString parameter could not be found.

Remarks

The protection descriptor object created by this function is an internal data structure that contains information about the descriptor. You cannot use it directly. Your application can, however, use the returned handle in the following functions:

The following examples show protection descriptor rule strings:
  • "SID=S-1-5-21-4392301 AND SID=S-1-5-21-3101812"
  • "SDDL=O:S-1-5-5-0-290724G:SYD:(A;;CCDC;;;S-1-5-5-0-290724)(A;;DC;;;WD)"
  • "LOCAL=user"
  • "LOCAL=machine"
  • "WEBCREDENTIALS=MyPasswordName"
  • "WEBCREDENTIALS=MyPasswordName,myweb.com"
You can use the NCryptRegisterProtectionDescriptorName function to associate a display name with a rule string and save both in the registry.

Requirements

Requirement Value
Minimum supported client Windows 8 [desktop apps only]
Minimum supported server Windows Server 2012 [desktop apps only]
Target Platform Windows
Header ncryptprotect.h
Library NCrypt.lib
DLL NCrypt.dll

See also

CNG DPAPI Functions