Knowledge Base

General Security Metadata Structure

A security metadata template or file contains security rule entries
for Windows objects. Each such entry consist of a single Entry
element that has multiple attributes specifying a security rule and the
identity of one or more Windows objects to which the rule applies. In
addition, each Entry element declares entry flags specifying how
existing DACL security settings associated with Windows objects and
Plesk security rules are combined and inherited by Windows objects. The
element can also have optional tags that are used by Plesk to organize
processing of security metadata.

Plesk follows Windows security processing rules when translating the
security rule entries stored in the metadata files into ACEs.

The following security rule entry definition format is adopted for the
files:

When applying security rules listed in the metadata files to Windows
objects, Plesk can write, modify, or erase existing ACEs in object
DACLs, depending on what entry tags are specified by the corresponding
Entry element.

The following table describes the attributes that are used in the
Entry element and provides mappings to DACL’s ACEs components where
applicable.

Attributes and Their Mapping to ACE Components

Attribute	ACE component	Required	Comment
`Account`	Name (the user part)	Yes	Symbolic Windows user account name for which the security rule is created.
`Domain`	Name (the domain part)	No	Symbolic Windows domain name to which the Windows user account belongs.
`SidStr`	Name’s SID	No	Windows user account SID corresponding to the Windows user account name specified by the `Account` attribute.
`AceFlags`	Apply to flags	Yes	ACE control flag symbolic name or actual flag bits setting ACE inheritance rules that are applied to ACEs in object DACLs. See also Possible AceFlags Attribute Values.
`AccessMask`	Permission	Yes	Access mask that defines specific permissions for ACEs created from the security rule. See also Possible AccessMask Values.
`EntryFlags`	Type	Yes	ACE type and other flags that define rules for combining DACL security settings with the security rule defined by the Entry element. Several flags can be combined together. See also Possible EntryFlags Attribute Values.
`AccounType`	none	Yes	Windows user account type. This attribute specifies if the account has a well-known SID (`AccountType=0`) or must be resolved in the system (`AccountType=1`) by using the symbolic name specified by the `Account` attribute.
`Path`	none	Yes	A Plesk component path or environment variable that sets a standard path for hosted objects. See also Possible Path Attribute Values.
`SubPath`	none	No	Remaining part of the object path if the path is not fully defined by the `Path` attribute.
`Tag`	none	Yes	The Tag attributes are used by Plesk for processing the security rules defined in a security metadata template file. The tag attributes are required for security metadata templates, but are optional for the security metadata file `.Security`. See also Possible Tag Attribute Values.
`Tag2`	none	No