Mounting CIFS share using C++

Question

Is there a Windows C++ API to execute a command as a different user ? I am trying to mount a CIFS share from a service which is running as sys admin and I am currently logged in as a Kiosk user so when I try to mount the share using "net use .." I get access denied.

Answer 1

With CreateProcessWithLogin , you can execute a command with an arbitrary user provided you have valid credentials. Alternatively, can can use a combination of LogonUser and CreateProcessAsUser / CreateProcessWithToken .

Rather than requiring credentials including a password stored as plaintext (not recommended from a security POV), you could also grant required permissions to the kiosk user so that the current user context is sufficient for accessing the data and/or mapping the network drive.

If that is not an option, your application could have a manually configured persistent network drive as a prerequisite. The credentials would then be managed by Windows.