Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
image/svg+xml art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos Open Access logo, converted into svg, designed by PLoS. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_white.svg art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos http://www.plos.org/ ZENODOarrow_drop_down
image/svg+xml art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos Open Access logo, converted into svg, designed by PLoS. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_white.svg art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos http://www.plos.org/
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: ZENODO
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
versions View all 2 versions
addClaim

GhostLock: SMB Deny-Share Handles as a Zero-Privilege Availability Weapon

Authors: Dvash, Kim;

GhostLock: SMB Deny-Share Handles as a Zero-Privilege Availability Weapon

Abstract

Traditional ransomware disrupts organizations by encrypting data and demanding payment for decryption keys. This paper presents a fundamentally different availability attack that achieves the same business disruption without writing a single encrypted byte to disk. By calling the Windows API CreateFileW with dwShareMode set to zero, a low-privileged domain user with standard read access to a corporate SMB file share can hold files in an exclusively locked state for an indefinite duration. The result is identical to ransomware from the victim's perspective: critical files become inaccessible, ERP and workflow systems fail, and recovery requires specialist intervention. The difference is what the attack does not produce. No writes. No renames. No new file extensions. No encryption overhead. No C2 infrastructure. Every behavioral ransomware defense in the modern enterprise stack is completely blind to it. The only reliable detection signal sits inside the file server itself, in a metric that virtually no enterprise SIEM currently ingests. No CVE. No patch. This is documented Windows behavior, working exactly as designed for 30 years. The GhostLock tool demonstrates this technique, developed and tested under explicit written authorization during an authorized red team engagement.

Keywords

security research, ransomware, file locking, smb

  • BIP!
    Impact byBIP!
    selected citations
    These citations are derived from selected sources.
    This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    0
    popularity
    This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    Average
    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average