Folder Path Verification C++ Sample: A concise C++ example demonstrating how to verify an application's execution path against a specified directory.

FolderPathVerificationSample.cpp

# White Knight Labs - Offensive Development Course
# Guardrails - Folder Check

#include <windows.h> // Include Windows-specific headers for system calls
#include <iostream> // Include for input and output stream operations
#include <string> // Include for using string class
#include <algorithm> // Include for standard algorithms, e.g., std::transform
#include <cctype> // Include for character handling functions, e.g., std::tolower

// Function to check if the path of the current executable is under a specified path
bool isUnderSpecifiedPath(const std::string& path) {
    // Convert path to lowercase for case-insensitive comparison
    std::string lowerPath = path;
    // Use transform to apply std::tolower to each character in the path
    std::transform(lowerPath.begin(), lowerPath.end(), lowerPath.begin(),
                   [](unsigned char c) -> unsigned char { return std::tolower(c); });

    // Specify the directory to check against, ensuring it's in lowercase for accurate comparison
    std::string specifiedPath = "c:\\windows\\system32";
    // Use rfind to check if the specifiedPath is the beginning of lowerPath
    return lowerPath.rfind(specifiedPath, 0) == 0;
}

int main() {
    // Buffer to hold the path of the current executable
    char pathBuffer[MAX_PATH];
    // GetModuleFileName retrieves the path of the executable file of the current process
    if (GetModuleFileName(NULL, pathBuffer, MAX_PATH) == 0) {
        // If retrieving the path fails, print an error message and return an error code
        std::cerr << "Failed to get module file name." << std::endl;
        return 1;
    }

    // Convert the path buffer to a std::string for easier handling
    std::string currentPath = pathBuffer;
    // Check if the current executable path is under the specified path
    if (isUnderSpecifiedPath(currentPath)) {
        // If true, print confirmation message
        std::cout << "Running under set path" << std::endl;
        // This is where you can place the code that should only execute under the specified path
    } else {
        // If false, print a message indicating the executable is not under the specified path
        std::cerr << "Not running under set path" << std::endl;
        exit(1);
    }

    return 0; // Program executed successfully
}