NTFSInfo

Description

NTFSInfo is intended to collect details on data stored on NTFS mounted volumes, raw disk images or Volume Shadow Copies. Basically, the tool enumerates the file system entries and outputs user-specified details to collect in one or more CSV file.

NTFSInfo can walk the file system using two different techniques: the USN journal enumeration or raw MFT parsing. Their implementation is detailed in parser implementation details.

While the two parsers (MFT and USN) enumerate the file system entries, there are key differences between the two approaches:

• USN parser creates one line per USN record returned. The MFT parser, however, can potentially create multiple lines per MFT record:

  • One line per $FILE_NAME attribute (hard links)

  • One line per $DATA attribute (ADSs)

  One can identify the lines referencing the same MFT record by looking at the FRN column.

  For example, below, FRN 0x00DB00000002442B, which has two names (one long, one short) and one Alternate Data Stream, NTFSInfo output looks like:

  File	FRN
  GETTHI~2.ZIP	0x00DB00000002442B
  GETTHI~2.ZIP:Zone.Identifier	0x00DB00000002442B
  GetThis (3).zip	0x00DB00000002442B
  GetThis (3).zip:Zone.Identifier	0x00DB00000002442B

  If several attributes (whether $FILE_NAME or $DATA) are present inside the USN record, only one line is written by the USN parser. In particular, the $FILE_NAME attribute is selected by the system and not the tool.

• The USN parser can enumerate Alternate Data Streams in the ADS column, one line per ADS. However, only the MFT parser will provide details on the ADS itself (size, hashes, PE Header, etc.). The USN parser will only detail the default stream.

Output

NTFSInfo can collect up to five different types of information:

• FileInfo,

• AttrInfo,

• I30Info,

• TimeLine, and

• SecDescr.

Data is stored in CSV files.

If no output option is specified, only the FileInfo information is collected in NTFSInfo.csv.

Note

For verbose logging output refer to Configuring Console Output.

FileInfo

This file contains the following information on files and folders:

• Volume Identification:

  • ComputerName: Name of the computer

  • VolumeID: Id of the volume

• Standard Information:

  • FullName: Full-path name

  • File: Name of the file

  • ParentName: Name of the parent folder

  • Extension: Optional file name extension (split path)

  • Attributes: FAT file system attributes

  • SizeInBytes: File size in bytes

• Date Information:

  • CreationDate: File creation date “mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss.000”

  • LastModificationDate: File last write date “mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss.000”

  • LastAccessDate: File last read access date

  • LastAttrChangeDate: Last Attribute change date (MFT information changed) “mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss.000”

  • FileNameCreationDate: File name (hard link) creation date

  • FileNameLastAccessDate: File name (hard link) access date

  • FileNameLastDataModificationDate: File name (hard link) last date data was modified

  • FileNameLastAttrModificationDate: File name (hard link) last date MFT attribute was modified

• FirstBytes: First 16 bytes (in hex) of the $DATA attribute content.

• Security:

  • OwnerSID: SID of the owner for this entry

  • Owner: Name of the owner for this entry

  • SecDescrID ID of security descriptor for the file

• PE Header related information:

  • Platform: PE Header platform

  • TimeStamp: PE Header timestamp

  • SubSystem: PE Header SubSystem

• Version Information:

  • FileOS: VersionInfo OS tag

  • FileType: VersionInfo type

  • Version: VersionInfo file version

  • CompanyName: VersionInfo company name

  • ProductName: VersionInfo product name

  • OriginalFileName: VersionInfo original file name

• ShortName:

  • Short Name (8.3) if any

• Cryptographic/Authenticode Information:

  • MD5: Cryptographic MD5 hash (in hex)

  • SHA1: Cryptographic SHA1 hash (in hex)

  • SHA256: Cryptographic SHA256 hash (in hex)

  • PeMD5: Authenticode (PE) file MD5 hash

  • PeSHA1: Authenticode (PE) file SHA1 hash

  • PeSHA256: Authenticode (PE) file SHA256 hash

  • AuthenticodeStatus: Status of the authenticode signature for the file. Possible values are:

    • Unknown: Status failed to be determined

    • Empty string: File is not a PE

    • SignedVerified: File is signed and the signature verified

    • CatalogSignedVerified: File hash is listed in a catalog

    • SignedNotVerified: File signature does _not_ verify

    • NotSigned: No signature or catalog could be found for this file

  • AuthenticodeSigner: Signer’s certificate (value of the first occurrence of the attributes szOID_COMMON_NAME, szOID_ORGANIZATIONAL_UNIT_NAME, szOID_ORGANIZATION_NAME, or szOID_RSA_emailAddr)

  • AuthenticodeSignerThumbprint: Signer’s certificate hash

  • AuthenticodeCA: Signer’s root CA certificate (value of the first occurrence of the attributes szOID_COMMON_NAME, szOID_ORGANIZATIONAL_UNIT_NAME, szOID_ORGANIZATION_NAME, or szOID_RSA_emailAddr)

  • AuthenticodeCAThumbprint: Signer’s root CA certificate hash

  • SecurityDirectory Base64 encoded security directory of the PE file (if present)

• Alternate Storage areas:

  • ADS: Alternate Data Stream Information

  • ExtendedAttribute: Colon separated names of the extended attributes ($EA attribute content)

• Reference Numbers

  • USN: Update Sequence Number (last USN added in the journal for this entry)

  • FRN: File Reference Number (version index of the entry in the MFT)

• RecordInUse: Boolean which indicates if this record was in use or free (i.e. deleted)

• FilenameFlags: Type of file name (POSIX=0,WIN32=1,DOS83=2)

• FilenameID: Attribute ID for this $FILE_NAME

• DataID: Attribute ID for this $DATA

• Status: File lock status (per CreateFile return value, if available)

• OwnerID: Owner ID for this entry (ID for quotas, not security)

• FilenameIndex: Index of this $FILE_NAME in this record

• DataIndex: Index of this $DATA in this record

• SnapshotID: Snapshot associated with this entry

• SSDeep: Fuzzyhash SSDeep

• TLSH: Trend Micro’s TLSH

• SignedHash: Signed hash inside the security directory of the PE

The Attributes column may contain the following flags:

Flag	Letter used (in this order)
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_ARCHIVE	A
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_COMPRESSED	C
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DIRECTORY	D
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_ENCRYPTED	E
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_HIDDEN	H
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL	N
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_OFFLINE	O
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_READONLY	R
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_REPARSE_POINT	L
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_SPARSE_FILE	P
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_SYSTEM	S
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_TEMPORARY	T
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_VIRTUAL	V

Detailed documentation of these flags can be found at: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/file-attribute-constants

AttrInfo

This file contains NTFS attributes related information. The output CSV file contains the following information:

Value	Description
ComputerName	Name of the computer
VolumeID	ID of the volume
FRN	FRN for this attribute
HostFRN	FRN hosting this attribute (if HostFRN != FRN then this attribute is hosted in a child MFT record)
Type	Type of the attribute
Name	Attribute name
Form	Resident or NonResident
Size	Attribute size
Flags	Attribute flags
Instance	Unique instance for this attribute in the file record
Index	Attribute index for this attribute type
LowestVCN	Lowest virtual cluster number (VCN) covered by this attribute record.
SnapshotID	ID of the snapshot

The Type column can have the following values:

• $UNUSED

• $STANDARD_INFORMATION

• $ATTRIBUTE_LIST

• $FILE_NAME

• $OBJECT_ID

• $SECURITY_DESCRIPTOR

• $VOLUME_NAME

• $VOLUME_INFORMATION

• $DATA

• $INDEX_ROOT

• $INDEX_ALLOCATION

• $BITMAP

• $REPARSE_POINT

• $EA_INFORMATION

• $EA

• $LOGGED_UTILITY_STREAM

• $FIRST_USER_DEFINED_ATTRIBUTE

• $END

The Flags attribute can have the following values:

• ATTRIBUTE_FLAG_COMPRESSION_MASK (0x00FF)

• ATTRIBUTE_FLAG_SPARSE (0x8000)

• ATTRIBUTE_FLAG_ENCRYPTED (0x4000)

I30Info

This file contains information from the volume $I30 attributes (directories) stored $FILE_NAME copies:

Value	Description
ComputerName	Name of the computer
VolumeID	ID of the volume
CarvedEntry	"Y" or "N" depending on whether this entry was carved
FRN	File Reference Number (version index of the entry in the MFT)
ParentFRN	FRN of the parent directory
Name	File name
FilenameID	Attribute ID for this $FILE_NAME
FileNameCreationDate	File name (hard link) creation date
FileNameLastModificationDate	File name (hard link) access date
FileNameLastAccessDate	File name (hard link) last date data was modified
FileNameLastAttrModificationDate	File name (hard link) last date MFT attribute was modified
SnapshotID	ID of the VSS snapshot

TimeLine

This file contains information one “date/time” per line. This file is not sorted.

Value	Description
ComputerName	Name of the computer
VolumeID	ID of the volume
KindOfDate	Nature of the date reported.
TimeStamp	Timestamp for this event
FRN	File Reference Number
FilenameID	ID of the $FILE_NAME associated with this event
SnapshotID	ID of the VSS snapshot

The KindOfDate column can hold the following values:

• CreationTime

• LastModificationTime

• LastAccessTime

• LastChangeTime

• FileNameCreationDate

• FileNameLastModificationDate

• FileNameLastAccessDate

• FileNameLastAttrModificationDate

SecDescr

This file contains Security Descriptors information (as stored in the $SDS data stream for the volume):

Value	Description
ComputerName	Name of the computer
VolumeID	ID of the volume
ID	ID of this Security Descriptor (as referred to by SecDescrID in FileInfo column)
Hash	Hash (not a Cryptographic hash)
SDDL	Security descriptor in SDDL format
SecDescrSize	Declared size of the security descriptor (per GetSecurityDescriptorLength)
NormalisedSize	Normalised size of the SD (per ConvertStringSecurityDescriptorToSecurityDescriptor)
DataSize	Actual stored blob size in $SDS stream (http://www.ntfs.com/ntfs-permissions-security-descriptor.htm)
SnapshotId	VSS Snapshot ID

Usage

NTFSInfo can be used from command line or with XML configuration file. Both provide (mostly) identical access to NTFSInfo functionality even if the configuration files allow for more complexity.

• Command-line parameters example:

DFIR-Orc.exe NTFSInfo "%SystemDrive%\Program Files" /fileinfo=%TEMP%\test.csv /logfile=%TEMP%\NTFSInfo.log /Dates,File,ParentName,USN,FRN,LastAttrChangeDate,ADS,SizeInBytes

• XML configuration file example:

<ntfsinfo walker="MFT">
    <fileinfo>%TEMP%\test.csv</fileinfo>
    <logging file="%TEMP%\NTFSInfo.log" />
    <location>%SystemDrive%\Program files</location>
    <columns>
        <default>Dates</default>
        <default>File</default>
        <default>ParentName</default>
        <default>USN,FRN</default>
        <default>LastAttrChangeDate</default>
        <default>ADS</default>
        <default>SizeInBytes</default>
    </columns>
</ntfsinfo>

The XML configuration file is provided by using the parameter /config:

DFIR-Orc.exe NTFSInfo /config=%TEMP%\NTFSInfoConfig.xml

Note

All output related parameters (in the configuration file and in the command line) can use environment variables.

ntfsinfo Element

optional=no, default=N/A

Root element.

Attributes

• walker (optional=no, default=MFT), /Walker Option:

NTFSInfo can only use one parser per execution. The choice of the parser is very important as it impacts the CSV output.

Value	Description
USN	The USN parser can be faster under certain circumstances and is maintained only for completeness.
MFT	The MFT parser is the most complete with detailed ADS and hard links in the output.

Important

• The USN Parser option is DEPRECATED

• The USN Parser can be very slow on recent NTFS volumes.

Configuring the parser to parse deleted entries

• resurrect (optional=yes, default=no), /ResurrectRecords=<yes|no|resident> Option

The MFT parser can be configured to include deleted records. This option can provide information about recently deleted file system entries. This can, by design, incur unpredictable results (as we are using unreliable or partially deleted information). One can generally assume that resident attributes for those entries are valid unlike nonresident attributes that are most likely quickly invalidated after the entry deletion. Use the option value resident to limit parsed deleted entries to resident ones.

Value	Description
yes	Enable deleted records recovery
resident	Enabled deleted resident records only recovery
no	Do not try to recover deleted records

location Element

Specify the parsed system. For details on the syntax, please refer to the configuring locations documentation.

When using the command line, this element must be provided in the form of a space separated list, as an argument at the end of the command:

DFIR-Orc.exe NTFSInfo <Location1> <Location2>

FileInfo Element, /FileInfo=<Path> Option

optional=yes, default=NTFSInfo.csv

FileInfo contains general file information about the files in one or more volumes.

The syntax is similar to the output element or \out option used in other tools, described in the output documentation.

When provided with a directory or an archive, it creates one file per NTFS volume instead of one unique file.

If no output option is specified, only the FileInfo information is collected in a file called NTFSInfo.csv.

Note

The option /out has the same behavior as /fileinfo.

AttrInfo Element, /AttrInfo=<Path> Option

optional=yes, default=N/A

AttrInfo contains detail information about the attributes in $MFT.

The syntax is similar to the output element or \out option used in other tools, described in the output documentation.

When provided with a directory or an archive, it creates one file per NTFS volume instead of one unique file.

I30info Element, /I30info=<Path> Option

optional=yes, default=N/A

I30Info contains detailed information about the data stored inside $I30 attributes.

The syntax is similar to the output element or \out option used in other tools, described in the output documentation.

When provided with a directory or an archive, it creates one file per NTFS volume instead of one unique file.

TimeLine Element, /TimeLine=<Path> Option

optional=yes, default=N/A

TimeLine contains a unique view of all dated information in $MFT ($STANDARD_INFORMATION and $FILE_NAME)

The syntax is similar to the output element or \out option used in other tools, described in the output documentation.

When provided with a directory or an archive, it creates one file per NTFS volume instead of one unique file.

SecDescr Element, /SecDescr=<Path> Option

optional=yes, default=N/A

SecDescr contains the security descriptors for the parsed volumes.

The syntax is similar to the output element or \out option used in other tools, described in the output documentation.

When provided with a directory or an archive, it creates one file per NTFS volume instead of one unique file.

Columns Element

optional=yes, default=N/A

This element is a container for sub-elements that allow to define the information NTFSInfo must collect or not.

Default Element (in Columns), /<DefaultColumnSelection>,... Option

optional=yes, default=Default (see “Default” alias)

NTFSInfo allows fine grained selection of information collected in FileInfo output CSVs. This allows groups of columns to be specified in a way you find convenient.

Selection is specified using a comma-separated list of columns.

The following example will output the file name, its parent full-path, and its MD5 hash.

• Command-line parameter:

/File,ParentName,MD5

• XML elements:

<columns>
    <default>File,ParentName,MD5</default>
</columns>

Note

Option or Element can be specified multiple times

Here is a complete list of the available columns:

Column name	Description
ADS	Alternate Data Stream Information
Attributes	FAT file system attributes
AuthenticodeCA	Authority of signer of this file’s signature
AuthenticodeCAThumbprint	Thumbprint of the authority of the signer of this file’s signer
AuthenticodeSigner	Signer of this file’s signature
AuthenticodeSignerThumbprint	Thumbprint of the signer of this file’s signer
AuthenticodeStatus	Status of this file regarding authenticode signature (SignedVerified,SignedNotVerified,NotSigned)
CompanyName	VersionInfo company name
ComputerName	Computer name
CreationDate	File creation date
DataID	$DATA Attribute Instance ID
DataIndex	Index of this $DATA in this record
EASize	Size in bytes of the extended attributes (if present)
ExtendedAttribute	Extended Attribute Information
Extension	Optional file name extension (split path)
File	Name of the file
FileNameCreationDate	Indicates when this file created using this name
FilenameFlags	$FILE_NAME Attribute Flags (POSIX=0, WIN32=1, DOS83=2)
FilenameID	$FILE_NAME Attribute Instance ID
FilenameIndex	Index of this $FILE_NAME in this record
FileNameLastAccessDate	Indicates when this file was last read using this name
FileNameLastAttrModificationDate	Indicates when this file’s attributes were last modified using this name
FileNameLastModificationDate	Indicates when this file’s data was last modified using this name
FileOS	VersionInfo OS tag
FileType	VersionInfo type
FirstBytes	First bytes of the data stream
FRN	File Reference Number
FullName	Full-path name
LastAccessDate	File last read date (pre-vista)
LastAttrChangeDate	Last Attribute Change Date
LastModificationDate	File last write date
MD5	Cryptographic MD5 hash (in hex)
OriginalFileName	VersionInfo original file name
Owner	File owner
OwnerId	File owner’s unique ID
OwnerSid	File owner’s SID
ParentFRN	Parent Folder Reference Number
ParentName	Name of the parent folder
PeMD5	MD5 of PE file
PeSHA1	SHA1 of PE file
PeSHA256	SHA256 of a PE file
Platform	PE Header platform
ProductName	VersionInfo product name
RecordInUse	Indicates if the record is in use (or freed/deleted)
SecDescrID	ID of security descriptor for the file
SecurityDirectory	Base64 encoded security directory of the PE file (if present)
SHA1	Cryptographic SHA1 hash (in hex)
SHA256	SHA256
ShortName	Short Name (8.3) if any
SignedHash	The signed hash inside the security directory of the PE
SizeInBytes	File size in bytes
SnapshotID	Snapshot associated with this entry
SSDeep	Fuzzyhash SSDeep
SubSystem	PE Header SubSystem
TimeStamp	PE Header timestamp
TLSH	Trend Micro’s TLSH
USN	Update Sequence Number
Version	VersionInfo file version
VolumeID	Volume ID

Instead of column names, aliases can also be used. They simplify the syntax by regrouping a set of related columns.

Here is a complete list of available aliases:

Alias	Columns name
Default	File, ParentName, Extension, SizeInBytes, Attributes, CreationDate, LastModificationDate, LastAccessDate, LastAttrChangeDate, FileNameCreationDate, FileNameLastModificationDate, FileNameLastAccessDate, FileNameLastAttrModificationDate, USN, FRN, ParentFRN, ExtendedAttribute, ADS, FilenameID, DataID, RecordInUse, OwnerId, FilenameFlags, SecDescrID, FilenameIndex, DataIndex, SnapshotID
DeepScan	File, ParentName, Extension, SizeInBytes, Attributes, CreationDate, LastModificationDate, LastAccessDate, ShortName, MD5, SHA1, Owner, Version, CompanyName, ProductName, OriginalFileName, Platform, TimeStamp, SubSystem, FileType, FileOS
Details	Version, CompanyName, ProductName, OriginalFileName, Platform, TimeStamp, SubSystem, FileType, FileOS
Hashes	MD5, SHA1, SHA256
Fuzzy	SSDeep, TLSH
PeHashes	PeSHA1, PeSHA256, PeMD5
Dates	CreationDate, LastModificationDate, LastAccessDate, LastAttrChangeDate, FileNameCreationDate, FileNameLastModificationDate, FileNameLastAccessDate, FileNameLastAttrModificationDate
RefNums	USN, FRN, ParentFRN
Authenticode	AuthenticodeStatus, AuthenticodeSigner, AuthenticodeSignerThumbprint, AuthenticodeCA, AuthenticodeCAThumbprint, SignedHash
All	LastModificationDate, LastAccessDate, LastAttrChangeDate, FileNameCreationDate, FileNameLastModificationDate, FileNameLastAccessDate, FileNameLastAttrModificationDate, USN, FRN, ParentFRN, ExtendedAttribute, ADS, FilenameID, DataID, RecordInUse, ShortName, MD5, SHA1, FirstBytes, OwnerId, OwnerSid, Owner, Version, CompanyName, ProductName, OriginalFileName, Platform, TimeStamp, SubSystem, FileType, FileOS, FilenameFlags, SHA256, PeSHA1, PeSHA256, SecDescrID, EASize, SecurityDirectory, AuthenticodeStatus, AuthenticodeSigner, AuthenticodeSignerThumbprint, AuthenticodeCA, AuthenticodeCAThumbprint, PeMD5, FilenameIndex, DataIndex, SnapshotID, SSDeep, TLSH, SignedHash

Note

The command DFIR-Orc.exe ntfsinfo /? will print all column definitions along with the definition of aliases.

add and omit Elements (in Columns), /(+|-)<ColumnSelection>:criteria=<value> Option

optional=yes, default=N/A

NTFSInfo allows to selectively add or remove columns content depending on a filter. Filtering column content can help reduce resource consumption for some columns (e.g. MD5, AuthenticodeStatus).

A filter is built on an action, a criterion and the targeted column.

• Available criteria:

  Criteria	Description
  HasVersionInfo	The file has a VERSION_INFO resource
  HasPE	The file has a valid PE header
  ExtBinary	The file has an executable extension (like .exe, .dll, .scr, .sys, …)
  ExtArchive	The file has a archive extension (like .zip, .cab, …)
  Ext=.Ext1,.Ext2,…	The file has extension in .Ext1,.Ext2,…
  SizeLT=size, SizeGT=size	The file is smaller or bigger than a specified size. Note that size can be expressed in KB (i.e. SizeGT=25K…) or in MB (i.e. SizeLT=5M etc…)

• Available actions:

  Action	Description
  add / +	Computes the column content
  remove / -	Do not compute the column content

Example 1: only computes the column SHA1 if the file size is smaller than 1 MB.

• Command-line parameter:

  /+SHA1:SizeLT=1M
  

• XML element:

  <columns>
      <add SizeLT="1M">SHA1</add>
  </columns>
  

Example 2: do not compute MD5 if the file has an archive extension (.cab, .zip).

• Command-line parameter:

  /-MD5:ExtArchive
  

• XML element:

  <columns>
      <omit ExtArchive="">MD5</omit>
  </columns>
  

Important

Rules to know when defining columns:

1. All rules are evaluated for each file record. Among other things, this implies that some resource-consuming criteria (like HasPE) can impact overall performance.

2. Last matching rule for a file determines if a column is evaluated (if “add” is used) or not (if “omit” is used). This implies that the order in which they appear matter.

For example:

<columns>
    <add SizeLT="1M">SHA1</add>
    <omit ExtArchive="">SHA1</omit>
</columns>

The filter implies that if a file is smaller than 1 MB but has an .zip extension, then its SHA1 is not computed. However, if the order was to be reversed, its SHA1 will be computed and added to the CSV file because the last matching rule will be the add filter.

Typical Usage Examples

Quick Discovery of Volume Content

To quickly enumerate the file system entries of NTFS volumes attached to a system, the typical command line would be:

DFIR-Orc.exe NTFSInfo /default /fileinfo=VolumesEntries.csv *

The equivalent XML syntax would be:

<ntfsinfo walker="MFT">
    <fileinfo>VolumesEntries.csv</fileinfo>
    <location>*</location>
    <columns>
        <default>Default</default>
    </columns>
</ntfsinfo>

This syntax extracts all required information from the MFT record and does not require any extra information to be pulled from the disk. This is the subset of information that can be systematically collected on systems.

Getting Detailed Information on Binaries

To obtain detailed information about binaries, based on the presence of version information and on the system drive, the typical syntax would be:

DFIR-Orc.exe NTFSInfo /Default /+Details:HasVersionInfo /out=Details.csv %SystemDrive%\

Equivalent XML Syntax:

<ntfsinfo walker="MFT">
    <fileinfo>Details.csv</fileinfo>
    <location>%SystemDrive%\</location>
    <columns>
        <default>Default</default>
        <add HasVersionInfo="">Details</add>
    </columns>
</ntfsinfo>

Getting Windows PE Binaries Details

To obtain detailed information about files that contain code, based on the presence of a valid PE Header and on the system drive, and excluding computing cryptographic hashes for big files, the typical syntax would be:

DFIR-Orc.exe NTFSInfo /Default /+Details:HasPE /+Hashes:HasPe /-Hashes:SizeGT=1MB %SystemDrive%\

Equivalent XML Syntax:

<ntfsinfo walker="MFT">
    <fileinfo>%TEMP%\test.csv</fileinfo>
    <location>%SystemDrive%\</location>
    <columns>
        <default>Default</default>
        <add HasPE="">Hashes,Details</add>
        <omit SizeGT="1M">Hashes</omit>
    </columns>
</ntfsinfo>