chocolatey / chocolatey/ChocolateyGUI

Chocolatey GUI doesn't elevate with a standard Windows user account

Open
#511 12 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Enhancement Up For Grabs
Dominant language
C#
Stars
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Forks
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Avg merge
4d 13h
Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

Currently, when launching ChocolateyGUI v0.15.0 on a standard Windows user account (non-admin), there's no UAC password prompt, i. e. it doesn't ask for elevation.

Consequently, when trying to install, update or uninstall a package with ChocolateyGUI, it fails as of missing privileges.

**As a convenient solution, rather than solving this by elevating when launching ChocolateyGUI, I suggest not elevating until the moment the user issues a command that needs elevation (e. g. the Update All button) for the first time for that session.**

That way, the user can still e. g. check if there are any app/package updates without getting the UAC prompt and having to enter the admin password each time.

Currently, I'm often launching ChocolateyGUI without admin privileges in order to check if there are any package updates, and if this is the case, I quit ChocolateyGUI an re-start it via right clicking and "Run as administrator".

Here's an example of what I mean (i. e. the type of button or context menu command):

![howto_show_uac_shields](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/12624674/32047576-a53c5156-ba46-11e7-86dd-a4880a524e41.png)

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by reproducing ChocolateyGUI v0.15.0 on a standard Windows user account, then trace the launch and install, update, and uninstall command paths. Done means browsing for updates does not prompt for elevation, while the first command requiring privileges presents a UAC password prompt and succeeds.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
csharp
Domain
desktop, security
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
42/100

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