feat(GUI): implement Windows elevation using a native module (#1366)

Sentry error reports showcase that elevation errors on Windows are one of the most frequent Windows errors. In order to perform Windows elevation, we ship compiled EXEs of a third party CLI elevation application (http://code.kliu.org/misc/elevate/) that has several limitations: - We have the scan the output of the script to determine if a user cancelled the elevation request, which causes all sorts of issues on computers where English is not the main language - The application displays a `cmd.exe` window for some milliseconds, which is bad UX, that we have to workaround by distributing a patched version of the tool - The CLI application has to be spawned, which seems to be problematic if users have anti-virus software, leading to hard to debug issues - We don't have any control if something goes wrong For these reasons, we decided to implement our own elevation mechanism in C++ as a Node.js add-on, based on the `elevate.exe` code we where previously using. Misc changes: - Introduce a `lib/shared/bindings.js` module to easily require local native add-ons - Install `cpplint` and configure it to lint C++ files Note that for practical reasons, the C++ code lives in this repository rather than in a separate module. We will release this functionality in a more accessible way in the future as part of the Etcher SDK project. Change-Type: patch Changelog-Entry: Fix uncaught errors when cancelling elevation requests on Windows when the system's language is not English. Signed-off-by: Juan Cruz Viotti <jviotti@openmailbox.org>
2025-07-23 11:16:39 +00:00 · 2017-05-02 18:36:57 -04:00 · 2017-05-02 18:36:57 -04:00 · b75dfd3ece
commit b75dfd3ece
parent 9881364e1d
19 changed files with 482 additions and 43 deletions
--- a/.gitattributes
+++ b/.gitattributes
@ -13,6 +13,9 @@ etcher text
 .git* text
 *.html text
 *.json text
+*.cpp text
+*.h text
+*.gyp text
 LICENSE text
 Makefile text
 *.md text
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ coverage
 .lock-wscript

 # Compiled binary addons (http://nodejs.org/api/addons.html)
-build/Release
+build

 # Dependency directory
 # https://docs.npmjs.com/misc/faq#should-i-check-my-node-modules-folder-into-git
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ install:
  - if [[ "$TRAVIS_OS_NAME" == "linux" ]]; then
      ./scripts/build/docker/run-command.sh -r "${TARGET_ARCH}" -s "${PWD}" -c "make info && make electron-develop";
    else
-      pip install codespell==1.9.2 awscli;
+      pip install codespell==1.9.2 awscli cpplint;
      brew install afsctool jq;
      make info;
      travis_wait make electron-develop;
--- a/38
+++ b/38
@ -174,40 +174,40 @@ $(BUILD_DIRECTORY):
 $(BUILD_TEMPORARY_DIRECTORY): | $(BUILD_DIRECTORY)
 	mkdir $@

-$(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/electron-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-dependencies: | $(BUILD_DIRECTORY)
-	mkdir $@
-
-$(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/node-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-dependencies: | $(BUILD_DIRECTORY)
-	mkdir $@
-
 $(BUILD_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY): | $(BUILD_DIRECTORY)
 	mkdir $@

-$(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/electron-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-dependencies/node_modules: package.json npm-shrinkwrap.json \
-	| $(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/electron-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-dependencies
+$(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/electron-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-dependencies: package.json npm-shrinkwrap.json \
+	| $(BUILD_DIRECTORY)
+	mkdir $@
+	cp -rf src $@
 	./scripts/build/dependencies-npm.sh -p \
 		-r "$(TARGET_ARCH)" \
 		-v "$(ELECTRON_VERSION)" \
-		-x $| \
+		-x $@ \
 		-t electron \
 		-s "$(TARGET_PLATFORM)"
+	rm -rf $@/src

-$(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/node-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-dependencies/node_modules: package.json npm-shrinkwrap.json \
-	| $(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/node-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-dependencies
+$(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/node-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-dependencies: package.json npm-shrinkwrap.json \
+	| $(BUILD_DIRECTORY)
+	mkdir $@
+	cp -rf src $@
 	./scripts/build/dependencies-npm.sh -p -f \
 		-r "$(TARGET_ARCH)" \
 		-v "$(NODE_VERSION)" \
-		-x $| \
+		-x $@ \
 		-t node \
 		-s "$(TARGET_PLATFORM)"
+	rm -rf $@/src

 $(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/electron-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(APPLICATION_VERSION)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-app: \
-	$(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/electron-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-dependencies/node_modules \
+	$(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/electron-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-dependencies \
 	| $(BUILD_DIRECTORY) $(BUILD_TEMPORARY_DIRECTORY)
 	./scripts/build/electron-create-resources-app.sh -s . -o $@ \
 		-v $(APPLICATION_VERSION) \
 		-f "$(APPLICATION_FILES)"
-	cp -RLf $< $@
+	cp -RLf $</* $@

 ifdef ANALYTICS_SENTRY_TOKEN
 	./scripts/build/jq-insert.sh \
@ -240,10 +240,12 @@ $(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/electron-$(ELECTRON_VERSION)-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH

 $(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/$(APPLICATION_NAME)-cli-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(APPLICATION_VERSION)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-app: \
 	package.json lib \
-	$(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/node-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-dependencies/node_modules \
+	$(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/node-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-dependencies \
 	| $(BUILD_DIRECTORY)
 	mkdir $@
-	$(foreach prerequisite,$^,$(call execute-command,cp -rf $(prerequisite) $@))
+	cp $(word 1,$^) $@
+	cp $(word 2,$^) $@
+	cp -rf $(word 3,$^)/* $@

 $(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/$(APPLICATION_NAME)-cli-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(APPLICATION_VERSION)-$(TARGET_ARCH).js: \
 	$(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/$(APPLICATION_NAME)-cli-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(APPLICATION_VERSION)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-app \
@ -251,10 +253,10 @@ $(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/$(APPLICATION_NAME)-cli-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(APPLICATION_VERS
 	./scripts/build/concatenate-javascript.sh -e $</lib/cli/etcher.js -o $@

 $(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/$(APPLICATION_NAME)-cli-$(APPLICATION_VERSION)-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH): \
-	$(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/node-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-dependencies/node_modules \
+	$(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/node-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(TARGET_ARCH)-dependencies \
 	$(BUILD_DIRECTORY)/$(APPLICATION_NAME)-cli-$(TARGET_PLATFORM)-$(APPLICATION_VERSION)-$(TARGET_ARCH).js \
 	| $(BUILD_DIRECTORY) $(BUILD_TEMPORARY_DIRECTORY)
-	./scripts/build/node-package-cli.sh -o $@ -l $< \
+	./scripts/build/node-package-cli.sh -o $@ -l $</node_modules \
 		-n $(APPLICATION_NAME) \
 		-e $(word 2,$^) \
 		-r $(TARGET_ARCH) \
--- a/appveyor.yml
+++ b/appveyor.yml
@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ install:
  - set PATH=C:\Program Files (x86)\NSIS;%PATH%
  - set PATH=C:\MinGW\bin;%PATH%
  - set PATH=C:\MinGW\msys\1.0\bin;%PATH%
-  - pip install codespell==1.9.2 awscli
+  - pip install codespell==1.9.2 awscli cpplint
  - make info
  - make electron-develop

--- a/binding.gyp
+++ b/binding.gyp
@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+{
+  "targets": [
+    {
+      "target_name": "elevator",
+      "include_dirs" : [
+        "src",
+        "<!(node -e \"require('nan')\")"
+      ],
+      'conditions': [
+
+        [ 'OS=="win"', {
+          "sources": [
+            "src/utils/v8utils.cpp",
+            "src/os/elevate.cpp",
+            "src/elevator_init.cpp",
+          ],
+          "libraries": [
+            "-lShell32.lib",
+          ],
+        } ]
+
+      ],
+    }
+  ],
+}
--- a/docs/RUNNING-LOCALLY.md
+++ b/docs/RUNNING-LOCALLY.md
@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ Prerequisites
 - [jq](https://stedolan.github.io/jq/)
 - [Codespell](https://github.com/lucasdemarchi/codespell)
 - [curl](https://curl.haxx.se/)
+- [cpplint](https://github.com/cpplint/cpplint)

 ### Windows

--- a/lib/shared/bindings.js
+++ b/lib/shared/bindings.js
@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2017 resin.io
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+'use strict';
+
+const path = require('path');
+const bindings = require('bindings');
+
+/**
+ * @summary Load a native module
+ * @function
+ * @public
+ *
+ * @param {String} moduleName - native module name
+ * @returns {Object} native module
+ *
+ * @example
+ * const elevator = bindings.load('elevator');
+ */
+exports.load = (moduleName) => {
+  return bindings({
+    bindings: moduleName,
+
+  /* eslint-disable camelcase */
+
+    module_root: path.join(__dirname, '..', '..')
+
+  /* eslint-enable camelcase */
+
+  });
+};
--- a/lib/shared/permissions.js
+++ b/lib/shared/permissions.js
@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 'use strict';

 const os = require('os');
+const bindings = require('./bindings');
 const Bluebird = require('bluebird');
 const childProcess = Bluebird.promisifyAll(require('child_process'));
 const sudoPrompt = Bluebird.promisifyAll(require('sudo-prompt'));
@ -145,22 +146,13 @@ exports.elevateCommand = (command, options) => {
  const prefixedCommand = _.concat(exports.getEnvironmentCommandPrefix(options.environment), command);

  if (os.platform() === 'win32') {
-    const elevator = Bluebird.promisifyAll(require('elevator'));
-
-    return elevator.executeAsync(prefixedCommand, {
-      hidden: true,
-      terminating: true,
-      doNotPushdCurrentDirectory: true,
-      waitForTermination: true
-    }).then(() => {
+    const elevator = Bluebird.promisifyAll(bindings.load('elevator'));
+    return elevator.elevateAsync(_.concat([
+      'cmd.exe',
+      '/c'
+    ], prefixedCommand)).then((results) => {
      return {
-        cancelled: false
-      };
-    }).catch({
-      code: 'ELEVATE_CANCELLED'
-    }, () => {
-      return {
-        cancelled: true
+        cancelled: results.cancelled
      };
    });
  }
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
  "description": "Flash OS images to SD cards & USB drives, safely and easily.",
  "productDescription": "Etcher is a powerful OS image flasher built with web technologies to ensure flashing an SDCard or USB drive is a pleasant and safe experience. It protects you from accidentally writing to your hard-drives, ensures every byte of data was written correctly and much more.",
  "homepage": "https://github.com/resin-io/etcher",
+  "gypfile": true,
  "repository": {
    "type": "git",
    "url": "git@github.com:resin-io/etcher.git"
@ -16,14 +17,18 @@
  "scripts": {
    "test": "npm run lint && electron-mocha --recursive --renderer tests/gui -R spec && electron-mocha --recursive tests/shared tests/child-writer tests/image-stream -R spec",
    "sass": "node-sass ./lib/gui/scss/main.scss > ./lib/gui/css/main.css",
+    "cpplint": "cpplint --recursive src",
    "jslint": "eslint lib tests scripts bin versionist.conf.js",
    "sasslint": "sass-lint lib/gui/scss",
    "htmllint": "node scripts/html-lint.js",
    "codespell": "codespell.py --skip *.gz,*.bz2,*.xz,*.zip,*.img,*.dmg,*.iso,.DS_Store lib tests docs scripts Makefile *.md LICENSE",
-    "lint": "npm run jslint && npm run sasslint && npm run codespell && npm run htmllint",
+    "lint": "npm run jslint && npm run sasslint && npm run cpplint && npm run codespell && npm run htmllint",
    "changelog": "versionist",
    "start": "electron lib/start.js",
-    "preshrinkwrap": "node ./scripts/clean-shrinkwrap.js"
+    "preshrinkwrap": "node ./scripts/clean-shrinkwrap.js",
+    "configure": "node-gyp configure",
+    "build": "node-gyp build",
+    "install": "node-gyp rebuild"
  },
  "author": "Juan Cruz Viotti <juan@resin.io>",
  "license": "Apache-2.0",
@ -61,8 +66,7 @@
    }
  },
  "optionalDependencies": {
-    "electron-installer-debian": "0.5.1",
-    "elevator": "2.2.3"
+    "electron-installer-debian": "0.5.1"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "angular": "1.6.3",
@ -72,6 +76,7 @@
    "angular-seconds-to-date": "^1.0.0",
    "angular-ui-bootstrap": "^2.5.0",
    "angular-ui-router": "^0.4.2",
+    "bindings": "^1.2.1",
    "bluebird": "^3.0.5",
    "bootstrap-sass": "^3.3.5",
    "chalk": "^1.1.3",
@ -86,6 +91,7 @@
    "lzma-native": "^1.5.2",
    "mime-types": "^2.1.15",
    "mountutils": "^1.0.6",
+    "nan": "^2.3.5",
    "node-ipc": "^8.9.2",
    "node-stream-zip": "^1.3.4",
    "path-is-inside": "^1.0.2",
@ -120,6 +126,7 @@
    "html-angular-validate": "^0.1.9",
    "mochainon": "^1.0.0",
    "nock": "^9.0.9",
+    "node-gyp": "^3.5.0",
    "node-sass": "^3.8.0",
    "sass-lint": "^1.10.2",
    "tmp": "0.0.31",
--- a/scripts/build/dependencies-npm.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/dependencies-npm.sh
@ -129,12 +129,17 @@ if [ -n "$ARGV_PREFIX" ]; then
    cp "$PWD/npm-shrinkwrap.json" "$ARGV_PREFIX/npm-shrinkwrap.json"
  fi

+  if [ -f "$PWD/binding.gyp" ]; then
+    cp "$PWD/binding.gyp" "$ARGV_PREFIX/binding.gyp"
+  fi
+
  pushd "$ARGV_PREFIX"
  run_install
  popd

  rm -f "$ARGV_PREFIX/package.json"
  rm -f "$ARGV_PREFIX/npm-shrinkwrap.json"
+  rm -f "$ARGV_PREFIX/binding.gyp"
 else
  run_install
 fi
--- a/scripts/build/docker/Dockerfile-i686
+++ b/scripts/build/docker/Dockerfile-i686
@ -36,4 +36,4 @@ RUN curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_6.x | bash - \
 RUN npm config set spin=false

 # Python
-RUN pip install codespell==1.9.2 awscli
+RUN pip install codespell==1.9.2 awscli cpplint
--- a/scripts/build/docker/Dockerfile-x86_64
+++ b/scripts/build/docker/Dockerfile-x86_64
@ -36,4 +36,4 @@ RUN curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_6.x | bash - \
 RUN npm config set spin=false

 # Python
-RUN pip install codespell==1.9.2 awscli
+RUN pip install codespell==1.9.2 awscli cpplint
--- a/scripts/build/docker/Dockerfile.template
+++ b/scripts/build/docker/Dockerfile.template
@ -36,4 +36,4 @@ RUN curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_6.x | bash - \
 RUN npm config set spin=false

 # Python
-RUN pip install codespell==1.9.2 awscli
+RUN pip install codespell==1.9.2 awscli cpplint
--- a/src/elevator_init.cpp
+++ b/src/elevator_init.cpp
@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2017 resin.io
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+
+#include "os/elevate.h"
+#include "utils/v8utils.h"
+
+NAN_METHOD(Elevate) {
+  if (!info[0]->IsArray()) {
+    return Nan::ThrowError("This function expects an array");
+  }
+
+  if (!info[1]->IsFunction()) {
+    return Nan::ThrowError("Callback must be a function");
+  }
+
+  std::vector<std::string> arguments =
+      etcher::v8utils::GetArguments(info[0].As<v8::Array>());
+  v8::Local<v8::Function> callback = info[1].As<v8::Function>();
+
+  etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT result = etcher::Elevate(
+      arguments.front(),
+      std::vector<std::string>(arguments.begin() + 1, arguments.end()));
+
+  // Create results object
+  v8::Isolate *isolate = v8::Isolate::GetCurrent();
+  v8::Local<v8::Object> results = v8::Object::New(isolate);
+
+  switch (result) {
+  case etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_SUCCESS:
+    results->Set(v8::String::NewFromUtf8(isolate, "cancelled"), Nan::False());
+    YIELD_OBJECT(callback, results);
+    break;
+  case etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_CANCELLED:
+    results->Set(v8::String::NewFromUtf8(isolate, "cancelled"), Nan::True());
+    YIELD_OBJECT(callback, results);
+    break;
+  default:
+    std::string details = etcher::ElevateResultToString(result);
+    YIELD_ERROR(callback, details.c_str());
+  }
+}
+
+NAN_MODULE_INIT(ElevatorInit) { NAN_SET_FUNCTION("elevate", Elevate); }
+
+NODE_MODULE(elevator, ElevatorInit)
--- a/src/os/elevate.cpp
+++ b/src/os/elevate.cpp
@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2017 resin.io
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include "os/elevate.h"
+
+static std::string JoinArguments(std::vector<std::string> arguments) {
+  std::ostringstream result;
+
+  std::copy(arguments.begin(), arguments.end(),
+            std::ostream_iterator<std::string>(result, " "));
+
+  return result.str();
+}
+
+// Make sure to delete the result after you're done
+// with it by calling `delete[] result;`.
+// See http://stackoverflow.com/a/1201471
+static LPCTSTR ConvertStringToLPCTSTR(const std::string &string) {
+  char *result = new char[string.size() + 1];
+  std::copy(string.begin(), string.end(), result);
+  result[string.size()] = 0;
+  return result;
+}
+
+etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT etcher::Elevate(const std::string &command,
+                                       std::vector<std::string> arguments) {
+  // Initialize the SHELLEXECUTEINFO structure. We zero it out
+  // in order to be on the safe side, and set cbSize to the size
+  // of the structure as recommend by MSDN
+  // See: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/bb759784(v=vs.85).aspx
+  SHELLEXECUTEINFO shellExecuteInfo;
+  ZeroMemory(&shellExecuteInfo, sizeof(shellExecuteInfo));
+  shellExecuteInfo.cbSize = sizeof(SHELLEXECUTEINFO);
+
+  // Flags that indicate the content and validity of the other structure member.
+  shellExecuteInfo.fMask =
+
+      // Used to indicate that the hProcess member receives the process handle.
+      // This handle is typically used to allow an application to find out
+      // when a process created with ShellExecuteEx terminates.
+      SEE_MASK_NOCLOSEPROCESS |
+
+      // Wait for the execute operation to complete before returning.
+      SEE_MASK_NOASYNC |
+
+      // Do not display an error message box if an error occurs.
+      SEE_MASK_FLAG_NO_UI;
+
+  // The action to be performed.
+  shellExecuteInfo.lpVerb = TEXT("runas");
+
+  // Run the file in the background
+  shellExecuteInfo.nShow = SW_HIDE;
+
+  // Use the current directory as the working directory
+  shellExecuteInfo.lpDirectory = NULL;
+
+  // Set file and parameters
+  // We can't just assign the result of `.c_str()`, since
+  // that pointer is owned by the `std::string` instance,
+  // and will not be safe after the instance is destroyed.
+  LPCTSTR file = ConvertStringToLPCTSTR(command);
+  LPCTSTR argv = ConvertStringToLPCTSTR(JoinArguments(arguments));
+  shellExecuteInfo.lpFile = file;
+  shellExecuteInfo.lpParameters = argv;
+
+  BOOL executeResult = ShellExecuteEx(&shellExecuteInfo);
+
+  delete[] file;
+  delete[] argv;
+
+  // Finally, let's try to elevate the command
+  if (!executeResult) {
+    DWORD executeError = GetLastError();
+
+    switch (executeError) {
+    case ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND:
+      return etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_FILE_NOT_FOUND;
+    case ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND:
+      return etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_PATH_NOT_FOUND;
+    case ERROR_DDE_FAIL:
+      return etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_DDE_FAIL;
+    case ERROR_NO_ASSOCIATION:
+      return etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_NO_ASSOCIATION;
+    case ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED:
+      return etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_ACCESS_DENIED;
+    case ERROR_DLL_NOT_FOUND:
+      return etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_DLL_NOT_FOUND;
+    case ERROR_CANCELLED:
+      return etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_CANCELLED;
+    case ERROR_NOT_ENOUGH_MEMORY:
+      return etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_NOT_ENOUGH_MEMORY;
+    case ERROR_SHARING_VIOLATION:
+      return etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_SHARING_VIOLATION;
+    default:
+      return etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_UNKNOWN_ERROR;
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Since we passed SEE_MASK_NOCLOSEPROCESS, the
+  // process handle is accessible from hProcess.
+  if (shellExecuteInfo.hProcess) {
+    // Wait for the process to exit before continuing.
+    // See: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms687032(v=vs.85).aspx
+    WaitForSingleObject(shellExecuteInfo.hProcess, INFINITE);
+
+    if (!CloseHandle(shellExecuteInfo.hProcess)) {
+      return etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_UNKNOWN_ERROR;
+    }
+  }
+
+  return etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_SUCCESS;
+}
+
+std::string
+etcher::ElevateResultToString(const etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT &result) {
+  switch (result) {
+  case etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_SUCCESS:
+    return "Success";
+  case etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_CANCELLED:
+    return "The user cancelled the elevation request";
+  case etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_FILE_NOT_FOUND:
+    return "The specified file was not found";
+  case etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_PATH_NOT_FOUND:
+    return "The specified path was not found";
+  case etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_DDE_FAIL:
+    return "The Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) transaction failed";
+  case etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_NO_ASSOCIATION:
+    return "There is no application associated with the "
+           "specified file name extension";
+  case etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_ACCESS_DENIED:
+    return "Access to the specified file is denied";
+  case etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_DLL_NOT_FOUND:
+    return "One of the library files necessary to run the "
+           "application can't be found";
+  case etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_NOT_ENOUGH_MEMORY:
+    return "There is not enough memory to perform the specified action";
+  case etcher::ELEVATE_RESULT::ELEVATE_SHARING_VIOLATION:
+    return "A sharing violation occurred";
+  default:
+    return "Unknown error";
+  }
+}
--- a/src/os/elevate.h
+++ b/src/os/elevate.h
@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+#ifndef SRC_OS_ELEVATE_H_
+#define SRC_OS_ELEVATE_H_
+
+/*
+ * Copyright 2017 resin.io
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+// Fix winsock.h redefinition errors
+#ifndef WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
+#define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
+#endif
+
+// Note that windows.h has to be included before any
+// other Windows library to avoid declaration issues
+#include <windows.h>
+#include <shellapi.h>
+
+#include <algorithm>
+#include <iterator>
+#include <sstream>
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+
+namespace etcher {
+
+enum class ELEVATE_RESULT {
+  ELEVATE_SUCCESS,
+  ELEVATE_FILE_NOT_FOUND,
+  ELEVATE_PATH_NOT_FOUND,
+  ELEVATE_DDE_FAIL,
+  ELEVATE_NO_ASSOCIATION,
+  ELEVATE_ACCESS_DENIED,
+  ELEVATE_DLL_NOT_FOUND,
+  ELEVATE_CANCELLED,
+  ELEVATE_NOT_ENOUGH_MEMORY,
+  ELEVATE_SHARING_VIOLATION,
+  ELEVATE_UNKNOWN_ERROR
+};
+
+ELEVATE_RESULT Elevate(const std::string &command,
+                       std::vector<std::string> arguments);
+
+std::string ElevateResultToString(const ELEVATE_RESULT &result);
+
+}  // namespace etcher
+
+#endif  // SRC_OS_ELEVATE_H_
--- a/src/utils/v8utils.cpp
+++ b/src/utils/v8utils.cpp
@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2017 resin.io
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include "utils/v8utils.h"
+
+std::vector<std::string>
+etcher::v8utils::GetArguments(v8::Local<v8::Array> arguments) {
+  std::vector<std::string> result(0);
+
+  for (uint32_t index = 0; index < arguments->Length(); index++) {
+    std::string argument(
+        *v8::String::Utf8Value(arguments->Get(index)->ToString()));
+    result.push_back(argument);
+  }
+
+  return result;
+}
--- a/src/utils/v8utils.h
+++ b/src/utils/v8utils.h
@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+#ifndef SRC_UTILS_V8UTILS_H_
+#define SRC_UTILS_V8UTILS_H_
+
+/*
+ * Copyright 2017 resin.io
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include <nan.h>
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+
+namespace etcher {
+namespace v8utils {
+std::vector<std::string> GetArguments(v8::Local<v8::Array> arguments);
+}  // namespace v8utils
+}  // namespace etcher
+
+#define YIELD_ERROR(CALLBACK, ERROR)                                           \
+  {                                                                            \
+    v8::Local<v8::Value> argv[1] = {Nan::Error((ERROR))};                      \
+    Nan::MakeCallback(Nan::GetCurrentContext()->Global(), (CALLBACK), 1,       \
+                      argv);                                                   \
+  }                                                                            \
+  return;
+
+#define YIELD_OBJECT(CALLBACK, OBJECT)                                         \
+  {                                                                            \
+    v8::Local<v8::Value> argv[2] = {Nan::Null(), (OBJECT)};                    \
+    Nan::MakeCallback(Nan::GetCurrentContext()->Global(), (CALLBACK), 2,       \
+                      argv);                                                   \
+  }                                                                            \
+  return;
+
+#define YIELD_NOTHING(CALLBACK)                                                \
+  Nan::MakeCallback(Nan::GetCurrentContext()->Global(), (CALLBACK), 0, 0);
+
+#define NAN_SET_FUNCTION(JSSYMBOL, FUNCTION)                                   \
+  Nan::Set(target, Nan::New((JSSYMBOL)).ToLocalChecked(),                      \
+           Nan::GetFunction(Nan::New<v8::FunctionTemplate>((FUNCTION)))        \
+               .ToLocalChecked());
+
+#endif  // SRC_UTILS_V8UTILS_H_