RDP Wrapper Enhanced Edition

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This is a community-maintained, secondary-development edition. It is not an official release of the original RDP Wrapper project and is not affiliated with Microsoft.

This edition keeps the RDP Wrapper architecture while modernizing its installer, configuration application, build system, update process, and runtime checks. termsrv.dll is loaded through the wrapper and is not directly replaced or binary-patched on disk.

Project lineage and credits

This repository is derived from the original stascorp/rdpwrap project. Thanks to Stas'M Corp., binarymaster, kost, the original contributors, and the wider RDP Wrapper community. The synchronized compatibility configuration is based on sebaxakerhtc/rdpwrap.ini.

Development, releases, issue tracking, and support for this edition belong to this repository:

• Repository: https://github.com/bobotechnology/rdpwrap
• Releases: https://github.com/bobotechnology/rdpwrap/releases
• Issues: https://github.com/bobotechnology/rdpwrap/issues

Please do not report edition-specific installer, build, or RDP_CnC problems to the original project.

Changes in this edition

• Reimplemented the legacy RDPWInst installer in C++17.
• Added a unified repository-level CMake build for RDPWInst.exe, RDP_CnC.exe, and rdpwrap.dll.
• Uses MSVC consistently for x86/x64 and experimental ARM32/ARM64 wrapper builds.
• Uses dwProductVersionMS and dwProductVersionLS consistently when matching termsrv.dll against INI sections.
• Preserves command output in the original CMD during UAC elevation by relaying output over a named pipe; no extra persistent console window is required.
• Embeds the maintained res/rdpwrap.ini and current build outputs into the installer instead of silently shipping stale resources.
• Adds validated HTTPS INI updates, size/time limits, atomic replacement, and more reliable service/process error handling.
• Provides the native RDP_CnC status and configuration application.
• Uses installer-owned firewall rules instead of modifying Windows' generic Remote Desktop rules.
• Hardens the scheduled INI synchronization workflow and removes forced pushes.

Requirements and scope

• Administrator permission is required for installation and system changes.
• Windows 10/11 are the primary supported and tested targets for this edition.
• Release binaries remain load-compatible with Windows Vista. Newer optional APIs are resolved dynamically, and CI rejects known post-Vista static imports; Vista is a compatibility target rather than a continuously executed test OS.
• Actual termsrv.dll support depends on whether the active architecture's rdpwrap.ini or rdpwrap-arm-kb.ini contains the exact Windows product-version section.
• The release pipeline builds x86, x64, ARM32, and ARM64 wrappers. ARM runtime support remains experimental and uses the separate res/rdpwrap-arm-kb.ini. The aggregate Installer embeds and selects all four wrapper architectures.

Before installation, restore an original Microsoft termsrv.dll if another patcher modified it. Create a restore point or other recovery path before changing remote-access configuration, especially on a machine that can only be reached through RDP.

Build

Build from the repository root with Visual Studio 2022 and MSVC:

cmake -S . -B build-msvc -A x64
cmake --build build-msvc --config Release --parallel

The ARM wrappers require the corresponding MSVC cross-compilers. ARM32 uses the legacy v142 toolset:

cmake -S . -B build-arm64 -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A ARM64
cmake --build build-arm64 --config Release --target rdpwrap --parallel

cmake -S . -B build-arm32 -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" `
  -A "ARM,version=10.0.19041.0" -T v142
cmake --build build-arm32 --config Release --target rdpwrap --parallel

MSVC compiles src-installer/installer.rc from the preserved system payload files. A small MSVC build tool then adds maintained configuration, license, and current build outputs to the final Installer; MinGW and windres are not required.

Outputs are written below the build directory's bin folder. A native x64 build embeds its freshly built x64 rdpwrap.dll and res/rdpwrap.ini into RDPWInst.exe. Release archives carry RDP_CnC.exe as a separate application instead of duplicating it inside the Installer.

A Win32 aggregate Installer can run under the native or emulation layer on the supported Windows architectures. Build the other wrappers separately and provide them when configuring it:

cmake -S . -B build-msvc32 -A Win32 `
  -DINSTALLER_RDPW64=C:/path/to/x64/rdpwrap.dll `
  -DINSTALLER_RDPWARM=C:/path/to/arm32/rdpwrap.dll `
  -DINSTALLER_RDPWARM64=C:/path/to/arm64/rdpwrap.dll
cmake --build build-msvc32 --config Release --parallel

The Build MSVC release GitHub Actions workflow builds all four wrapper architectures and uploads them on every push and pull request. Its Win32 aggregate Installer contains the freshly built RDPW32, RDPW64, RDPWARM, and RDPWARM64 payloads. On ARM systems it selects rdpwrap-arm-kb.ini and does not extract the x86/x64-only legacy system-component resources. The workflow also produces a native ARM32 RDPWInst-arm32.exe; the Win32 aggregate Installer remains the broadly compatible default on ARM64 Windows.

The manually triggered Publish release workflow supports stable, alpha, beta, and rc channels. Starting from a stable release, select patch, minor, or major and a prerelease channel to publish tags such as v1.8.8-beta.1; rerunning the workflow with that prerelease checked out continues the same line as beta.2, beta.3, and so on. Select stable to promote the current prerelease line to its matching final tag (for example, v1.8.8-beta.2 to v1.8.8) without skipping to v1.8.9. Every release commits the full version to VERSION, builds and verifies all architectures, creates a ZIP plus SHA-256 file, and publishes generated GitHub Release notes. Prereleases are not marked as Latest.

Installer commands

RDPWInst.exe -l
RDPWInst.exe -i [-s] [-o]
RDPWInst.exe -u [-k]
RDPWInst.exe -w [HTTPS_URL]
RDPWInst.exe -r

Option	Description
-l	Display the bundled license.
-i	Install using a validated adjacent or embedded INI.
-i -o	Download and validate the current online INI before installation.
-i -s	Install the wrapper DLL into System32; not recommended for normal deployments.
-u	Uninstall the wrapper and managed files, disable Remote Desktop, and remove installer-owned firewall rules.
-u -k	Uninstall the wrapper and managed files while preserving the current Remote Desktop setting and installer-owned firewall rules.
-w	Update the installed INI from the default HTTPS source.
-w URL	Update from a specified HTTPS source.
-r	Restart Terminal Services.

Every command uses the same code-controlled UAC path. You can launch it from an ordinary CMD; accept the UAC prompt and output will continue in that CMD.

Quick use

Release packages normally contain:

File	Purpose
RDPWInst.exe	Installer, uninstaller, updater, and service control tool.
RDPWInst-arm32.exe	Native ARM32 build of the Installer.
RDP_CnC.exe	Wrapper status and RDP configuration application.
install.bat	Online installation shortcut.
update.bat	INI update shortcut.
uninstall.bat	Safe uninstall shortcut (RDPWInst.exe -u -k).
install-arm32.bat	Native ARM32 installation shortcut.
update-arm32.bat	Native ARM32 update shortcut.
uninstall-arm32.bat	Native ARM32 safe uninstall shortcut (RDPWInst-arm32.exe -u -k).

From the extracted release directory:

install.bat
update.bat
uninstall.bat

rem Native ARM32 alternatives:
install-arm32.bat
update-arm32.bat
uninstall-arm32.bat

The scripts propagate failures through their exit codes. Both uninstall scripts intentionally use -u -k: they restore the system termsrv.dll, restart Terminal Services, remove managed files and the updater, but do not change fDenyTSConnections or remove the installer-owned firewall rules. Because installation enables Remote Desktop and creates those rules, this keeps a remote host reachable after uninstall. Run RDPWInst.exe -u directly only when Remote Desktop should also be disabled and those firewall rules removed. The uninstaller only deletes known project files and keeps a non-empty installation directory rather than recursively deleting unknown user files.

Updates and diagnostics

• The default online mode retrieves a compatibility INI, validates its structure, and writes it atomically.
• RDP_CnC.exe displays the installed wrapper state, TermService state, listener state, product version, and support status.
• If the status is not supported, run update.bat first. If the exact product version is still absent, open an issue in this repository and include the complete termsrv.dll product version, Windows architecture, and relevant installer output.

Important notes

• This software changes Windows service, registry, and firewall configuration.
• Antivirus products may flag service wrappers or in-memory hooking behavior. Review and build the source yourself if supply-chain assurance is required.
• Windows updates can introduce a new termsrv.dll product version before a matching INI section is available.
• Enabling concurrent sessions may be restricted by Windows licensing terms or local law. Users are responsible for verifying their authorization and compliance.
• No warranty is provided. See LICENSE.