Uwe Gradenegger - Page 52 - Passionate about PKI

How secure is the "Allow private key to be exported" setting in the certificate templates?

PKI administrators often assume that the option in the certificate template to not allow the private key for export is mandatory.

Importing a certificate into a smart card

Sometimes it is necessary to import a certificate that uses a software key into a smart card.

Role configuration for Network Device Enrollment Service (NDES) fails with error message "The RPC server is unavailable. 0x800706ba (WIN32: 1722 RPC_S_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE)".

Assume the following scenario:

One installs a Network Device Enrollment Service (NDES) server
One has the necessary permissions to install the role (local administrator, enterprise administrator)
The role configuration fails with the following error message:

The RPC server is unavailable. 0x800706ba (WIN32: 1722 RPC_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE)

Requesting certificates via Certificate Enrollment Web Services fails with error message "Error: The remote endpoint is unable to process the request due to being overloaded. 0x803d0012 (-2143485934 WS_E_ENDPOINT_TOO_BUSY)".

Assume the following scenario:

A user requests a certificate.
An enrollment policy is configured for this, which points to a Certificate Enrollment Policy Web Service (CEP).
The connection to the CEP fails and the user receives the following error message:

Error: The remote endpoint is unable to process the request due to being overloaded. 0x803d0012 (-2143485934 WS_E_ENDPOINT_TOO_BUSY)

Requesting certificates via Certificate Enrollment Web Services fails with error message "Error: A message containing a fault was received from the remote endpoint. 0x803d0013 (-2143485933 WS_E_ENDPOINT_FAULT_RECEIVED)".

Assume the following scenario:

A user requests a certificate.
An enrollment policy is configured for this, which points to a Certificate Enrollment Policy Web Service (CEP).
Authentication is done via Kerberos.
The application for the certificate is made by the CEP server itself.
The connection to the CEP fails and the user receives the following error message:

Error: A message containing a fault was received from the remote endpoint. 0x803d0013 (-2143485933 WS_E_ENDPOINT_FAULT_RECEIVED)

Requesting certificates via Certificate Enrollment Web Services fails with error message "Error: The operation timed out 0x80072ee2 (WinHttp: 12002 ERROR_WINHTTP_TIMEOUT)".

Assume the following scenario:

A user requests a certificate.
An enrollment policy is configured for this, which points to a Certificate Enrollment Policy Web Service (CEP).
The connection to the CEP fails and the user receives the following error message:

Error: The operation timed out 0x80072ee2 (WinHttp: 12002 ERROR_WINHTTP_TIMEOUT)

Overview of the different generations of domain controller certificates

Over the generations of Windows operating systems, various certificate templates for domain controllers have been established. In a current Active Directory directory service, one will find three different templates for this purpose.

Domain controller
Domain Controller Authentication
Kerberos Authentication

Below is a description of each template and a recommendation for configuring domain controller certificate templates.

(Mass) deletion of entries in the certification authority database (certificates, requirements, revocation lists)

Sometimes it happens that the database of the certification authority becomes extremely large. Perhaps a large number of certificate requests have arrived unnoticed and have been rejected, or perhaps there are many certificates in the database that have been issued twice. Before the certification authority database compacts can be used, these entries must first be deleted in order to free up the storage space in the database.

Compacting (defragmenting) the certification authority database

Sometimes it happens that the database of the certification authority becomes extremely large. Perhaps a large number of certificate requests have arrived unnoticed and have been rejected, or perhaps there are many certificates in the database that have been issued twice. After the corresponding entries have been deleted from the Certification Authority database, the space now gained must (can) still be freed by compacting this in the server's file system.

Viewing the certificate authority database revocation list table

By default, the certification authority stores all revocation lists that have not yet expired in the certification authority database.

Under certain circumstances, e.g. due to a misconfigured script, a large number of blacklists are stored in the database in this way, which can lead to a corresponding growth of the database (e.g. if large blacklists are recreated very often).

Why Active Directory integrated certificate authorities are members of the "Pre-Windows 2000 Compatible Access" security group

As part of security hardening efforts against the Active Directory directory service, the question of why Active Directory integrated certificate authorities (Enterprise Certification Authority) are members of the Pre-Windows 2000 Compatible Access security group comes up frequently.

Role configuration for the Network Device Enrollment Service (NDES) fails with error message "Failed to enroll RA certificates. The RPC server is unavailable. 0x800706ba (Win32: 1722 RPC_S_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE)".

Assume the following scenario:

One installs a Network Device Enrollment Service (NDES) server
One has the necessary permissions to install the role (local administrator, enterprise administrator)
The role configuration fails with the following error message:

Failed to enroll RA certificates. The RPC server is unavailable. 0x800706ba (Win32: 1722 RPC_S_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE)

Role configuration for Network Device Enrollment Service (NDES) fails with error message "Failed to enroll RA certificates. The endpoint is a duplicate. 0x800706cc (WIN32: 1740 RPC_S_DUPLICATE_ENDPOINT)".

Assume the following scenario:

One installs a Network Device Enrollment Service (NDES) server.
One has the necessary permissions to install the role (local administrator, enterprise administrator).
The role configuration fails with the following error message:

Failed to enroll RA certificates. The endpoint is a duplicate. 0x800706cc (WIN32: 1740 RPC_S_DUPLICATE_ENDPOINT)

Role configuration for Network Device Enrollment Service (NDES) fails with error message "Insufficient access rights to perform this operation. 0x80072098 (WIN32: 8344 ERROR_DS_INSUFF_ACCESS_RIGHTS)".

Assume the following scenario:

One installs a Network Device Enrollment Service (NDES) server.
The role configuration fails with the following error message:

Insufficient access rights to perform this operation. 0x80072098 (WIN32: 8344 ERROR_DS_INSUFF_ACCESS_RIGHTS

Viewing the certificate store of the online responder (OCSP) and checking the signature certificates

Sometimes it is necessary to verify a signature certificate of an online responder, for example when the connection to the (if present) Hardware Security Module (HSM) has to be verified. The online responder uses its own certificate store when the certificates are automatically retrieved from a certificate authority.