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Q182918: Account Lockout Event Also Stored in Security Event Log on DC

Article: Q182918
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): winnt:4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbFEA kbWinNT400sp4fix kbWinNT400sp4fea
Last Modified: 09-AUG-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition version 4.0 
- Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server version 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0, Terminal Server Edition 
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IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry.
Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if
a problem occurs. For information on how to do this, view the "Restoring
the Registry" online Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry
Key" online Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS
========

When users enter a series of incorrect passwords in an attempt to log on to
Windows NT using domain accounts and the Bad Logon Attempts limit for the
account is reached, the account is locked out at the domain controller.

Windows NT generates an account lockout event (Event ID: 539) on the workstation
where the failed logon attempts occurred if the audit policy on that workstation
enables auditing of failed logon/logoff events. However, no event is logged at
the domain controller. Administrators must search the event logs of all client
systems to locate the computer where the bad password attempts originated.

RESOLUTION
==========

Before You Apply The Hotfix
---------------------------

Because this hotfix makes a modification to the on-disk storage of the LSA data
information, Microsoft does not recommend that it be uninstalled. Perform the
following steps to ease the transition back to a pre-LSA2-fix configuration in
case you experience problems with the hotfix:

1. Perform a Full System Backup.

2. Run Rdisk /s. Using the /s command-line switch with Rdisk.exe causes the
  Sam._ and Security._ databases to be copied to the %Systemroot%\Repair
  folder.

3. Create a temporary folder under the %Systemroot% folder called Lsabackout.

4. Copy the following files from the %Systemroot\System32 folder to the
  %Systemroot%\Lsabackout folder as they are updated by LSA2-fix:

  Eventlog.dll
  Lsasrv.dll
  Msaudite.dll
  Msv1_0.dll
  Netcfg.dll
  Samlib.dll
  Samsrv.dll
  Services.exe
  Srvmgr.exe
  Xactsrv.dll

5. Create an updated Emergency Repair Disk (ERD) which updates the on-disk SAM
  and Registry information in the %Systemroot%\System32\Config folder.

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT 4.0 or
Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. For additional information,
please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q152734 How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack


NOTE: This hotfix supersedes the fix referred to in the following articles in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  ARTICLE-ID: Q154087
  TITLE : Access Violation in LSASS.EXE Due to Incorrect Buffer Size

  ARTICLE-ID: Q174205
  TITLE : LSASS May Use a Large Amount of Memory on a Domain Controller

  ARTICLE-ID: Q129457
  TITLE : Anonymous Connections May Be Able to Obtain the Password Policy

This hotfix has been posted as Lsa2fixi.exe (x86) and Lsa2fixa.exe (Alpha). For
your convenience, the English version of this post-SP3 hotfix has been posted to
the following Internet location. However, Microsoft recommends that you install
Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4 to correct this problem.

NOTE: An updated version of this hotfix was posted on July 20, 1998 and provides
an additional security level to systems running Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 3.

ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-public/fixes/usa/NT40/hotfixes-postSP3/lsa2-fix/

If you run Systems Management Server on systems where this hotfix is applied, the
SNMP Event Log Extension Agent (Snmpelea) generates the following Event ID 3007
error:

  Error opening event log file Security.
  Log will not be processed.
  Return code from OpenEventLog is 1314.

The SNMP Event Log Extension Agent requires an update to manage the security
event log. To resolve the SNMP Event Log Extension Agent problem, please see the
following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  ARTICLE-ID: Q183770
  TITLE : SMS: Snmpelea Unable to Open Security Event Log


MORE INFORMATION
================

Microsoft provides a hotfix to change this behavior. After the hotfix is applied
on all domain controllers, bad logon attempts that cause a user's account to be
locked out generate an audit event in the security event log on the primary
domain controller and on the domain controller that handles the logon request. A
new security event (Event ID: 644 - User Account Locked Out) is generated at the
primary domain controller to indicate the user account was automatically locked
out because of bad logon attempts. The security event is generated if the audit
policy for the domain enables Success for the User and Group Management audit
category.

If the client workstation is a computer running Windows NT or Windows 95, the
account lockout event includes the client workstation name to identify the
computer where the bad passwords are entered.

If you experience problems with this hotfix, perform the following steps to
restore the system to its original configuration before applying the hotfix:

1. Perform a full system backup including the registry. This backup set should
  only be necessary if the following steps fail.

2. Rename the following files the %Systemroot%\System32 folder that were
  replaced by the hotfix:

  Eventlog.dll
  Lsasrv.dll
  Msaudite.dll
  Msv1_0.dll
  Netcfg.dll
  Samlib.dll
  Samsrv.dll
  Services.exe
  Srvmgr.exe
  Xactsrv.dll

3. Copy the original versions of these system files from the
  \%Systemroot%\Lsabackout folder to the %Systemroot%\System32 folder.

4. Restart the computer using the installation disks and select the option to
  repair the system.

5. Deselect all options except Inspect Registry Files and then continue.

6. Press the ESC key to indicate you wish to use the on-disk repair information.

7. Press ENTER to repair.

8. Click only Security (security policy) and SAM (user accounts database).

  WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may
  require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee
  that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be
  solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

  For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And
  Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete
  Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in
  Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

9. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) and delete the Q184017 key from:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT
  \CurrentVersion\Hotfix

  NOTE: The above registry key is one path; it has been wrapped for readability.


STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT 4.0 and Windows NT
Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. This problem was first corrected in Windows
NT 4.0 Service Pack 4.0 and Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition
Service Pack 4.

Additional query words: 4.00 bad password lockout after

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbFEA kbWinNT400sp4fix kbWinNT400sp4fea 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTSEntSearch kbWinNTSEnt400 kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400 kbNTTermServ400 kbNTTermServSearch kbAudDeveloper kbSBServSearch kbSBServ400
Version           : winnt:4.0
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbfix

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