Microsoft KB Archive/931310

= You receive a warning message that does not correctly describe the password requirements when you set a new password that does not meet the requirements in Windows Server 2003 =

Article ID: 931310

Article Last Modified on 10/11/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard x64 Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter x64 Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition for Itanium-Based Systems

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SYMPTOMS
Consider the following scenario.
 * A Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based domain hosts users.
 * Another Windows Server 2003-based domain hosts computers.
 * The password expires on a computer that is running Windows Server 2003.
 * You set a new password that does not meet the complexity requirements of the domain that hosts users.

In this scenario, you receive a warning message that does not correctly describe the password requirements. The warning message that you receive resembles the following:

The password supplied does not meet the minimum complexity requirements. Please select another password that meets all of the following criteria: is at least 0 characters; has not been used in the previous 0 passwords; must not have been changed within the last 0 days; does not contain your account or full name; contains at least three of the following four character groups: English uppercase characters (A through Z); English lowercase characters (a through z); Numerals (0 through 9); Non-alphabetic characters (such as !, $, #, %).

In this warning message, all the numbers in the password requirements are zeros.



CAUSE
This problem occurs because the computer cannot retrieve the password requirements in an anonymous session.

After a user password expires, the computer can use computer information to create sessions only with the domain controller that hosts the user. In this case, Kerberos authentication fails if the target domain is not in the list of Domain Name System (DNS) suffixes to search. Therefore, the computer uses an anonymous session. In an anonymous session, the computer cannot retrieve the password requirements when the password change fails.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, apply this hotfix to every Windows Server 2003-based computer on which you receive the incorrect warning message.

Hotfix information
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem, submit a request to Microsoft Online Customer Services to obtain the hotfix. To submit an online request to obtain the hotfix, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=6294451

Note If additional issues occur or any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. To create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Prerequisites
To apply this hotfix on x86-based versions of Windows Server 2003 or on Itanium-based versions of Windows Server 2003, you must have Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) installed. For more information about how to obtain Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2), click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

889100 How to obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003

914961 General information regarding Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2

Restart requirement
You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information
This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information
The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

Windows Server 2003, Itanium-based versions


STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section.



MORE INFORMATION
For more information about the terms that are used to describe software updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

Additional query words: minpwdage minpwdlength pwdhistorylength policy policies length history

Keywords: kbbug kbfix kbqfe kbpubtypekc kbexpertiseinter kbhotfixserver kbwinserv2003postsp2fix KB931310

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