Authenticated Users May Be Able to Delete Sysvol Junctions on Windows 2000 Domain Controllers (324308)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP1
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP2
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP3
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP1
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP2
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP3
This article was previously published under Q324308

SYMPTOMS

If you specify a non-default folder for the Sysvol share during the Dcpromo process, the Sysvol\Sysvol\DNS Domain Name junction point and the Sysvol staging area may have Full Control permissions for the Everyone group. These permissions permit any local or remote authenticated user to delete one of the junction points, which effectively disables all of the group policies. When this occurs, the following events are recorded in the Application log every five minutes on the affected domain controller:
Userenv ID 1000

SceCli ID 1001

CAUSE

The symbolic links that are created by Dcpromo.exe inherit their access control lists (ACLs) from the parent folder. The default folder for Sysvol (the Windows folder, or %Windir%) carries appropriate ACLs, so this is not a problem. If you specify a different folder, the ACLs are inherited from that volume. By default, newly formatted volumes grant the Full Control permission to the Everyone group.

The Dcpromo process sets new permissions on the specified Sysvol folder and items that are "below" the folder, but does not propagate the new ACL to the junctions. Depending on the permissions of the parent folder for Sysvol, the Everyone group may inherit Full Control permissions at the junctions. If this occurs, any user who is logged on locally to a domain controller can delete these junctions by using the rd or rmdir command. Because the Sysvol share permissions grant Full Control permissions to authenticated users (and Read permissions to Everyone), every user who matches this group can also delete the junctions remotely.

If the Sysvol\Sysvol\DNS Domain Name junction is deleted, remote and local Group Policy objects (GPOs) are not applied. This may permit a user to bypass the security restrictions that are defined in the group policies.

RESOLUTION

Service Pack Information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Windows 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

260910 How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack

Hotfix Information

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that are experiencing this specific problem. This fix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows 2000 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

NOTE: In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The typical support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) 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 tool in Control Panel. 
   Date         Time   Version        Size       File name
   ----------------------------------------------------------
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5781    123,664  Adsldp.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5781    131,344  Adsldpc.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5781     62,736  Adsmsext.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5801    358,160  Advapi32.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5265     42,256  Basesrv.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5855     49,424  Browser.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5595    135,952  Dnsapi.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5595     96,016  Dnsrslvr.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5722     45,328  Eventlog.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5907    222,992  Gdi32.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5859    145,680  Kdcsvc.dll
   04-Jun-2002  23:31  5.0.2195.5859    199,952  Kerberos.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.4928    708,880  Kernel32.dll
   05-Jun-2002  19:50  5.0.2195.5861     71,024  Ksecdd.sys
   26-Jun-2002  18:10  5.0.2195.5914    505,616  Lsasrv.dll
   26-Jun-2002  18:10  5.0.2195.5914     33,552  Lsass.exe
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.4733    332,560  Msgina.dll
   04-Jun-2002  23:31  5.0.2195.5859    107,792  Msv1_0.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5877    307,472  Netapi32.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5723    360,208  Netlogon.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5886    917,264  Ntdsa.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5585    386,832  Samsrv.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5837    128,784  Scecli.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5921    300,304  Scesrv.dll
   04-Jun-2002  23:24  5.0.2195.5857     64,000  Sp3res.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.4314    402,192  User32.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5644    369,936  Userenv.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5859     48,912  W32time.dll
   04-Jun-2002  23:32  5.0.2195.5859     57,104  W32tm.exe
   25-Jun-2002  18:55  5.0.2195.5911  1,642,320  Win32k.sys
   03-May-2002  20:31  5.0.2195.5731    178,960  Winlogon.exe
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.4602    243,472  Winsrv.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5904    125,712  Wldap32.dll
   26-Jun-2002  18:10  5.0.2195.5914    505,616  Lsasrv.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.4928    708,880  Kernel32.dll
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.5911  1,642,320  Win32k.sys
   02-Jul-2002  00:05  5.0.2195.4602    243,472  Winsrv.dll

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, secure the parent folder for Sysvol if the folder is a folder other than C:\Winnt\Sysvol before you run Dcpromo, or manually secure the junctions after you run Dcpromo. Microsoft recommends the following settings for the Sysvol junctions:
  • Administrators, Creator Owner, System: Full Control
  • Authenticated Users, Server Operators: Read & Execute, List Folder Contents, Read
You might also want to delete and re-create the junction by using the Linkd.exe tool from the Resource Kit so that the default ACL is inherited. For example, if Sysvol is located in the D:\Winnt\Sysvol folder and the domain controller is located in the Domain_name.com domain, use the following command:

linkd d:\winnt\sysvol\sysvol\domain_name.com d:\winnt\sysvol\domain

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.

MORE INFORMATION

The file contents of the junction target are not affected if the junction is deleted by using the rd or rmdir command. Windows Explorer does not permit the junction to be deleted because Windows Explorer checks for the target content.

Also, the junctions are not part of the replication content, so neither the permission setting nor the deletion of the junctions is replicated to other domain controllers.

Windows 2000 uses Microsoft Windows NT 4.0-style access control entries (ACEs) during the formatting process. Therefore, the checked permissions for Everyone may appear as explicitly set. For additional information about how to obtain a hotfix for Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

265173 The Datacenter Program and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Product

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/5/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbWin2kSP4fix kbSecurity kbbug kbenv kbfix kbQFE kbWin2000preSP4Fix KB324308
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