An access violation occurs in Lsass.exe and event IDs 1015 and 1000 are logged in the application log on a Windows Server 2003 domain controller

Your Windows Server 2003-based domain controller may experience an access violation in Lsass.exe and unexpectedly restart. When you view the application log, you see the following entries:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Winlogon
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1015
Description: A critical system process, C:\WINNT\system32\lsass.exe, failed with status code c0000354. The machine must now be restarted. For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://support.microsoft.com/.

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Application Error
Event Category: (100)
Event ID: 1000
Description: Faulting application lsass.exe, version 5.2.3790.0, faulting module authz.dll, version 5.2.3718.0, fault address 0x000023cc. For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://support.microsoft.com.

This problem may occur when an inheritable Deny access control entry (ACE) is applied to an organizational unit (OU) that inherits only to user objects but applies to all properties. The access violation occurs when a principal that this Deny ACE applies to queries users in the OU.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is 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 software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if 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. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

File information

The English version of this hotfix 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.

Windows Server 2003, 32-bit editions

Windows Server 2003, 64-Bit Enterprise Edition

To work around this problem, remove the Deny ACE from the OU.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.