FIX: Users receive unexpected search results after you update the default content access account in SharePoint Portal Server 2003

In Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003, you may find that after you update the default content access account, users may receive unexpected search results when the users search for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services content. This problem occurs when you update the default content access account on the Configure Server Farm Account Settings page of SharePoint Portal Server Central Administration. The users may be able to view information that is returned in search results for content that the users do not have permissions to view.

This problem may occur if the following conditions are true:

• You change the user account that is configured as the default content access account, or you reset the password of the user account that is configured as the default content access account.
• The user account that is configured as the default content access account is not a member of the Windows domain group that is specified as the SharePoint administrators group account.

In SharePoint Portal Server 2003, if you update the default content access account, the account that is configured as the SharePoint administrators group account on the Set SharePoint Administration Group page of Windows SharePoint Services Central Administration is changed. The default content access account is changed to use the user account that is configured as the default content access account on the Configure Server Farm Account Settings page of SharePoint Portal Server Central Administration. For example, if you specified a Windows domain group as the SharePoint administrators group account, the SharePoint administrators group account is changed to the user account that is specified as the default content access account.

When the user account that is configured as the default content access account is not a member of the Windows domain group that was previously specified as the SharePoint administrator group account, users may be able to view information in search results for content that they do not have permissions to view.

This problem was first fixed in a hotfix that is now contained in a service pack. If you installed the latest SharePoint Portal Server 2003 service pack, you do not have to install the hotfix.

Service pack information

This problem is corrected in Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Service Pack 1.

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

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.
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. Note This hotfix requires SharePoint Portal Server 2003. You may have to restart your computer after you apply this update.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section of this article.
This problem was first corrected in SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Service Pack 1.

After you apply the hotfix that is described in this article, SharePoint Portal Server displays a warning message on the Configure Server Farm Settings page. The message instructs you to either specify a user account that is a member of the SharePoint administrators group as the default content access account or to add the default content access account to the SharePoint administrators group. You receive this message if you update the default content access account when the default access account is not a member of the Windows domain group that was previously specified as the SharePoint administrators group account.

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about the SharePoint administrators group account and the default access content account, see the Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Administrator's Guide. The Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Administrator's Guide (Administrator's Help.chm) is located in the Docs folder in the root folder of the SharePoint Portal Server 2003 CD.