Lsass.exe process crashes and error code 255 is logged because of a CNF NTDS Settings object in Active Directory on Windows

Applies To
Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials Windows Server 2012 R2 Foundation Windows 8.1 Enterprise Windows 8.1 Pro Windows 8.1 Windows Server 2012 Datacenter Windows Server 2012 Datacenter Windows Server 2012 Standard Windows Server 2012 Standard Windows Server 2012 Essentials Windows Server 2012 Foundation Windows Server 2012 Foundation Windows 8 Enterprise Windows 8 Pro Windows 8 Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Windows 7 Enterprise Windows 7 Home Premium Windows 7 Professional Windows 7 Ultimate Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Windows Vista Enterprise Windows Vista Business Windows Vista Ultimate Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Windows Server 2008 Foundation Windows Server 2008 Standard

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This article describes an issue that occurs in the Active Directory in Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2), or Windows Server 2008 SP2. A hotfix and an update are available to resolve this issue except for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. The hotfix have a prerequisite.

Symptoms

When a NTDS Settings conflicting (CNF) object is created in the Active Directory, the Lsass.exe process may crash and unexpectedly reboot the Domain Controller. Additionally, the following events are logged in the System log:

Log Name: Application
Source: Application Error
Date: DateTime
Event ID: 1000
Task Category: Application Crashing Events
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: ComputerName
Description:
Faulting application name: lsass.exe, version: 6.1.7601.17725, time stamp: 0x4ec483fc
Faulting module name: ntdll.dll, version: 6.1.7601.18229, time stamp: 0x51fb164a
Exception code: 0xc0000374
Fault offset: 0x00000000000c4102
Faulting process id: 0x1f4
Faulting application start time: 0x01ceb94c671de3dd
Faulting application path: C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll
Report Id: 80a2cd04-2540-11e3-99e2-441ea1d316a4
Faulting package full name: %14
Faulting package-relative application ID: %15

Log Name: Application
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Wininit
Date: DateTime
Event ID: 1015
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: ComputerName
Description:
A critical system process, C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe, failed with status code 255. The machine must now be restarted.

Note The NTDS Settings represents the domain controller in the replication system. The NTDS Settings object stores connection objects, which make replication possible between two or more domain controllers.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, we have released an update rollup for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2. And we have released a hotfix for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008. We also have a workaround for Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008 SP2.

Update information for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2

To resolve this issue in Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2, install update rollup 2955164. For more information about how to obtain this update rollup package, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

2955164 Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 update rollup: May 2014

Workaround for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012

To work around this issue, delete conflict objects manually according to the Workaround section.

Hotfix information for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

To resolve this issue in Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, install hotfix 2862304. For more information about how to obtain the hotfix, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

2862304 AD DS or AD LDS responds slowly to complex LDAP query that has a deeply nested filter on Windows server

Hotfix information for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

To resolve this issue in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, install the hotfix that is described in this article.

 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 the problem described in this article. 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 website:

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

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, you must be running Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (SP2).

  For more information about how to obtain a Windows Vista service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

935791 How to obtain the latest Windows Vista service pack For more information about how to obtain a Windows Server 2008 service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

968849 How to obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2008

Registry information

To apply this hotfix, you do not have to make any changes to the registry.

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace a previously released hotfix.

File information

The global version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables. The dates and the times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time (DST) bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files.

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 file information notes

  • The files that apply to a specific product, milestone (RTM, SPn), and service branch (LDR, GDR) can be identified by examining the file version numbers as shown in the following table:

    Version Product Milestone Service branch
    6.0.600 2.23xxx Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 LDR
  • The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and the MUM files (.mum) that are installed for each environment are listed separately in the "Additional file information for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008" section. MUM, MANIFEST, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are very important to maintaining the state of the updated component. The security catalog files, for which the attributes are not listed, are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows Vista

File name File version File size Date Time Platform
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 58,268 09-Apr-2014 05:59 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 25,448 09-Apr-2014 05:52 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,368 09-Apr-2014 05:45 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 61,426 09-Apr-2014 06:32 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,063 09-Apr-2014 06:25 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,695 09-Apr-2014 06:16 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 54,066 09-Apr-2014 04:12 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 22,929 09-Apr-2014 04:07 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,255 09-Apr-2014 04:02 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 60,886 09-Apr-2014 07:19 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,503 09-Apr-2014 07:14 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,039 09-Apr-2014 07:08 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 61,250 09-Apr-2014 06:39 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,821 09-Apr-2014 06:32 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,168 09-Apr-2014 06:23 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 57,884 09-Apr-2014 07:17 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 25,482 09-Apr-2014 07:12 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,284 09-Apr-2014 07:06 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 58,338 09-Apr-2014 05:58 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,094 09-Apr-2014 05:50 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,177 09-Apr-2014 05:42 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 40,356 09-Apr-2014 07:32 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 23,021 09-Apr-2014 07:30 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,879 09-Apr-2014 07:25 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 39,874 09-Apr-2014 07:17 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 23,790 09-Apr-2014 07:12 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,293 09-Apr-2014 07:06 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 63,304 09-Apr-2014 06:28 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 23,845 09-Apr-2014 06:20 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,788 09-Apr-2014 06:12 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 58,758 09-Apr-2014 07:22 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,763 09-Apr-2014 07:16 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,330 09-Apr-2014 07:10 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 57,464 09-Apr-2014 07:19 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,293 09-Apr-2014 07:14 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,823 09-Apr-2014 07:07 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 59,978 09-Apr-2014 06:34 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,922 09-Apr-2014 06:27 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,115 09-Apr-2014 06:18 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 57,012 09-Apr-2014 06:21 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 27,903 09-Apr-2014 06:14 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 10,526 09-Apr-2014 06:05 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 58,996 09-Apr-2014 06:40 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,062 09-Apr-2014 06:35 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,623 09-Apr-2014 06:27 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 54,530 09-Apr-2014 06:53 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 23,889 09-Apr-2014 06:45 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,635 09-Apr-2014 06:37 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 34,640 09-Apr-2014 06:18 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 22,766 09-Apr-2014 06:10 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,024 09-Apr-2014 06:01 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 36,302 09-Apr-2014 05:53 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 22,778 09-Apr-2014 05:46 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,059 09-Apr-2014 05:40 Not applicable
Ntdsa.mof Not applicable 227,725 21-Feb-2014 07:31 Not applicable
Ntdsai.dll 6.0.6002.23372 1,958,912 09-Apr-2014 03:58 x86

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

File name File version File size Date Time Platform
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 58,268 09-Apr-2014 08:06 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 25,448 09-Apr-2014 07:59 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,368 09-Apr-2014 07:55 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 61,426 09-Apr-2014 07:43 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,063 09-Apr-2014 07:35 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,695 09-Apr-2014 07:28 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 54,066 09-Apr-2014 04:48 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 22,929 09-Apr-2014 04:40 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,255 09-Apr-2014 04:49 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 60,886 09-Apr-2014 06:45 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,503 09-Apr-2014 06:39 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,039 09-Apr-2014 06:32 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 61,250 09-Apr-2014 07:39 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,821 09-Apr-2014 07:33 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,168 09-Apr-2014 07:26 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 57,884 09-Apr-2014 08:39 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 25,482 09-Apr-2014 08:33 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,284 09-Apr-2014 08:27 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 58,338 09-Apr-2014 07:30 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,094 09-Apr-2014 07:24 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,177 09-Apr-2014 07:17 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 40,356 09-Apr-2014 07:26 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 23,021 09-Apr-2014 07:21 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,879 09-Apr-2014 07:15 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 39,874 09-Apr-2014 08:30 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 23,790 09-Apr-2014 08:26 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,293 09-Apr-2014 08:21 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 63,304 09-Apr-2014 07:31 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 23,845 09-Apr-2014 07:25 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,788 09-Apr-2014 07:18 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 58,758 09-Apr-2014 06:40 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,763 09-Apr-2014 06:34 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,330 09-Apr-2014 06:28 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 57,464 09-Apr-2014 07:27 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,293 09-Apr-2014 07:22 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,823 09-Apr-2014 07:15 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 59,978 09-Apr-2014 08:31 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,922 09-Apr-2014 08:27 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 8,115 09-Apr-2014 08:21 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 57,012 09-Apr-2014 08:06 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 27,903 09-Apr-2014 07:59 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 10,526 09-Apr-2014 07:54 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 58,996 09-Apr-2014 08:40 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 24,062 09-Apr-2014 08:35 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,623 09-Apr-2014 08:28 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 54,530 09-Apr-2014 08:32 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 23,889 09-Apr-2014 08:27 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,635 09-Apr-2014 08:21 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 34,640 09-Apr-2014 06:59 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 22,766 09-Apr-2014 06:55 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,024 09-Apr-2014 06:51 Not applicable
Ntdsctrs.ini Not applicable 36,302 09-Apr-2014 08:05 Not applicable
Report.ad.xml Not applicable 22,778 09-Apr-2014 07:58 Not applicable
Rules.ad.xml Not applicable 7,059 09-Apr-2014 07:54 Not applicable
Ntdsa.mof Not applicable 227,725 21-Feb-2014 07:35 Not applicable
Ntdsai.dll 6.0.6002.23372 2,657,792 09-Apr-2014 04:37 x64

      

        
        
      

Status

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

Workaround

To work around this issue, delete any duplicate NTDS setting objects that contain "CNF:" in the Common Name.

Note NTDS Settings objects are located in the Configuration partition, under Sites -> SiteName->Servers->ServerName. Each server should have only one NTDS Settings object that is "NTDS Settings".

Follow these steps to search for a Conflict (CNF) NTDS Settings object:

  • Open ldp.exe or ADSIEDIT.
  • Connect and bind to the Domain Controller.
  • Search the Configuration partition for any object where the Common Name contains "CNF:" and the object class is nTDSDSA. For example, LDAP search filter may look like this:
    BaseDN = CN=Configuration,DC=contoso,DC=com(&(ObjectClass=nTDSDSA)(CN=*CNF*))

      

More Information

For more information about software update terminology, 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 file information