Define Activation Security Check exemptions
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Policy overview

Key metadata and intent for this policy.

Computer
Category
System > Distributed COM > Application Compatibility Settings
Supported on
At least Windows XP Professional with SP2

Supported OS tags: Windows10, Windows10RT, Windows11, Windows7, Windows8, Windows81, WindowsRT, WindowsRT81, WindowsServer2008, WindowsServer2012, WindowsServer2012R2, WindowsServer2016, WindowsVista, WindowsXP

Allows you to view and change a list of DCOM server application ids (appids) which are exempted from the DCOM Activation security check. DCOM uses two such lists, one configured via Group Policy through this policy setting, and the other via the actions of local computer administrators. DCOM ignores the second list when this policy setting is configured, unless the "Allow local activation security check exemptions" policy is enabled. DCOM server appids added to this policy must be listed in curly-brace format. For example: {b5dcb061-cefb-42e0-a1be-e6a6438133fe}. If you enter a non-existent or improperly formatted appid DCOM will add it to the list without checking for errors. If you enable this policy setting, you can view and change the list of DCOM activation security check exemptions defined by Group Policy settings. If you add an appid to this list and set its value to 1, DCOM will not enforce the Activation security check for that DCOM server. If you add an appid to this list and set its value to 0 DCOM will always enforce the Activation security check for that DCOM server regardless of local settings. If you disable this policy setting, the appid exemption list defined by Group Policy is deleted, and the one defined by local computer administrators is used. If you do not configure this policy setting, the appid exemption list defined by local computer administrators is used. Notes: The DCOM Activation security check is done after a DCOM server process is started, but before an object activation request is dispatched to the server process. This access check is done against the DCOM server's custom launch permission security descriptor if it exists, or otherwise against the configured defaults. If the DCOM server's custom launch permission contains explicit DENY entries this may mean that object activations that would have previously succeeded for such specified users, once the DCOM server process was up and running, might now fail instead. The proper action in this situation is to re-configure the DCOM server's custom launch permission settings for correct security settings, but this policy setting may be used in the short-term as an application compatibility deployment aid. DCOM servers added to this exemption list are only exempted if their custom launch permissions do not contain specific LocalLaunch, RemoteLaunch, LocalActivate, or RemoteActivate grant or deny entries for any users or groups. Also note, exemptions for DCOM Server Appids added to this list will apply to both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the server if present.

Internal name
DCOMActivationSecurityCheckExemptionList
Policy ID
7cc70d10dd83
Elements
1

Registry values

How enabled and disabled states update the registry.

ScopeRegistry locationTypeEnabled valueDisabled valueCopy
Computer
Path
Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\DCOM\AppCompat
Value name
ListBox_Support_ActivationSecurityCheckExemptionList
REG_DWORD
HKLM
1
HKLM
0
Registry location
Type REG_DWORD · Computer
Path
Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\DCOM\AppCompat
Value name
ListBox_Support_ActivationSecurityCheckExemptionList
Hive
HKLM
Enabled value
1
Disabled value
0

Policy elements

Inputs and configuration options exposed by this policy.

ScopeElementTypeRegistry mappingConstraints & behaviorCopy
Computer
Add\remove DCOM servers to the exemption list:
ID DCOM_Lbl_ActSecCheckExemptionList
list
Path
Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\DCOM\AppCompat\ActivationSecurityCheckExemptionList
Value name
ListBox_Support_ActivationSecurityCheckExemptionList
Type
REG_MULTI_SZ
List: additive, explicit value
Add\remove DCOM servers to the exemption list:
Computer · Type list
Registry mapping
Path
Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\DCOM\AppCompat\ActivationSecurityCheckExemptionList
Value name
ListBox_Support_ActivationSecurityCheckExemptionList
Type
REG_MULTI_SZ
Details
List: additive, explicit value