Policy
Require strict target SPN match on remote procedure calls
Microsoft Windows
Policy overview
Key metadata and intent for this policy.
Supported OS tags: Windows10, Windows10RT, Windows11, Windows7, Windows8, Windows81, WindowsRT, WindowsRT81, WindowsServer2008, WindowsServer2012, WindowsServer2012R2, WindowsServer2016
This policy setting allows you to configure this server so that Kerberos can decrypt a ticket that contains this system-generated SPN. When an application attempts to make a remote procedure call (RPC) to this server with a NULL value for the service principal name (SPN), computers running Windows 7 or later attempt to use Kerberos by generating an SPN. If you enable this policy setting, only services running as LocalSystem or NetworkService are allowed to accept these connections. Services running as identities different from LocalSystem or NetworkService might fail to authenticate. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, any service is allowed to accept incoming connections by using this system-generated SPN.
Registry values
How enabled and disabled states update the registry.
| Scope | Registry location | Type | Enabled value | Disabled value | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer | Path Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\Kerberos\Parameters Value name StrictTargetContext | REG_DWORD | HKLM 1 | HKLM 0 |
Policy elements
Inputs and configuration options exposed by this policy.
This policy has no additional user input fields.