What does HRESULT 0x80010124 (CO_E_FAILEDTOGETSECCTX) mean?

 
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CO_E_FAILEDTOIMPERSONATE CO_E_FAILEDTOOPENTHREADTOKEN

CO_E_FAILEDTOGETSECCTX

COM could not obtain the server security context

CO_E_FAILEDTOGETSECCTX is HRESULT 2147549476 (0x80010124) from winerror.h. The documented description is “Unable to obtain server's security context.” The relevant context is the COM IAccessControl, DCOM client identity, trustee translation, token inspection, security descriptor, ACL, or serialization workflow.

Where it is encountered

  • IAccessControl initialization, access checks, owner/trustee processing, and serialized ACL persistence.
  • Server-side DCOM impersonation, client blanket inspection, token and SID lookup.
  • Security descriptor construction, DACL canonicalization, file-backed policy storage, or legacy NetAccess migration.

The immediate focus is access-control or security logic that needs the current server-side RPC security context but cannot retrieve it.

What to verify

Verify that the code runs on the server side of an active secured call and the authentication service exposes the required context.

Difference from nearby HRESULTs

It concerns the complete security context; token-specific failures identify later extraction steps.

Correct handling and recovery

Keep security-sensitive work inside the call, validate binding security, and avoid assuming a client identity when context retrieval fails.

Practical scenario

An authorization helper is invoked from a timer rather than a COM method and cannot get security context. The caller passes an explicit audited identity snapshot.

References


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