What does NTSTATUS 0xC000038C (STATUS_PKINIT_CLIENT_FAILURE) mean?

 
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STATUS_REVOCATION_OFFLINE_C STATUS_SMARTCARD_CERT_EXPIRED

STATUS_PKINIT_CLIENT_FAILURE

PKINIT rejected the client certificate trust path

PKINIT lets Kerberos use public-key authentication during the initial AS exchange. This status is returned when the client certificate itself cannot be accepted for that exchange, often because the chain, EKU, mapping, revocation, or issuer trust is wrong.

The certificate can still look syntactically correct in a certificate viewer. The decisive evidence is what the KDC and local logon path accept for smart-card logon and PKINIT policy.

What to inspect

  • Review KDC event details, certificate chain and revocation checks.
  • Verify Smart Card Logon EKU and client authentication requirements.
  • Check strong certificate mapping after Windows domain-controller hardening updates.

References


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