What does NTSTATUS 0xC0290016 (STATUS_TPM_SHORTRANDOM) mean?

STATUS_TPM_SHORTRANDOM

The TPM random-data result is too short

STATUS_TPM_SHORTRANDOM is a Windows NTSTATUS value mapped from the TPM facility. in this package the code belongs to TPM 1.2 style command processing, where Windows software, TBS, the TPM driver, and the hardware device all may be visible in the same failure path.

The relevant area is TPM random number generation. TPM commands that return random bytes have command-specific length expectations. This status means the available or returned random string is shorter than the operation requires.

Do not paper over this by padding the buffer in application code. The short result can indicate a TPM RNG or command-state problem, or a mismatch between requested and parsed lengths. Treat the byte count as security-sensitive evidence.

Diagnostic focus

• Log requested random length, returned length, and the exact command response size.
• Check whether the command response was truncated by the caller buffer or by transport parsing.
• Avoid using padded or repeated bytes as cryptographic randomness.

References for STATUS_TPM_SHORTRANDOM

• TCG: TPM 1.2 Part 1 Design Principles
• TCG: TPM 1.2 Part 2 Structures of the TPM
• TCG: TPM 1.2 Part 3 Commands
• Microsoft: TPM fundamentals
• Microsoft: MS-ERREF NTSTATUS values