What does Windows error code 2108 (ERROR_CONNECTED_OTHER_PASSWORD) mean?

 
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ERROR_PROFILE_DOES_NOT_MATCH_DEVICE ERROR_CONNECTED_OTHER_PASSWORD_DEFAULT

ERROR_CONNECTED_OTHER_PASSWORD

The connection succeeded with a different password.

ERROR_CONNECTED_OTHER_PASSWORD is Win32 result 2108 (0x83C). It is a qualified-success outcome from Windows networking: the remote resource is connected, but the credentials ultimately accepted were not the password initially supplied by the caller. Code that checks only for NO_ERROR can misreport a successful interactive connection as failure.

When the result appears

  • an interactive WNet operation prompts after the supplied password is rejected and the user enters another one
  • a credential UI or network provider completes authentication with an updated secret
  • the caller expected noninteractive behavior but used flags or an API path that permits prompting
  • automation supplied stale credentials while a user corrected them during the connection attempt
  • a wrapper treats every nonzero result as fatal even though the connection was established

Security-conscious telemetry

Record the WNet API, local device and remote resource, provider, connection flags, interactive or service session, supplied user name category, whether prompting was permitted, final result, and post-call connection state. Never record either password, credential UI contents, or reusable tokens. Mark that credentials changed without exposing the secret.

Correct interpretation

Verify the mapping or connection with WNetGetConnection, WNetGetUser, or the application’s actual resource access. Treat 2108 as connected while notifying orchestration that the original credential set is stale and must not be retried silently.

Determine whether interactive correction was intended. Services and unattended jobs should normally disable prompts and surface a credential-update workflow instead. Desktop applications should avoid persisting the originally rejected password after a successful correction.

Recovery and policy

Continue only operations safe under the authenticated identity, then update or discard the caller’s credential reference through the approved secret store. Do not disconnect a valid user connection merely because the return value was nonzero.

Developers should model WNet results as success, qualified success, and failure. Administrators should investigate repeated 2108 events as stale managed credentials, account password changes, or unexpected interactive fallback.

Difference from default-credential success

ERROR_CONNECTED_OTHER_PASSWORD_DEFAULT reports that Windows connected using default credentials. Error 2108 specifically indicates that a different password was supplied through the connection flow.

Example

A desktop tool passes an expired saved password to an interactive connection call. Windows prompts, the user enters the new password, and the share connects with result 2108. The tool should keep the connection and replace the stale secret reference rather than displaying “connection failed.”

References

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