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ERROR_INVALID_CAP
The central access policy data is malformed or unusable
ERROR_INVALID_CAP is a Win32 result associated with Dynamic Access Control policy distribution., diagnosis should begin with the exact API, target object, and operation that produced it rather than with the message text alone.
What the result means
The Central Access Policy obtained from Active Directory is invalid. The practical meaning depends on the caller and on whether the affected object is local, remote, removable, policy-managed, or handled asynchronously. Diagnostics for it should retain its symbolic name, numeric value, and the operation name together.
What to check
- Inspect Group Policy and security logs for policy parsing failures.
- Validate the policy on a domain controller and compare replication state.
- Check for unsupported expressions, missing claims, or version mismatches.
- Avoid editing generated policy data directly on the member server.
Recommended handling
Correct and redeploy the policy at its authoritative source. Falling back silently can grant or deny access differently from the intended enterprise policy.
Developer notes
Code handling this result should capture the failing API, resolved path or device identity, requested access, process identity, and the first observed error. After a call that reports it, read GetLastError() immediately because later cleanup or logging can overwrite the value. Retry it only when the specific condition is documented as transient, using a bounded delay and cancellation support.
References
- Microsoft: System error codes relevant to ERROR_INVALID_CAP
- Microsoft: File management context for ERROR_INVALID_CAP
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