What does Windows error code 608 (ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_LOGON_INFO) mean?

ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_LOGON_INFO

What ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_LOGON_INFO means

The security context lacks data required by the destination or authentication package. A token can exist and still be insufficient if it contains no reusable credentials, lacks delegation capability, or was created for a logon type that cannot access the target resource.

Where it commonly appears

• Network access from services or scheduled tasks
• Delegation across multiple servers
• Impersonation with incomplete credentials
• Remote access using local-only or restricted tokens

Likely causes

• The process is running under a logon type without network credentials
• Delegation is required but not permitted or configured
• The caller supplied only a username without required credential material
• A token was filtered or credentials were intentionally not cached
• The authentication package cannot satisfy the destination requirements

Troubleshooting checklist

1. Record the account, logon type, authentication package, impersonation level, and target service
2. Compare interactive execution with service or scheduled-task execution
3. Check whether the failure occurs only on the second network hop
4. Inspect Kerberos tickets and delegation configuration when applicable
5. Avoid logging passwords or reusable secrets while collecting diagnostics

Guidance for developers

Request the minimum appropriate logon type and make credential requirements explicit. Do not prompt indefinitely or convert the result to a generic network error. For service-to-service access, prefer managed identities or properly configured service accounts over stored user passwords.

Guidance for administrators

Verify the service account, scheduled-task logon option, SPNs, and delegation policy. Granting broad delegation is not a safe shortcut; configure only the required services.

Example

A web service impersonates a user authenticated with a local mechanism and then accesses a database on another server. The impersonation token has no delegatable network credentials, so the second hop returns this code.

Related conditions

Compare with ERROR_LOGON_FAILURE, where supplied credentials are rejected, and ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED, where authentication may be complete but authorization fails.

References

• Microsoft system error codes 500–999
• Windows logon scenarios