Windows error 8373 (ERROR_DS_NAME_REFERENCE

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Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: an object-reference value cannot be resolved as a valid Active Directory object reference.

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ERROR_DS_OBJ_CLASS_NOT_SUBCLASS	ERROR_DS_CROSS_REF_EXISTS

ERROR_DS_NAME_REFERENCE_INVALID

The directory object reference is invalid

Active Directory object-reference syntaxes carry more semantics than an arbitrary DN string. MS-ADTS describes DSName-based references that can use DN, SID, GUID, or a combination and are resolved using directory identity rules. Linked attributes and other object-reference syntaxes also participate in referential-integrity processing.

Identify the exact attribute and raw reference value that triggered the status. Resolve the referenced object on the same forest and DC context, and check whether the object was renamed, deleted, or never replicated to the relevant scope. Replacing the value with a textually similar DN is unsafe when the intended identity was GUID- or SID-qualified.

What to inspect

Read the attributeSchema syntax for the failing reference attribute.
Preserve extended-DN, GUID, or SID components during diagnostics.
Trace rename and deletion history of the referenced object before rewriting the link.

References

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