The authentication protocol within a Microsoft infrastructure since the Windows 2000 time frame has been Kerberos. The Kerberos token leverages a predefined buffer to house authorization requests. This predefined Kerberos buffer size is set by the MaxTokenSize setting found in the registry here:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\Kerberos\Parameters
The MaxTokenSize by default is 12000 bytes. This has been the default value since Windows 2000 SP2 and still remains in Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2. As company’s grow so do the groups within your organization. If your Kerberos token becomes too big your users will receive error messages during login and applications that use Kerberos authentication will potentially fail as well.
In the past we had guidance that stated you could increase the MaxTokenSize registry entry to 65535. But because of HTTP’s base64 encoding of authentication context tokens limits starting with Windows Server 2012, the default value of the MaxTokenSize registry entry is 48000 bytes. This is why the recommendation is to set the MaxTokenSize no larger than 48000 bytes on any OS version.
A very nice script has been written to help you with the kerberos token size calculation. It is based on the following article KB327825 that gives us the official formula :
TokenSize = 1200 + 40d + 8s
This formula uses the following values:
- d: The number of domain local groups a user is a member of plus the number of universal groups outside the user’s account domain that the user is a member of plus the number of groups represented in security ID (SID) history.
- s: The number of security global groups that a user is a member of plus the number of universal groups in a user’s account domain that the user is a member of.
- 1200: The estimated value for ticket overhead. This value can vary, depending on factors such as DNS domain name length, client name, and other factors.
In scenarios in which delegation is used (for example, when users authenticate to a domain controller), we recommend that you double the token size.
It has been interpreted using Powershell with this formula :
$TokenSize = 1200 + (40 * ($SecurityDomainLocalScope + $SecurityUniversalExternalScope + $GroupSidHistoryCounter)) + (8 * ($SecurityGlobalScope + $SecurityUniversalInternalScope))
-
with :
- $SecurityDomainLocalScope : number of Domain Local groups
- $SecurityUniversalExternalScope : number of Universal External groups
- $GroupSidHistoryCounter : number of groups in the SID History
- $SecurityGlobalScope : number of groups in the Domain Global scope
- $SecurityUniversalInternalScope : number of groups in the Universal scope
And the formula if the delegation is used :
$DelegatedTokenSize = 2 * (1200 + (40 * ($SecurityDomainLocalScope + $SecurityUniversalExternalScope + $GroupSidHistoryCounter)) + (8 * ($SecurityGlobalScope + $SecurityUniversalInternalScope)))
PARAM ([array]$Principals = ($env:USERNAME), $OSEmulation = $false, $Details = $false)
#************************************************
# CheckMaxTokenSize.ps1
# Version 2.0
# Date: 9/18/2014
# Author: Tim Springston [MS]
# Description: Query for all token items (groups, SIDs, SIDHistory) and calculate an
# estimated current token size for the logged on user. Calls out if the token is potentially too
# large for consistently successful use based on operating system defaults.
# KB http://support.microsoft.com/kb/327825
#************************************************
cls
Trap [Exception]
{
$Script:ExceptionMessage = $_
$Error.Clear()
continue
}
$ExportFile = $pwd.Path + "\" + $env:username + "_TokenSizeDetails.txt"
$global:FormatEnumerationLimit = -1
"Token Details for all Users" | Out-File -FilePath $ExportFile
"********************" | Out-File -FilePath $ExportFile -Append
"`n" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
#If OS is not specified to hypothesize token size let's find the local OS and computer role
if ($OSEmulation -eq $false)
{
$OS = Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_OperatingSystem
$cs = gwmi -Namespace "root\cimv2" -class win32_computersystem
$DomainRole = $cs.domainrole
switch -regex ($DomainRole) {
[0-1]{
#Workstation.
$RoleString = "client"
if ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 3790)
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows XP"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber
}
elseif (($OS.BuildNumber -eq 6001) -or ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 6002))
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows Vista"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber
}
elseif (($OS.BuildNumber -eq 7600) -or ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 7601))
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows 7"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber
}
elseif ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 9200)
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows 8"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber
}
elseif ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 9600)
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows 8.1"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber
}
elseif ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 10586)
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows 10"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber
}
}
[2-3]{
#Member server.
$RoleString = "member server"
if ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 3790)
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows Server 2003"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber
}
elseif (($OS.BuildNumber -eq 6001) -or ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 6002))
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows Server 2008 RTM"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber
}
elseif (($OS.BuildNumber -eq 7600) -or ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 7601))
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows Server 2008 R2"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber
}
elseif ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 9200)
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows Server 2012"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber
}
elseif ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 9600)
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows Server 2012 R2"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber
}
}
[4-5]{
#Domain Controller
$RoleString = "domain controller"
if ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 3790)
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows Server 2003"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber
}
elseif (($OS.BuildNumber -eq 6001) -or ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 6002))
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows Server 2008"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber
}
elseif (($OS.BuildNumber -eq 7600) -or ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 7601))
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows Server 2008 R2"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber
}
elseif ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 9200)
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows Server 2012"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber}
elseif ($OS.BuildNumber -eq 9600)
{
$OperatingSystem = "Windows Server 2012 R2"
$OSBuild = $OS.BuildNumber
}
}
}
}
if ($OSEmulation -eq $true)
{
#Prompt user to choose which OS since they chose to emulate.
$PromptTitle= "Operating System"
$Message = "Select which operating system to emulate for token sizing (size tolerance is and configuration OS dependant)."
$12K = New-Object System.Management.Automation.Host.ChoiceDescription "Gauge Kerberos token size using the Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 R2 and earlier default token size of &12K."
$48K = New-Object System.Management.Automation.Host.ChoiceDescription "Gauge Kerberos token size using the Windows 8/Windows Server 2012 default token size of &48K. Note: The &48K setting is optionally configurable for many earlier Windows versions."
$65K = New-Object System.Management.Automation.Host.ChoiceDescription "Gauge Kerberos token size using the Windows 10 and later default token size of &65K. Note: The &65K setting is optionally configurable for many earlier Windows versions."
$OSOptions = [System.Management.Automation.Host.ChoiceDescription[]]($12K,$48K,$65K)
$Result = $Host.UI.PromptForChoice($PromptTitle,$Message,$OSOptions,0)
switch ($Result)
{
0 {
$OSBuild = "7600"
"Gauging Kerberos token size using the Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 R2 and earlier default token size of 12K." | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-host "Gauging Kerberos token size using the Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 R2 and earlier default token size of 12K."
}
1 {
$OSBuild = "9200"
"Gauging Kerberos token size using the Windows 8/Windows Server 2012 and later default token size of 48K. Note: The 48K setting is optionally configurable for many earlier Windows versions." | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-host "Gauging Kerberos token size using the Windows 8/Windows Server 2012 and later default token size of 48K. Note: The 48K setting is optionally configurable for many earlier Windows versions."
}
2 {
$OSBuild = "10586"
"Gauging Kerberos token size using the Windows 10 default token size of 65K. Note: The 65K setting is optionally configurable for many earlier Windows versions." | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-host "Gauging Kerberos token size using the Windows 8/Windows Server 2012 and later default token size of 65K. Note: The 65K setting is optionally configurable for many earlier Windows versions."
}
}
}
else
{
Write-Host "The computer is $OperatingSystem and is a $RoleString."
"The computer is $OperatingSystem and is a $RoleString." | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
}
function GetSIDHistorySIDs
{ param ([string]$objectname)
Trap [Exception]
{$Script:ExceptionMessage = $_
$Error.Clear()
continue}
$DomainInfo = [System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectory.Domain]::GetCurrentDomain()
$RootString = "LDAP://" + $DomainInfo.Name
$Root = New-Object System.DirectoryServices.DirectoryEntry($RootString)
$searcher = New-Object DirectoryServices.DirectorySearcher($Root)
$searcher.Filter="(|(userprincipalname=$objectname)(name=$objectname))"
$results=$searcher.findone()
if ($results -ne $null)
{
$SIDHistoryResults = $results.properties.sidhistory
}
#Clean up the SIDs so they are formatted correctly
$SIDHistorySids = @()
foreach ($SIDHistorySid in $SIDHistoryResults)
{
$SIDString = (New-Object System.Security.Principal.SecurityIdentifier($SIDHistorySid,0)).Value
$SIDHistorySids += $SIDString
}
return $SIDHistorySids
}
foreach ($Principal in $Principals)
{
#Obtain domain SID for group SID comparisons.
$UserIdentity = New-Object System.Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity($Principal)
$Groups = $UserIdentity.get_Groups()
$DomainSID = $UserIdentity.User.AccountDomainSid
$GroupCount = $Groups.Count
if ($Details -eq $true)
{
$GroupDetails = New-Object PSObject
Write-Progress -Activity "Getting SIDHistory, and group details for review." -Status "Detailed results requested. This may take awhile." -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
$AllGroupSIDHistories = @()
$SecurityGlobalScope = 0
$SecurityDomainLocalScope = 0
$SecurityUniversalInternalScope = 0
$SecurityUniversalExternalScope = 0
foreach ($GroupSid in $Groups)
{
$Group = [adsi]"LDAP://<SID=$GroupSid>"
$GroupType = $Group.groupType
if ($Group.name -ne $null)
{
$SIDHistorySids = GetSIDHistorySIDs $Group.name
If (($SIDHistorySids | Measure-Object).Count -gt 0)
{$AllGroupSIDHistories += $SIDHistorySids}
$GroupName = $Group.name.ToString()
#Resolve SIDHistories if possible to give more detail.
if (($Details -eq $true) -and ($SIDHistorySids -ne $null))
{
$GroupSIDHistoryDetails = New-Object PSObject
foreach ($GroupSIDHistory in $AllGroupSIDHistories)
{
$SIDHistGroup = New-Object System.Security.Principal.SecurityIdentifier($GroupSIDHistory)
$SIDHistGroupName = $SIDHistGroup.Translate([System.Security.Principal.NTAccount])
$GroupSIDHISTString = $GroupName + "--> " + $SIDHistGroupName
add-Member -InputObject $GroupSIDHistoryDetails -MemberType NoteProperty -Name $GroupSIDHistory -Value $GroupSIDHISTString -force
}
}
}
#Count number of security groups in different scopes.
switch -exact ($GroupType)
{"-2147483646" {
#Domain Global scope
$SecurityGlobalScope++
if ($Details -eq $true)
{
#Domain Global scope
$GroupNameString = $GroupName + " (" + ($GroupSID.ToString()) + ")"
add-Member -InputObject $GroupDetails -MemberType NoteProperty -Name $GroupNameString -Value "Domain Global Group"
$GroupNameString = $null
}
}
"-2147483644" {
#Domain Local scope
$SecurityDomainLocalScope++
if ($Details -eq $true)
{
$GroupNameString = $GroupName + " (" + ($GroupSID.ToString()) + ")"
Add-Member -InputObject $GroupDetails -MemberType NoteProperty -Name $GroupNameString -Value "Domain Local Group"
$GroupNameString = $null
}
}
"-2147483640" {
#Universal scope; must separate local
#domain universal groups from others.
if ($GroupSid -match $DomainSID)
{
$SecurityUniversalInternalScope++
if ($Details -eq $true)
{
$GroupNameString = $GroupName + " (" + ($GroupSID.ToString()) + ")"
Add-Member -InputObject $GroupDetails -MemberType NoteProperty -Name $GroupNameString -Value "Local Universal Group"
$GroupNameString = $null
}
}
else
{
$SecurityUniversalExternalScope++
if ($Details -eq $true)
{
$GroupNameString = $GroupName + " (" + ($GroupSID.ToString()) + ")"
Add-Member -InputObject $GroupDetails -MemberType NoteProperty -Name $GroupNameString -Value "External Universal Group"
$GroupNameString = $null
}
}
}
}
}
#Get user object SIDHistories
$SIDHistoryResults = GetSIDHistorySIDs $Principal
$SIDCounter = $SIDHistoryResults.count
#Resolve SIDHistories if possible to give more detail.
if (($Details -eq $true) -and ($SIDHistoryResults -ne $null))
{
$UserSIDHistoryDetails = New-Object PSObject
foreach ($SIDHistory in $SIDHistoryResults)
{
$SIDHist = New-Object System.Security.Principal.SecurityIdentifier($SIDHistory)
$SIDHistName = $SIDHist.Translate([System.Security.Principal.NTAccount])
add-Member -InputObject $UserSIDHistoryDetails -MemberType NoteProperty -Name $SIDHistName -Value $SIDHistory -force
}
}
$GroupSidHistoryCounter = $AllGroupSIDHistories.Count
$AllSIDHistories = $SIDCounter + $GroupSidHistoryCounter
#Calculate the current token size.
$TokenSize = 0 #Set to zero in case the script is *gasp* ran twice in the same PS.
$TokenSize = 1200 + (40 * ($SecurityDomainLocalScope + $SecurityUniversalExternalScope + $GroupSidHistoryCounter)) + (8 * ($SecurityGlobalScope + $SecurityUniversalInternalScope))
$DelegatedTokenSize = 2 * (1200 + (40 * ($SecurityDomainLocalScope + $SecurityUniversalExternalScope + $GroupSidHistoryCounter)) + (8 * ($SecurityGlobalScope + $SecurityUniversalInternalScope)))
#Begin output of details regarding the user into prompt and outfile.
"`n" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-Host " "
Write-host "Token Details for user $Principal"
"Token Details for user $Principal" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-host "**********************************"
"**********************************" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
$Username = $UserIdentity.name
$PrincipalsDomain = $Username.Split('\')[0]
Write-Host "User's domain is $PrincipalsDomain."
"User's domain is $PrincipalsDomain." | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-Host "Total estimated token size is $Tokensize."
"Total estimated token size is $Tokensize." | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-Host "For access to DCs and delegatable resources the total estimated token delegation size is $DelegatedTokenSize."
"For access to DCs and delegatable resources the total estimated token delegation size is $DelegatedTokenSize." | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
$KerbKey = get-item -Path Registry::HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\LSA\Kerberos\Parameters
$MaxTokenSizeValue = $KerbKey.GetValue('MaxTokenSize')
if ($MaxTokenSizeValue -eq $null)
{
if ($OSBuild -lt 9200)
{$MaxTokenSizeValue = 12000}
if ($OSBuild -ge 9200)
{$MaxTokenSizeValue = 48000}
}
Write-Host "Effective MaxTokenSize value is: $Maxtokensizevalue"
"Effective MaxTokenSize value is: $Maxtokensizevalue" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
#Assess OS so we can alert based on default for proper OS version. Windows 8 and Server 2012 allow for a larger token size safely.
$ProblemDetected = $false
if (($OSBuild -lt 9200) -and (($Tokensize -ge 12000) -or ((($Tokensize -gt $MaxTokenSizeValue) -or ($DelegatedTokenSize -gt $MaxTokenSizeValue)) -and ($MaxTokenSizeValue -ne $null))))
{
Write-Host "Problem detected. The token was too large for consistent authorization. Alter the maximum size per KB http://support.microsoft.com/kb/327825 and consider reducing direct and transitive group memberships." -ForegroundColor "red"
}
elseif ((($OSBuild -eq 9200) -or ($OSBuild -eq 9600)) -and (($Tokensize -ge 48000) -or ((($Tokensize -gt $MaxTokenSizeValue) -or ($DelegatedTokenSize -gt $MaxTokenSizeValue)) -and ($MaxTokenSizeValue -ne $null))))
{
Write-Host "Problem detected. The token was too large for consistent authorization. Alter the maximum size per KB http://support.microsoft.com/kb/327825 and consider reducing direct and transitive group memberships." -ForegroundColor "red"
}
elseif (($OSBuild -eq 10586) -and (($Tokensize -ge 65535) -or ((($Tokensize -gt $MaxTokenSizeValue) -or ($DelegatedTokenSize -gt $MaxTokenSizeValue)) -and ($MaxTokenSizeValue -ne $null))))
{
Write-Host "WARNING: The token was large enough that it may have problems when being used for Kerberos delegation or for access to Active Directory domain controller services. Alter the maximum size per KB http://support.microsoft.com/kb/327825 and consider reducing direct and transitive group memberships." -ForegroundColor "yellow"
}
else
{
Write-Host "Problem not detected." -backgroundcolor "green"
}
if ($Details -eq $true)
{
"`n" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-Host " "
Write-Host "*Token Details for $principal*"
"*Token Details*" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-Host "There are $GroupCount groups in the token."
"There are $GroupCount groups in the token." | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-host "There are $SIDCounter SIDs in the users SIDHistory."
"There are $SIDCounter SIDs in the users SIDHistory." | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-host "There are $GroupSidHistoryCounter SIDs in the users groups SIDHistory attributes."
"There are $GroupSidHistoryCounter SIDs in the users groups SIDHistory attributes." | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-host "There are $AllSIDHistories total SIDHistories for user and groups user is a member of."
"There are $AllSIDHistories total SIDHistories for user and groups user is a member of." | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-Host "$SecurityGlobalScope are domain global scope security groups."
"$SecurityDomainLocalScope are domain local security groups." | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-Host "$SecurityDomainLocalScope are domain local security groups."
"$SecurityUniversalInternalScope are universal security groups inside of the users domain." | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-Host "$SecurityUniversalInternalScope are universal security groups inside of the users domain."
"$SecurityUniversalExternalScope are universal security groups outside of the users domain." | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
Write-Host "$SecurityUniversalExternalScope are universal security groups outside of the users domain."
Write-Host "Summary and all other token content details can be found in the output file at $ExportFile"
"`n" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
"Group Details" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
$GroupDetails | FL * | Out-File -FilePath $ExportFile -width 500 -Append
"`n" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
"Group SIDHistory Details" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
if ($GroupSIDHistoryDetails -eq $null)
{"[NONE FOUND]" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append}
else
{$GroupSIDHistoryDetails | FL * | Out-File -FilePath $ExportFile -width 500 -Append}
"`n" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
"User SIDHistory Details" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
if ($UserSIDHistoryDetails -eq $null)
{"[NONE FOUND]" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append}
else
{$UserSIDHistoryDetails | FL * | Out-File -FilePath $ExportFile -width 500 -Append}
"`n" | Out-File $ExportFile -Append
}
}
Output
References
Calculate Kerberos token size