Lithnet Access Manager
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v2.0
v2.0
  • Home
  • What's new in Access Manager v2
  • How does Lithnet Access Manager help prevent lateral movement?
  • Access Manager Editions
  • Licensing
  • Change log
  • Installation
    • Getting started
    • System Requirements
    • Downloads
    • Upgrading from Access Manager v1
    • Installing the Access Manager Server
      • Creating a service account for the Access Manager Service
      • SQL installation options
      • Installing the Access Manager Service
      • High availability options
        • Load balancing Access Manager
        • Installing Access Manager in a Failover Cluster
    • Installing the Access Manager Agent
      • Choosing between the Microsoft and Lithnet agents for LAPS support
      • Installing the Access Manager Agent on Windows
      • Installing the Access Manager Agent on Linux
      • Installing the Access Manager Agent on macOS
  • Configuration
    • Setting up Authentication
      • Setting up authentication with ADFS
      • Setting up authentication with Azure AD
      • Setting up authentication with Okta
      • Setting up smart card authentication
      • Setting up integrated windows authentication
    • Deploying Features
      • Setting up Microsoft LAPS for Active Directory
      • Setting up Microsoft LAPS for Azure Active Directory
      • Setting up Lithnet LAPS
        • Preparing the AMS directory
        • Setting the AMS directory for Lithnet LAPS clients
        • Setting up Lithnet LAPS for Azure AD joined and registered devices
        • Setting up Lithnet LAPS for domain-joined devices
        • Setting up Lithnet LAPS for macOS and Linux
        • Setting up Lithnet LAPS for standalone Windows devices
      • Setting up BitLocker access
      • Setting up JIT for computers
      • Setting up JIT for roles
    • Importing authorization rules
      • Import Microsoft LAPS permissions from Active Directory
      • Importing BitLocker permissions from Active Directory
      • Importing local administrator group membership from domain-joined Windows devices
      • Import mappings from a CSV file
      • Importing rules from the Lithnet LAPS web app
      • Performing an offline discovery of local admins
  • Help and support
    • Frequently asked Questions
    • Troubleshooting
    • Quick start guides
      • Getting started with Windows LAPS and Lithnet Access Manager
      • Getting started with Windows LAPS for Active Directory
      • Getting started with Windows LAPS for Azure Active Directory
    • Support Articles
      • KB000001: The Access Manager Agent cannot connect and logs a token-validation-failed error
      • KB000002: Users retain their admin rights after their JIT period expires
      • KB000003: Configuring the Access Manager Agent to manage an account other than 'root' on Linux
      • KB000004: Creating a log file to troubleshoot installation issues with the Access Manager Service
      • KB000005: Access Manager stops working after applying the November 2022 Windows update
      • KB000006: Migrating the Access Manager Database
      • KB000007: Adding JIT groups via Group Policy doesn't work with NTLM Disabled
      • KB000008: AMS is unable to JIT into privileged groups such as Domain Admins
    • Advanced help topics
      • Ports and traffic flows
      • Internet access requirements
      • Access evaluation in Access Manager Service (AMS)
      • Recovering from a lost encryption certificate
      • Script-based authorization
      • Customized auditing with PowerShell notification channels
      • Variables available in audit notification channels
      • Setting up audit templates
      • Backup and Restore
      • Event ID reference
    • PowerShell reference
      • Add-AmsDeviceRegistrationKeyGroup
      • Add-AmsGroupMember
      • Export-AmsServerDiagnostics
      • Get-AmsActiveDirectoryJitOptions
      • Get-AmsComputerAuthorizationRule
      • Get-AmsDevice
      • Get-AmsDeviceRegistrationKey
      • Get-AmsGroup
      • Get-AmsGroupMembers
      • Get-AmsHostConfig
      • Get-AmsJitSchedulerJob
      • Get-AmsLocalAdminPassword
      • Get-AmsLocalAdminPasswordHistory
      • Get-AmsRoleAuthorizationRule
      • New-AmsComputerAuthorizationRule
      • New-AmsDeviceRegistrationKey
      • New-AmsGroup
      • New-AmsRoleAuthorizationRule
      • Remove-AmsComputerAuthorizationRule
      • Remove-AmsDevice
      • Remove-AmsDeviceRegistrationKey
      • Remove-AmsDeviceRegistrationKeyGroup
      • Remove-AmsGroup
      • Remove-AmsGroupMember
      • Remove-AmsJitSchedulerJob
      • Remove-AmsRoleAuthorizationRule
      • Set-AmsActiveDirectoryJitOptions
      • Set-AmsComputerAuthorizationRule
      • Set-AmsDevice
      • Set-AmsDeviceRegistrationKey
      • Set-AmsGroup
      • Set-AmsHostConfig
      • Set-AmsRoleAuthorizationRule
    • Application help pages
      • Access Manager Directory configuration page
      • Access Manager Directory Devices page
      • Access Manager Directory Groups page
      • Lithnet LAPS configuration page (Access Manager Directory)
      • Access Manager Directory Registration Keys page
      • Lithnet LAPS configuration page (Active Directory)
      • Microsoft LAPS configuration page
      • Active Directory configuration page
      • Auditing page
      • Authentication configuration page
      • Computer authorization rules page
      • Role authorization rules page
      • Azure Active Directory configuration page
      • BitLocker configuration page
      • Database configuration page
      • Effective access page
      • Email configuration page
      • IP Address detection configuration page
      • Just-in-time access configuration page
      • Licensing configuration page
      • Rate limit configuration page
      • Host configuration page
      • User interface configuration page
      • Security page
    • Getting Support
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On this page
  • Do I need to deploy the Lithnet Access Manager Agent?
  • How are directory passwords encrypted?
  • How do clients obtain the encryption certificate?
  • Can I rotate the encryption certificate?
  • Can computers decrypt their own admin passwords?

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  1. Help and support

Frequently asked Questions

PreviousPerforming an offline discovery of local adminsNextTroubleshooting

Last updated 2 years ago

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Do I need to deploy the Lithnet Access Manager Agent?

The Lithnet Access Manager Agent is only required in certain scenarios. The Access Manager Server is capable of reading LAPS passwords set by Microsoft's legacy LAPS agent, the new Windows LAPS agent, as well as the Access Manager Agent.

Read our guide on to learn more about the differences between using the Microsoft LAPS agent and the Lithnet Access Manager Agent.

How are directory passwords encrypted?

Lithnet Access Manager uses public-key cryptography to protect directory passwords. The Access Manager Service (AMS) creates a public and private key pair (RSA-PSS 4096-bit), and stores the private key in the service certificate store.

The Access Manager agent (AMA) obtains the public key from either the directory, or the AMS server itself. It then generates a unique encryption key and salt and uses AES-CBC-256 to encrypt the password with this key. The AES key is encrypted with the public key of the encryption certificate and the resulting blob converted to base-64 text and stored along with the thumbprint of the certificate used to encrypt the key material.

How do clients obtain the encryption certificate?

When using the Access Manager agent in Active Directory mode, the encryption certificate is located in the Configuration naming context, in the caCertificate attribute of an object with the name CN=AccessManagerConfig,CN=Lithnet,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=X

When using the Access Manager agent in AMS directory mode, the encryption certificate is provided to the clients by the AMS server when they check in to see if their password needs to be changed.

Can I rotate the encryption certificate?

Yes, you can create and publish a new encryption certificate at any time. Agents will encrypt their passwords using this new certificate at the next scheduled password rotation. Do note that the agents will not re-encrypt their previous passwords using the new certificates. Agents do not have access to the private key needed to decrypt the passwords.

As such, you need to ensure that the old certificate remains on the server, for as long as there are passwords in the directory that were encrypted with the old certificate.

Can computers decrypt their own admin passwords?

No. Passwords are encrypted using asymmetrical encryption. They encrypt the passwords using the public key of the encryption certificate and only the private key can decrypt this data. The private key remains only on the AMS server at all times.

Choosing a local admin password strategy