Details of the event with ID 17 of the source Microsoft-Windows-CertificationAuthority

Event Source:	Microsoft-Windows-CertificationAuthority
Event ID:	17 (0x11)
Event log:	Application
Event type:	Error
Symbolic Name:	MSG_E_DB_INIT_FAILED
Event text (English):	Active Directory Certificate Services did not start: Unable to initialize the database connection for %1. %2.
Event text (German):	The Active Directory certificate services were not started: The database connection cannot be initialized: %1. %2.

Parameter

The parameters contained in the event text are filled with the following fields:

%1: CACommonName (win:UnicodeString)
%2: ErrorCode (win:UnicodeString)

Example events

Active Directory Certificate Services did not start: Unable to initialize the database connection for ADCS Labor Issuing CA 1. Cannot access file, the file is locked or in use 0xc8000408 (ESE: -1032 JET_errFileAccessDenied).

Active Directory Certificate Services did not start: Unable to initialize the database connection for ADCS Labor Issuing CA 1. The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process. 0x80070020 (WIN32: 32 ERROR_SHARING_VIOLATION).

Description

Do you know TameMyCerts? TameMyCerts is an add-on for the Microsoft certification authority (Active Directory Certificate Services). It extends the function of the certification authority and enables the Application of regulationsto realize the secure automation of certificate issuance. TameMyCerts is unique in the Microsoft ecosystem, has already proven itself in countless companies around the world and is available under a free license. It can downloaded via GitHub and can be used free of charge. Professional maintenance is also offered.

This event occurs when the certification authority cannot establish access to the certification authority database.

Error code ERROR_SHARING_VIOLATION

Will show the following error message when starting the service:

The Active Directory Certificate Services service could not be started.
A system error has occurred.
System error 32 has occurred.
The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.

Can be used in conjunction with Event no. 34 and the associated problems occur.

When restarting the certification authority service, there must be sufficient time (approx. 1 minute) between termination and start of the service.

Safety assessment

The security assessment is based on the three dimensions of confidentiality, integrity and availability.

The availability of the certification authority service is no longer given if this event occurs. Therefore, an alert should definitely take place.

Microsoft rating

Microsoft evaluates this event in the Securing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Whitepaper with a severity score of "Low".