Allow delegating default credentials with NTLM-only server authentication

Policy ID
AllowDefCredentialsWhenNTLMOnly
Scope
Computer Configuration
Supported on
At least Windows Vista
Source
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11 2026 Update (26H2) (version 1.0)
Category
System › Credentials Delegation

Description

This policy setting applies to applications using the Cred SSP component (for example: Remote Desktop Connection).

This policy setting applies when server authentication was achieved via NTLM.

If you enable this policy setting, you can specify the servers to which the user's default credentials can be delegated (default credentials are those that you use when first logging on to Windows).

If you disable or do not configure (by default) this policy setting, delegation of default credentials is not permitted to any machine.

Note: The "Allow delegating default credentials with NTLM-only server authentication" policy setting can be set to one or more Service Principal Names (SPNs). The SPN represents the target server to which the user credentials can be delegated. The use of a single wildcard character is permitted when specifying the SPN.

For Example:
TERMSRV/host.humanresources.fabrikam.com Remote Desktop Session Host running on host.humanresources.fabrikam.com machine
TERMSRV/* Remote Desktop Session Host running on all machines.
TERMSRV/*.humanresources.fabrikam.com Remote Desktop Session Host running on all machines in .humanresources.fabrikam.com

Options

The empty box and the checked box tell the checkbox items of the Group Policy editor apart (a checked box is an item that is selected by default).

  • Add servers to the list:
  • Concatenate OS defaults with input above

Registry

ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
  • AllowDefCredentialsWhenNTLMOnlyREG_DWORD
  • ConcatenateDefaults_AllowDefNTLMOnlyREG_DWORD
  • (list values)REG_SZ

Other policies in the same category

View all policies in this category (12)