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Windows 11 Group Policy settings

3,621 settings · 25H2 · 1.0 · 29 Sep 2025

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System › Security Account Manager

Configure SAM change password RPC methods policy

ComputerIntune-readySamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy

Supported on SUPPORTED_Windows10

What it does

This policy enables an administrator to configure the remote usage of change user password RPC methods in security account manager(SAM). When the policy is enabled, following options are supported: Block all change password RPC methods: block remote usage of all the security account manager(SAM) change password RPC methods. Allow strong encryption change password RPC method: allow remote use of the change password RPC method which uses strong encryption and blocks remote use of weak encryption methods. Allow all change password RPC methods: allows remote usage of all the change password RPC methods irrespetive of the encryption. Default policy: 1. Domain member computers - block all change password RPC methods. 2. Domain controllers - allow strong encryption change password RPC method. Note: If the policy is disabled or not configured, the machine will use the default policy.

What it writes

Hive
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry key
Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\SAM

In Intune

No native CSP; import the ADMX (Intune-ready).

From Microsoft's Policy CSP DDF files (DDF v2 Files, February 2026), read 18 Oct 2026.

Options

OptionTypeRegistry valueAllowed values
Options for Sam password change RPC method policyDefault: Allow strong encryption change password RPC method only Drop-down list SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy
  • Block all change password RPC methods1
  • Allow strong encryption change password RPC method only2
  • Allow all change password RPC methods3

Configure and deploy

Choose a state and the option values; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.

State
Options used when Enabled

Enabled · Computer · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\SAM]
"SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy"=dword:00000002


PowerShell

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Configure SAM change password RPC methods policy
# Name: SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: sam.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\SAM' -Name 'SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 2
  • The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
  • Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.

ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_sam/SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy

ADMX SyncML candidate

<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
  <SyncBody>
    <Replace>
      <CmdID>1</CmdID>
      <Item>
        <Meta>
          <Format>chr</Format>
          <Type>text/plain</Type>
        </Meta>
        <Target>
          <LocURI>./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_sam/SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;
&lt;data id="SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicySettings" value="1"/&gt;</Data>
      </Item>
    </Replace>
    <Final/>
  </SyncBody>
</SyncML>
Intune remediation scripts

Detection

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()

function Test-RegistryValueExists {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}

function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    $valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
        return $false
    }

    $actual = $valueObject.$Name
    switch ($Kind) {
        'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
        'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
        'MultiString' {
            $actualArray = @($actual)
            $expectedArray = @($Expected)
            if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
                if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        'Binary' {
            $actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
            $expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
            if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
                if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
    }
}

# Policy: Configure SAM change password RPC methods policy
# Name: SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: sam.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\SAM' -Name 'SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 2
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\SAM\SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy') | Out-Null
}

if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
    Write-Output 'Compliant'
    exit 0
}

$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1

Remediation

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Configure SAM change password RPC methods policy
# Name: SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: sam.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\SAM' -Name 'SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 2

History 5 retained releases

  1. 24H2 · 1.030 Sep 2024
    • Added in this release.

1 later release left it unchanged.

Template

Internal name
SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy
Namespace
Microsoft.Policies.SAM
Template file
sam.admx
Release
Windows 11 25H2 · 1.0 · file set de4e49983ebd651f…
Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="Machine" displayName="$(string.SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy)" explainText="$(string.SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicyExplain)" key="Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\SAM" name="SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy" presentation="$(presentation.SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.SAM:SAM" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.SAM:SUPPORTED_Windows10" />
      <elements>
        <enum id="SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicySettings" valueName="SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy">
          <item displayName="$(string.SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicyBlockAll)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="1" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicyAllowSecure)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="2" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicyAllowAll)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="3" />
            </value>
          </item>
        </enum>
      </elements>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicy" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <dropdownList defaultItem="1" noSort="true" refId="SamrChangeUserPasswordApiPolicySettings">Options for Sam password change RPC method policy:</dropdownList>
      </presentation>

Supported platforms and category

Microsoft.Policies.SAM:category:SAM
<category displayName="$(string.SecurityAccountManager)" name="SAM" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:System" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.SAM:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.SAM:SUPPORTED_Windows10
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.SAM:SUPPORTED_Windows10" />
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:System
<category displayName="$(string.System)" explainText="$(string.System_Help)" name="System" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Microsoft.Policies.SAM:category:SAM
<category displayName="$(string.SecurityAccountManager)" name="SAM" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:System" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.SAM:SecurityAccountManager">Security Account Manager</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:System
<category displayName="$(string.System)" explainText="$(string.System_Help)" name="System" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:System">System</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:System_Help">Allows configuration of various system component settings.</string></strings>
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Sources read 18 Oct 23:20 UTC · 253 of 255 readable · 252 fully read · documentation 50/444 current