ADCS Certificate Template Permissions Explained

This guide breaks down how template permissions actually work—the inheritance, the gotchas, and how to troubleshoot when things don't work.

1. The Three Permission Types That Matter

Permission	What It Does	Who Needs It
Read	Can see the template exists	Everyone who enrolls
Enroll	Can manually request a certificate	Users doing manual enrollment
Autoenroll	Can receive cert automatically via GPO	Users or computers for autoenrollment

Critical Point

Autoenroll requires ALL THREE permissions: Read + Enroll + Autoenroll. Missing any one = silent failure.

For autoenrollment to work:

✓ Read

✓ Enroll

✓ Autoenroll

✓ GPO configured

✓ Template published to CA

2. Where Permissions Live

There are two places you must check. Both must allow the user or computer, or enrollment fails.

1. Template Security Tab

Certificate Templates Console

certtmpl.msc → Template → Properties → Security

• This is where you set who can enroll
• Per-template settings

2. CA Security

Certification Authority Console

certsrv.msc → CA → Properties → Security

• Controls who can REQUEST from this CA
• Need "Request Certificates" permission
• Often overlooked!

3. Security Principals - Who Gets Permissions

Principal	Use Case
Domain Users	All users can enroll (broad)
Domain Computers	All computers can enroll
Authenticated Users	Anyone authenticated (very broad)
Specific Security Group	Recommended - controlled access
Individual User or Computer	Possible but hard to manage

Best Practice: Create Dedicated Groups

Example Groups:

"PKI-Enroll-WebServers" → Web server template

"PKI-Enroll-Users" → User certificate template

"PKI-Enroll-CodeSigning" → Code signing (restricted)

4. Permission Inheritance Explained

Templates don't inherit from a parent like file permissions. But group membership is evaluated, nested groups ARE followed, and Deny overrides Allow.

The Inheritance Trap

User: jsmith

Member of: IT-Staff

IT-Staff member of: Domain Users

Template permissions:

- Domain Users: Enroll ✓

- IT-Staff: (not listed)

Result: jsmith CAN enroll (via Domain Users)

The Deny Trap

Template permissions:

- Domain Users: Enroll ✓

- Contractors: Deny Enroll ✗

User: contractor1

Member of: Domain Users, Contractors

Result: contractor1 CANNOT enroll (Deny wins)

5. Effective Permissions - What Actually Applies

Method 1: Advanced Security Settings

Certificate Templates Console (certtmpl.msc)
Right-click template → Properties → Security
Click "Advanced"
Click "Effective Access" tab
Select a user or computer
View actual permissions

Method 2: PowerShell

# Get template permissions
$template = "WebServer"  # Template name
$configNC = (Get-ADRootDSE).configurationNamingContext
$templateDN = "CN=$template,CN=Certificate Templates,CN=Public Key Services,CN=Services,$configNC"

Get-Acl "AD:$templateDN" | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Access | 
    Where-Object { $_.ActiveDirectoryRights -match "ExtendedRight" } |
    Format-Table IdentityReference, AccessControlType, ObjectType

Method 3: Test Enrollment

# Attempt enrollment and see what happens
certreq -submit -attrib "CertificateTemplate:WebServer" request.req

6. Common Misconfigurations

Misconfiguration 1: Autoenroll Without Enroll

Symptom:Autoenrollment doesn't work, no errors

Problem:Template has Autoenroll but not Enroll permission

Fix:Add BOTH Enroll AND Autoenroll

Misconfiguration 2: Template Not Published

Symptom:"The requested certificate template is not supported"

Problem:Template exists but not published to the CA

Fix:CA console → Certificate Templates → New → Template to Issue

Misconfiguration 3: CA Request Permission Missing

Symptom:"You do not have permission to request a certificate"

Problem:User can enroll on template, but can't request from CA

Fix:CA Properties → Security → Add user/group → "Request Certificates"

Misconfiguration 4: Nested Group Not Evaluated

Symptom:User in nested group can't enroll

Problem:Token bloat, group not in user's token

Fix:Check tokenGroups attribute, simplify nesting

Misconfiguration 5: Domain Local Groups for Computers

Symptom:Computer autoenrollment fails

Problem:Used Domain Local group, computer is in different domain

Fix:Use Global or Universal security groups for cross-domain

Misconfiguration 6: Authenticated Users Removed

Symptom:Random enrollment failures

Problem:Removed "Authenticated Users" Read permission

Fix:Authenticated Users needs at least Read on templates

7. The Enrollment Permission Flow

When a user or computer requests a certificate, the system checks multiple permission gates. Understanding this flow helps you diagnose failures.

What Happens During Enrollment

Can read template?

YES ↓ NO → "Template not found"

Has Enroll permission?

YES ↓ NO → "Access denied" or "You do not have permission"

CA Request permission?

YES ↓ NO → "Request denied by policy module"

Template published?

YES ↓ NO → "Template not supported by this CA"

Other requirements met?

YES ↓ NO → Various errors (key size, CSP, etc.)

Certificate Issued

8. Autoenrollment Troubleshooting

The Autoenrollment Checklist

Template has Read permission for target

Template has Enroll permission for target

Template has Autoenroll permission for target

Template published to at least one CA

CA has Request Certificates permission for target

GPO enables autoenrollment

GPO linked to correct OU

GPO applying to target (gpresult /r)

Target can reach CA (network and firewall)

No conflicting Deny permissions

Force Autoenrollment to Run

# User certificates
certutil -pulse

# Computer certificates (run as SYSTEM or restart)
gpupdate /force

Check Autoenrollment Events

Event Viewer → Applications and Services Logs → 
  Microsoft → Windows → CertificateServicesClient-AutoEnrollment

9. PowerShell Permission Management

View Template Permissions

# List all permissions on a template
Import-Module ActiveDirectory
$templateName = "WebServer"
$configNC = (Get-ADRootDSE).configurationNamingContext
$templateDN = "CN=$templateName,CN=Certificate Templates,CN=Public Key Services,CN=Services,$configNC"

(Get-Acl "AD:$templateDN").Access | 
    Select-Object IdentityReference, AccessControlType, ActiveDirectoryRights |
    Format-Table -AutoSize

Grant Enroll Permission

# Add Enroll permission for a group
$templateName = "WebServer"
$groupName = "PKI-Enroll-WebServers"
$configNC = (Get-ADRootDSE).configurationNamingContext
$templateDN = "CN=$templateName,CN=Certificate Templates,CN=Public Key Services,CN=Services,$configNC"

$acl = Get-Acl "AD:$templateDN"
$group = New-Object System.Security.Principal.NTAccount($groupName)
$enrollGuid = [Guid]"0e10c968-78fb-11d2-90d4-00c04f79dc55"  # Enroll extended right

$ace = New-Object System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectoryAccessRule(
    $group,
    "ExtendedRight",
    "Allow",
    $enrollGuid
)
$acl.AddAccessRule($ace)
Set-Acl "AD:$templateDN" $acl

Grant Autoenroll Permission

# Add Autoenroll permission
$autoenrollGuid = [Guid]"a05b8cc2-17bc-4802-a710-e7c15ab866a2"  # Autoenroll extended right

$ace = New-Object System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectoryAccessRule(
    $group,
    "ExtendedRight",
    "Allow",
    $autoenrollGuid
)
$acl.AddAccessRule($ace)
Set-Acl "AD:$templateDN" $acl

10. Security Considerations (ESC Connection)

Overly permissive templates are the root cause of ESC (escalation) attacks. Template permissions are a critical security control.

Risk	Permission Problem
ESC1	Any user can enroll + supply arbitrary SAN
ESC2	Any user can enroll + dangerous EKU
ESC3	Enrollment agent permissions too broad
ESC4	Users can modify template permissions

Permission Hardening Checklist

No "Authenticated Users" or "Domain Users" on sensitive templates

Use dedicated security groups for enrollment

Review who has "Write" on templates (ESC4)

Review who has "Full Control" on PKI objects

Certificate Manager approval for sensitive templates

Audit template permission changes

Learn more about ADCS Security and ESC Attacks

11. Quick Reference

Permission Requirements by Scenario

Scenario	Read	Enroll	Autoenroll	CA Request
Manual enrollment (GUI)	✓	✓	-	✓
Manual enrollment (certreq)	✓	✓	-	✓
Autoenrollment (GPO)	✓	✓	✓	✓
Web enrollment	✓	✓	-	✓
NDES or SCEP	✓	✓	-	✓

Error Message Decoder

Error	Likely Cause
"Template not found"	Missing Read permission or not published
"You do not have permission"	Missing Enroll permission on template
"Access denied"	Missing Enroll or CA Request permission
"Request denied by policy"	CA security or issuance requirements
"Template not supported by this CA"	Template not published to CA
Silent autoenroll failure	Missing any of: Read, Enroll, Autoenroll

12. Frequently Asked Questions

Why does autoenrollment require both Enroll and Autoenroll permissions?

Autoenroll is an additional permission, not a replacement. It says "you can receive this automatically" but you still need basic Enroll permission to actually get the certificate.

I added permissions but enrollment still fails. Why?

Check: 1) Template is published to the CA, 2) User has "Request Certificates" on the CA itself, 3) No Deny permissions via group membership, 4) Run gpupdate /force and certutil -pulse.

Should I give Domain Users enroll permission?

Only for truly universal templates (like basic User cert). For anything else, use dedicated security groups. Over-permissioned templates are the #1 cause of ADCS security issues.

How can I see who currently has enrollment rights?

Use the PowerShell commands in section 9, or open certtmpl.msc, right-click the template, go to Properties → Security, and click Advanced to see all permission entries.

ADCS Certificate Template Permissions Deep Dive