Unable to Launch Yubikey Manager Over Remote Desktop to a Windows Machine

Symptoms

When a user connects via RDP to a Windows machine and then subsequently attempts to launch the Yubikey manager, they may see the following error:

Cause

This issue is caused (most likely) due to an issue with the AMD video drivers that are present on the Windows machine and the Yubikey software.

Side note: this same issue is known to affect other software, such as AutoCAD. See https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/LoadLibrary-failed-with-error-126-when-starting-an-Autodesk-product.html

Resolution

1. Launch Device Manager (devmgmt.msc)
2. Expand "Display adapters"
3. Right click the dedicated video card that is present on the machine and click Disable
4. Re-launch the Yubikey Manager app
5. Once work is done, the video card can be re-enabled.

Note: This trick of disabling the video adapter seems to allow the Yubikey Manager app to function throughout the entirety of the remote session. If you disconnect and reconnect, it may be necessary to disable the video card again.

(YubiKey Windows SmartCard Troubleshooting#top)

Authentication Error When Trying to Connect to a Windows Machine Via RDP with Yubikey

Symptoms

When a user connects to a Windows machine (server or client) via a non-domain joined machine (or a personal workstation) using their Yubikey, the connection will hang at "securing connection" and then result in an error stating:

Additionally, looking at the System event log on the local workstation will result in an error:

Cause

This error is caused due to the local workstation lacking the RIT Root CA certificate on the workstation.

Resolution

1. Navigate to https://certs.rit.edu on the local workstation
2. Download the "RIT ROOT CA" certificate
3. Install the certificate – it can either be placed in the Local Machine or Current User stores, but must explicitly be placed in the corresponding "Trusted Root Certification Authorities" store. Selecting the automatic option may cause the cert to be incorrectly placed in the Personal store.
   
4. Attempt to connect to the remote workstation

(YubiKey Windows SmartCard Troubleshooting#top)

Certificates Missing When Attempting to Access Yubikey

Symptoms

When a user attempts to interact with an application that requests their certificates (e.g. when connecting via RDP), one of the certificates that is (or should be) present for selection does not appear. This may occur randomly after a period of working as expected. For example, a yubikey that has certificates for ritchie and ritchie-admin may only present ritchie-admin, or vice versa.

Additionally:

• Viewing the Yubikey manager → Applications → PIV → Configure Certificates shows that all certificates are present
• Running ykman piv info from a command/powershell prompt properly shows all expected certificates
• Running certutil -scinfo results in one or more certificates not displaying information (it will present a message indicating that no certificates were pulled from the slot)
• When viewing the Certificate Manager (certmgr.msc) → Personal store, one or more certificates are missing from the list (e.g. in the example above, ritchie might be missing)
• The above behavior persists when connected to a remote machine (in which case, you would have connected via a username/password)

Cause

Thus far, the current belief of the cause of the issue is that during certificate propagation (which occurs automatically when the yubikey is inserted), the actual certificate files stored on disk are somehow "locked". The cause of this lock is yet unknown, however, may be related to errors that can be observed in the System Event Log:

Resolution

This error can be corrected by removing / deleting the certificate file on disk and then re-inserting the Yubikey.

1. Unplug your Yubikey
2. Navigate to C:\Users\<username>\appdata\roaming\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\My\Certificates
3. Move the file corresponding with the thumbprint of the missing/affected certificate (this ultimately can be deleted, but for safety, it's best to start with moving it to another location)
4. Plug the Yubikey back in
5. This should automatically cause a new file to be written to disk
6. Open the Certificate Manager (certmgr.msc) and navigate to the Personal store
7. Confirm that the missing cert now appears
8. Attempt to perform the initial transaction (e.g. connecting to RDP)
9. Delete the file you moved in step 3 (if you didn't outright delete it)

If the steps above do not resolve this issue (particularly when the yubikey is being used from a personal machine), try logging into the machine with another user account (if one does not exist, create a new non-administrator user), plugging in the yubikey, and then attempting to use it (e.g. access a machine via RDP). If all certificates appear for selection with the alternate user account, log out of it, and then back into your normal account and re-attempt to use the yubikey.

Pageant Errors on Startup (with auto-load shortcut)

Symptoms

When computer boots and attempts to start up Pageant, you might get the following 2 errors:

Cause

Version of Putty has been installed that doesn't recognize certificates nor the extra option of "certauthprompting".

Resolution 1

Re-install Putty-CAC from Software Center

Resolution 2

1. Check shortcut under "shell:startup"

(YubiKey Windows SmartCard Troubleshooting#top)

NLA Errors When Remoting into RIT Machines from Personal Workstations

Symptoms

When attempting to remote into an RIT machine (client or server) using your Yubikey from a personal/un-managed Windows machine, Remote Desktop will hang at "securing connection" and then display the following error:

In this scenario, the remote desktop connection will not be configured to use the RD Gateway.

Cause

The personal/non-managed machine cannot contact the KDC to perform NLA, and needs to be configured to contact the KDC proxy server, which is accessible off campus.

Resolution

1. Create a text file with the following contents and save it as kdcproxy.reg:

   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\Kerberos]
   "KdcProxyServer_Enabled"=dword:00000001
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\Kerberos\KdcProxy\ProxyServers]
   "ad.rit.edu"="<https kdcproxy.ad.rit.edu />"
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\Kerberos\KdcProxy\ProxyServers]
   "main.ad.rit.edu"="<https kdcproxy.ad.rit.edu />"
   
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\Kerberos\Parameters]
   "NoRevocationCheck"=dword:00000000

2. Double click the file
3. When prompted, click Yes to merge the registry changes in
4. Reboot the machine – note that this is required in order for the KDC proxy settings to take effect
5. Attempt the remote desktop connection again

(YubiKey Windows SmartCard Troubleshooting#top)