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How to decommission a Windows enterprise certification authority and remove all related objects

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This step-by-step article describes how to decommission a Microsoft Windows enterprise CA, and how to remove all related objects from the Active Directory directory service.

Applies to:   Windows Server
Original KB number:   889250

Summary

When you uninstall a certification authority (CA), the certificates that were issued by the CA are typically still outstanding. If the outstanding certificates are processed by the various Public Key Infrastructure client computers, validation will fail, and those certificates will not be used.

This article describes how to revoke outstanding certificates and how to complete various other tasks that are required to successfully uninstall a CA. Additionally, this article describes several utilities that you can use to help you remove CA objects from your domain.

Step 1 - Revoke all active certificates that are issued by the enterprise CA

  1. Select Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then select Certification Authority.
  2. Expand your CA, and then select the Issued Certificates folder.
  3. In the right pane, select one of the issued certificates, and then press CTRL+A to select all issued certificates.
  4. Right-click the selected certificates, select All Tasks, and then select Revoke Certificate.
  5. In the Certificate Revocation dialog box, select Cease of Operation as the reason for revocation, and then select OK.

Step 2 - Increase the CRL publication interval

  1. In the Certification Authority Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in, right-click the Revoked Certificates folder, and then select Properties.
  2. In the CRL Publication Interval box, type a suitably long value, and then select OK.

Note

The lifetime of the Certificate Revocation List (CRL) should be longer than the lifetime that remains for certificates that have been revoked.

Step 3 - Publish a new CRL

  1. In the Certification Authority MMC snap-in, right-click the Revoked Certificates folder.
  2. Select All Tasks, and then select Publish.
  3. In the Publish CRL dialog box, select New CRL, and then select OK.

Step 4 - Deny any pending requests

By default, an enterprise CA does not store certificate requests. However, an administrator can change this default behavior. To deny any pending certificate requests, follow these steps:

  1. In the Certification Authority MMC snap-in, select the Pending Requests folder.
  2. In the right pane, select one of the pending requests, and then press CTRL+A to select all pending certificates.
  3. Right-click the selected requests, select All Tasks, and then select Deny Request.

Step 5 - Uninstall Certificate Services from the server

  1. To stop Certificate Services, select Start, select Run, type cmd, and then select OK.

  2. At the command prompt, type certutil -shutdown, and then press Enter.

  3. At the command prompt, type certutil -getreg DBDirectory, and then press Enter. Note the DBLogDirectory value in the output. For example:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\CertSvc\Configuration\DBDirectory:
  DBDirectory REG_SZ = C:\Windows\system32\CertLog
CertUtil: -getreg command completed successfully.

  4. At the command prompt, type certutil -getreg DBLogDirectory, and then press Enter. Note the DBLogDirectory value in the output. For example:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\CertSvc\Configuration\DBLogDirectory:
  DBLogDirectory REG_SZ = C:\Windows\system32\CertLog
CertUtil: -getreg command completed successfully.

  5. At the command prompt, type certutil -getreg CA\CSP\Provider, and then press Enter. Note the Provider value in the output. For example:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\CertSvc\Configuration\Fabrikam Root CA1 G2\csp:

  Provider REG_SZ = Microsoft Software Key Storage Provider
CertUtil: -getreg command completed successfully.

    If the value is Microsoft Strong Cryptographic Provider, or Microsoft Enhanced Cryptographic Provider v1.0, type CertUtil -Key and press Enter.
    If the value is Microsoft Software Key Storage Provider, type CertUtil -CSP KSP -Key and press Enter.
    If the value is something else, type CertUtil -CSP <PROVIDER NAME> -Key and press Enter.

    This command will display the names of all the installed cryptographic service providers (CSP) and the key stores that are associated with each provider. Listed among the listed key stores will be the name of your CA. The name will be listed several times, as shown in the following example:

    (1)Microsoft Base Cryptographic Provider v1.0:
    1a3b2f44-2540-408b-8867-51bd6b6ed413
    MS IIS DCOM ClientSYSTEMS-1-5-18
    MS IIS DCOM Server
    Windows2000 Enterprise Root CA
    MS IIS DCOM ClientAdministratorS-1-5-21-436374069-839522115-1060284298-500

    afd1bc0a-a93c-4a31-8056-c0b9ca632896
    Microsoft Internet Information Server
    NetMon
    MS IIS DCOM ClientAdministratorS-1-5-21-842925246-1715567821-839522115-500

    (5)Microsoft Enhanced Cryptographic Provider v1.0:
    1a3b2f44-2540-408b-8867-51bd6b6ed413
    MS IIS DCOM ClientSYSTEMS-1-5-18
    MS IIS DCOM Server
    Windows2000 Enterprise Root CA
    MS IIS DCOM ClientAdministratorS-1-5-21-436374069-839522115-1060284298-500

    afd1bc0a-a93c-4a31-8056-c0b9ca632896
    Microsoft Internet Information Server
    NetMon
    MS IIS DCOM ClientAdministratorS-1-5-21-842925246-1715567821-839522115-500

  6. Delete the private key that is associated with the CA. To do this, at a command prompt, type the following command, and then press Enter:

    If the CA CSP value is Microsoft Strong Cryptographic Provider, or Microsoft Enhanced Cryptographic Provider v1.0, type the following command, and then press Enter.

     certutil -delkey CertificateAuthorityName

    If the CA CSP value is Microsoft Software Key Storage Provider, type the following command, and then press Enter.

     certutil -CSP KSP -delkey CertificateAuthorityName

    If the CA CSP value is something else, type the following command, and then press Enter.

    certutil -CSP \<PROVIDER NAME\> -delkey CertificateAuthorityName

    Note

    If your CA name contains spaces, enclose the name in quotation marks. If your CA has multiple keys you need to run the command above for each key.

    In this example, the certificate authority name is Windows2000 Enterprise Root CA. Therefore, the command line in this example is as follows:

    certutil -delkey "Windows2000 Enterprise Root CA"

  7. List the key stores again to verify that the private key for your CA was deleted.

  8. After you delete the private key for your CA, uninstall Certificate Services. To do this, follow these steps, depending on the version of Windows Server that you are running.

    If you are uninstalling an enterprise CA, membership in Enterprise Admins, or the equivalent, is the minimum that is required to complete this procedure. For more information, see Implement Role-Based Administration.

    To uninstall a CA, follow these steps:

    1. Select Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then select Server Manager.
    2. Under Roles Summary, select Remove Roles to start the Remove Roles Wizard, and then select Next.
    3. Select to clear the Active Directory Certificate Services check box, and then select Next.
    4. On the Confirm Removal Options page, review the information, and then select Remove.
    5. If Certification Authority Web Enrollment role is configured and running and you are prompted to uninstall this role before you continue with the uninstall process, select OK, uninstall this role first then repeat steps above.
    6. After the Remove Roles Wizard is finished, restart the server. This completes the uninstall process.

    The procedure is slightly different if you have multiple Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) role services installed on a single server. To uninstall a CA but keep other AD CS role services, follow these steps.

    Note

    You must log on with the same permissions as the user who installed the CA to complete this procedure. If you are uninstalling an enterprise CA, membership in Enterprise Admins, or the equivalent, is the minimum that is required to complete this procedure. For more information, see Implement Role-Based Administration.

    1. Select Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then select Server Manager.
    2. Under Roles Summary, select Active Directory Certificate Services.
    3. Under Roles Services, select Remove Role Services.
    4. Select to clear the Certification Authority check box, and then select Next.
    5. On the Confirm Removal Options page, review the information, and then select Remove.
    6. If IIS is running and you are prompted to stop the service before you continue with the uninstall process, select OK.
    7. After the Remove Roles Wizard is finished, you must restart the server. This completes the uninstall process.

    If the remaining role services, such as the Online Responder service, were configured to use data from the uninstalled CA, you must reconfigure these services to support a different CA. After a CA is uninstalled, the following information is left on the server:

    • The CA database.
    • The CA public and private keys.
    • The CA's certificates in the Personal store.
    • The CA's certificates in the shared folder, if a shared folder was specified during AD CS setup.
    • The CA chain's root certificate in the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store.
    • The CA chain's intermediate certificates in the Intermediate Certification Authorities store.
    • The CA's CRL.

    By default, this information is kept on the server in case you are uninstalling and then reinstalling the CA. For example, you might uninstall and reinstall the CA if you want to change a stand-alone CA to an enterprise CA.

Step 6 - Remove CA objects from Active Directory

When Microsoft Certificate Services is installed on a server that is a member of a domain, several objects are created in the configuration container in Active Directory.

These objects are as follows:

  • certificateAuthority object

    • Located in CN=AIA,CN=Public Key Services,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=ForestRootDomain.
    • Contains the CA certificate for the CA.
    • Published Authority Information Access (AIA) location.

  • crlDistributionPoint object

    • Located in CN=ServerName,CN=CDP,CN=Public Key Service,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=ForestRoot,DC=com.
    • Contains the CRL periodically published by the CA.
    • Published CRL Distribution Point (CDP) location.

  • certificationAuthority object

    • Located in CN=Certification Authorities,CN=Public Key Services,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=ForestRoot,DC=com.
    • Contains the CA certificate for the CA.

  • pKIEnrollmentService object

    • Located in CN=Enrollment Services,CN=Public Key Services,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=ForestRoot,DC=com.
    • Created by the enterprise CA.
    • Contains information about the types of certificates the CA has been configured to issue. Permissions on this object can control which security principals can enroll against this CA.

When the CA is uninstalled, only the pKIEnrollmentService object is removed. This prevents clients from trying to enroll against the decommissioned CA. The other objects are retained because certificates that are issued by the CA are probably still outstanding. These certificates must be revoked by following the procedure in the Step 1 - Revoke all active certificates that are issued by the enterprise CA section.

For Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) client computers to successfully process these outstanding certificates, the computers must locate the Authority Information Access (AIA) and CRL distribution point paths in Active Directory. It is a good idea to revoke all outstanding certificates, extend the lifetime of the CRL, and publish the CRL in Active Directory. If the outstanding certificates are processed by the various PKI clients, validation will fail, and those certificates will not be used.

If it is not a priority to maintain the CRL distribution point and AIA in Active Directory, you can remove these objects. Do not remove these objects if you expect to process one or more of the formerly active digital certificates.

Remove all Certification Services objects from Active Directory

Note

You should not remove certificate templates from Active Directory until after you remove all CA objects in the Active Directory forest.

To remove all Certification Services objects from Active Directory, follow these steps:

  1. Determine the CACommonName of the CA. To do this, follow these steps:

    1. Select Start, select Run, type cmd in the Open box, and then select OK.
    2. Type certutil, and then press ENTER.
    3. Make a note of the Name value that belongs to your CA. You will need the CACommonName for later steps in this procedure.

  2. Select Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then select Active Directory Sites and Services.

  3. On the View menu, select Show Services Node.

  4. Expand Services, expand Public Key Services, and then select the AIA folder.

  5. In the right pane, right-click the CertificationAuthority object for your CA, select Delete, and then select Yes.

  6. In the left pane of the Active Directory Sites and Services MMC snap-in, select the CDP folder.

  7. In the right pane, locate the container object for the server where Certificate Services is installed. Right-click the container, select Delete, and then select Yes two times.

  8. In the left pane of the Active Directory Sites and Services MMC snap-in, select the Certification Authorities node.

  9. In the right pane, right-click the CertificationAuthority object for your CA, select Delete, and then select Yes.

  10. In the left pane of the Active Directory Sites and Services MMC snap-in, select the Enrollment Services node.

  11. In the right pane, verify that the pKIEnrollmentService object for your CA was removed when Certificate Services was uninstalled. If the object is not deleted, right-click the object, select Delete, and then select Yes.

  12. If you did not locate all the objects, some objects may be left in the Active Directory after you perform these steps. To clean up after a CA that may have left objects in Active Directory, follow these steps to determine whether any AD objects remain:

    1. Type the following command at a command line, and then press ENTER:

      ldifde -r "cn= CACommonName" -d "CN=Public Key Services,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC= ForestRoot,DC=com" -f output.ldf

      In this command, CACommonName represents the Name value that you determined in step 1. For example, if the Name value is CA1 Contoso, type the following:

      ldifde -r "cn=CA1 Contoso" -d "cn=public key services,cn=services,cn=configuration,dc=contoso,dc=com" -f remainingCAobjects.ldf

    2. Open the remainingCAobjects.ldf file in Notepad. Replace the term changetype: add with changetype: delete. Then, verify whether the Active Directory objects that you will delete are legitimate.

    3. At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER to delete the remaining CA objects from Active Directory:

      ldifde -i -f remainingCAobjects.ldf

  13. Delete the certificate templates if you are sure that all of the certificate authorities have been deleted. Repeat step 12 to determine whether any AD objects remain.

    Important

    You must not delete the certificate templates unless all the certificate authorities have been deleted. If the templates are accidentally deleted, follow these steps:

    1. Make sure that you are logged on to a server that is running Certificate Services as Enterprise administrator.

    2. At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

      cd %windir%\system32

    3. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:

      regsvr32 /i:i /n /s certcli.dll

      This action re-creates the certificate templates in Active Directory.

    To delete the certificate templates, follow these steps.

    1. In the left pane of the Active Directory Sites and Services MMC snap-in, select the Certificate Templates folder.
    2. In the right pane, select a certificate template, and then press Ctrl+A to select all templates. Right-click the selected templates, select Delete, and then select Yes.

Step 7 - Delete certificates published to the NtAuthCertificates object

After you delete the CA objects, you have to delete the CA certificates that are published to the NtAuthCertificates object. Use either of the following commands to delete certificates from within the NTAuthCertificates store:

certutil -viewdelstore "ldap:///CN=NtAuthCertificates,CN=Public Key Services,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=ForestRoot,DC=com?cACertificate?base?objectclass=certificationAuthority"

certutil -viewdelstore "ldap:///CN=NtAuthCertificates,CN=Public Key Services,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=ForestRoot,DC=com?cACertificate?base?objectclass=pKIEnrollmentService"

Note

You must have Enterprise Administrator permissions to perform this task.

The -viewdelstore action invokes the certificate selection UI on the set of certificates in the specified attribute. You can view the certificate details. You can cancel out of the selection dialog to make no changes. If you select a certificate, that certificate is deleted when the UI closes and the command is fully executed.

Use the following command to see the full LDAP path to the NtAuthCertificates object in your Active Directory:

certutil -viewdelstore -? | findstr "CN=NTAuth"

Step 8 - Delete the CA database

When Certification Services is uninstalled, the CA database is left intact so that the CA can be re-created on another server.

To remove the CA database, delete the Certlog folder containing the database and log. This is stored by default in %systemroot%\System32\Certlog folder.

You can find the location of the database and logs folder from the Step 5 - Uninstall Certificate Services from the server section.

Step 9 - Clean up domain controllers

After the CA is uninstalled, the certificates that were issued to domain controllers must be removed.

To remove certificates that were issued to the Windows Server 2003 and newer domain controllers, follow these steps.

Important

Do not use this procedure if you are using certificates that are based on version 1 domain controller templates.

  1. Select Start, select Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER.

  2. At the command prompt on a domain controller, type certutil -dcinfo deleteBad.

    Certutil.exe tries to validate all the DC certificates that are issued to the domain controllers. Certificates that do not validate are removed.

To force application of the group policy, follow these steps:

  1. Select Start, select Run, type cmd in the Open box, and then press ENTER.

  2. At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    gpupdate /force