Network devices failing to auto-renew certificates (HTTP 500.0 Error)

Kenki Guines 20 Reputation points
2026-09-08T16:33:05.6+00:00

After the NDES application pool service account password expired, our network devices now fail to auto-renew machine certificates and report an HTTP 500.0 error in the event logs. How do we update the NDES service account credentials and re-bind the service principal names?

Windows for business | Windows 365 Enterprise
0 comments No comments

Answer accepted by question author
VPHAN 43,075 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-09-08T17:09:49.13+00:00

Hi Kenki Guines,

The HTTP 500.0 error is a direct consequence of the IIS worker process terminating when it attempts to initialize using an invalidated cryptographic token. To rectify this, access the Internet Information Services Manager on the NDES server, navigate to the Application Pools directory, and isolate the pool designated for NDES, which is typically labeled SCEP. Modify the Identity parameter located under the Process Model within the Advanced Settings menu to reflect the updated service account credentials. The application pool must remain in a sustained "Started" state to confirm successful credential synchronization.

While modifying a password in Active Directory does not inherently strip existing Service Principal Name attributes, executing setspn -L yourdomain\YourServiceAccount from an elevated command prompt provides necessary verification that the HTTP service classes remain correctly bound to the NDES account. Should any architectural discrepancies exist, executing setspn -S HTTP/your-ndes-server.yourdomain.com yourdomain\YourServiceAccount will securely append the correct routing record while actively preventing duplicate object creation. Conclude the procedure by executing iisreset in the command prompt to systematically flush the stale Kerberos token caches across the server, forcing the system to ingest the newly configured credentials and restoring automated certificate issuance.

Hope this answer has brought you some useful information. If it did, please hit “accept answer”. Should you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.

VPHAN

Was this answer helpful?

1 person found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments

0 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.