Is it possible for a Scheduled Task to run as NETWORK SERVICE?

Question

It is quite simple to set up a task to run as a SYSTEM, but when setting it to NETWORK SERVICE it show "Access is denied" error message.

Is there any way to get this working? (The problem is that I don't want to create a new domain user for that task and I need to access a remote share from this task.)

Solution 1

I asked this same question. Fortunately RyanRies was able to provide a correct answer.

In Windows Server 2003 you cannot run a scheduled task as NT AUTHORITY\NetworkService (aka the Network Service account). That capability only was added with Task Scheduler 2.0, which only exists in Windows Vista/Windows Server 2008.

Bonus Chatter

• LocalService Account is a built-in account with limited privileges on the local computer, and accesses the network as anonymous. You should use this account to run your scheduled tasks
• NetworkService Account is a built-in account with limited privileges on the local computer, and accesses the network as the machine (e.g. VADER$). You can use this account to run your scheduled tasks if you need authenticated network access
• LocalSystem Account is a built-in account with extensive privileges on the local computer. You should never use this account to run scheduled tasks

Solution 2

You can't. The functionality was introduced in Task Scheduler 2.0, which means Vista/2008+.

From the documentation for Schtasks.exe:

/RU username

A value that specifies the user context under which the task runs. For the system account, valid values are "", "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM", or "SYSTEM". For Task Scheduler 2.0 tasks, "NT AUTHORITY\LOCALSERVICE", and "NT AUTHORITY\NETWORKSERVICE" are also valid values.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/bb736357(v=vs.85).aspx:

Solution 3

I tried doing this several ways, but now I don't think it's possible. I'd be glad to stand corrected on this, but I tried everything I could think of, including adding NETWORK SERVICE to Administrators, tweaking all sorts of Local Security Policy settings, etc.

When I enable auditing, I get this:

Event Type:     Failure Audit
Event Source:   Security
Event Category: Account Logon 
Event ID:       680
Date:           02/03/2010
Time:           8:49:53 PM
User:           NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
Computer:       RESULTANT
Description:
Logon attempt by: MICROSOFT_AUTHENTICATION_PACKAGE_V1_0
 Logon account:  NETWORK SERVICE
 Source Workstation: RESULTANT
 Error Code: 0xC0000064

Event Type:     Failure Audit
Event Source:   Security
Event Category: Logon/Logoff 
Event ID:       529
Date:           02/03/2010
Time:           8:49:53 PM
User:           NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
Computer:       RESULTANT
Description:
Logon Failure:
     Reason:        Unknown user name or bad password
     User Name:     NETWORK SERVICE
     Domain:        NT AUTHORITY
     Logon Type:    4
     Logon Process: Advapi  
     Authentication Package: Negotiate
     Workstation Name:       RESULTANT

0xC0000064 decodes to NO_SUCH_USER. That's a bit silly, considering that I entered only network service – how did it know that the account that failed was in NT AUTHORITY?

When I enter an invalid username, I don't even see the authentication attempt at all. So clearly something agrees that NETWORK SERVICE is an actual account.

If I botch the password for a known username (ie Administrator), I get 0xC000006A (STATUS_WRONG_PASSWORD).

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Try adding the Log on as a batch job right to NETWORK SERVICE. I think it's a silly idea; you should just bite the bullet and create a domain account…

Comments

[Regent]

Nope. It was already listed in "Log on as a service", and adding to "Log on as a service" didn't helped too.

[Regent]

Sorry I mistyped in my previous comment to Matt, but I tried adding it for "Log on as a batch job" and with no luck.

[Regent]

Each computer joined to the domain have its own account in the Active Directory. And as far as I understand NETWORK SERVICE is a local alias to that account therefore it could potentially have access to some shares.

[Mark]

NetworkService will have rights on another computer. From MSDN: " It has minimum privileges on the local computer and acts as the computer on the network."

[Mark]

It's very helpful that the doc's specifically mention Task Scheduler 2.0. It eliminates the guesswork.

[Nick Jones]

This answer is incorrect. As @IanBoyd also says, NETWORK SERVICE is specifically intended for accessing items on the network (that's why it has "Network" in the name, by contrast with the LOCAL SERVICE account) which it will access using the computer's domain identity, DOMAIN\COMPUTERNAME$, e.g., MAIN\WEBSRV2$.

[Falcon Momot]

It's also not an account (local or otherwise). It's a well-known security principal.