STS signing certificate missing - Event 8303 (SharePoint 2010 Products)

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Applies to: SharePoint Server 2010, SharePoint Foundation 2010

Alert Name:   Security Token Service signing certificate missing

Event ID:   8303

Summary:   The Security Token service (STS) signing certificate that Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products uses to authenticate users is missing.

Symptoms:   One or more of the following symptoms might appear:

  • Users are unable to log in to SharePoint 2010 Products.

  • This event appears in the event log: Event ID: 8303 Description: The Access Data Services is no longer available. [Session: <session ID> User: <username>].

Cause:   One of the following might be the cause:

  • The STS signing certificate that is included with SharePoint 2010 Products is missing.

  • The self-signed STS signing certificate, or the external certificate that you are using, is missing.

Resolution:   Import a new STS signing certificate from the SharePoint 2010 Products farm

  1. Retrieve the root certificate of your SharePoint 2010 Products farm.

  2. Export the root certificate.

  3. Use the makecert utility to generate a new STS signing certificate, based on the root certificate.

  4. Import the new certificate into the certificate store for your operating system.

Resolution:    Import a new self-signed STS signing certificate or external certificate

  1. Retrieve the root certificate of your SharePoint 2010 Products farm.

  2. Export the root certificate.

  3. Regenerate the certificate.

  4. Import the new certificate into the certificate store for your operating system.