"Failed to authenticate principal" error when logging into vCenter Server 6.0

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Users fail to log in to the vCenter Server.
• In the %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\VMWare\vCenterServer\logs\sso\vmware-sts-idmd.log file, you see entries similar to:
  
  [2016-09-07T19:39:28.495Z vsphere.local f8cc0a6a-e8d3-4652-8007-2d28dcf26cd1 ERROR] [IdentityManager] Failed to authenticate principal [email protected]] for tenant [vsphere.local] com.vmware.identity.interop.idm.IdmNativeException: Native platform error [code: -1073741809][null][null]
  at com.vmware.identity.interop.idm.LinuxIdmNativeAdapter.AuthenticateByPassword(LinuxIdmNativeAdapter.java:180)
  at com.vmware.identity.idm.server.provider.activedirectory.ActiveDirectoryProvider.authenticate(ActiveDirectoryProvider.java:278)
  at com.vmware.identity.idm.server.IdentityManager.authenticate(IdentityManager.java:2760)
  at com.vmware.identity.idm.server.IdentityManager.authenticate(IdentityManager.java:9128)
  at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor12.invoke(Unknown Source)
  at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
  at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)
  at sun.rmi.server.UnicastServerRef.dispatch(Unknown Source)
  at sun.rmi.transport.Transport$2.run(Unknown Source)
  at sun.rmi.transport.Transport$2.run(Unknown Source)
  at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
  at sun.rmi.transport.Transport.serviceCall(Unknown Source)
  at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport.handleMessages(Unknown Source)
  at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport$ConnectionHandler.run0(Unknown Source)
  at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport$ConnectionHandler.access$400(Unknown Source)
  at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport$ConnectionHandler$1.run(Unknown Source)
  at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport$ConnectionHandler$1.run(Unknown Source)
  at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
  at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport$ConnectionHandler.run(Unknown Source)
  at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(Unknown Source)
  at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(Unknown Source)
  at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)
  [2016-09-07T19:39:28.496Z vsphere.local f8cc0a6a-e8d3-4652-8007-2d28dcf26cd1 INFO ] [VmEventAppender] EventLog: source=[VMware Identity Server], tenant=[vsphere.local], eventid=[USER_NAME_PWD_AUTH_FAILED], level=[ERROR], category=
  [VMEVENT_CATEGORY_IDM], text=[Failed to authenticate principal [[email protected]]. Native platform error [code: -1073741809][null][null]], detailText=[com.vmware.identity.interop.idm.IdmNativeException: Native platform error [code: -1073741809][null][null]

Environment

VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.0.x

Cause

This issue occurs when Do not require Kerberos preauthentication checkbox is selected for the Active Directory user.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, deselect Do not require Kerberos preauthentication for the user.

1. Open the properties of the user in Active Directory.
2. Go to the Account tab.
3. Deselect Do not require Kerberos preauthentication.
4. Click Apply.
5. Click OK.