How do cached credentials affect UAC elevation in Windows 8?

Question

Windows 8 utilizes User Account Control (UAC) to enforce a least-privilege model, providing administrative users with standard tokens by default. However, the Windows Credential Manager stores NTLM hashes to facilitate offline authentication when the domain controller is unreachable.
When a user's password is changed or expires on the network, the local system may attempt to use stale cached credentials during a UAC elevation prompt. This creates a conflict where the user can log into the desktop standard session but fails to gain administrative rights because the elevation request relies on outdated data.
Does Windows 8 force a refresh of cached credentials immediately upon a UAC prompt failure due to password mismatch, or is there a specific mechanism to invalidate these local tokens without a manual clearing of the Credential Manager?

Tasadduq Burney · Answer

Short answer
Windows 8 does not automatically refresh cached domain credentials when a UAC elevation prompt fails because of a password mismatch. UAC authorization is handled by the Application Information service using the current logon session token or alternate credentials entered at the prompt. Credential Manager entries and LSA cached logon credentials are separate stores, and Windows 8 has no documented UAC-triggered mechanism that invalidates cached logon data solely because elevation fails.
Likely explanation versus confirmed facts
Likely explanation: after a domain password change, a computer that cannot reach a domain controller can still unlock the desktop using an older cached logon verifier. A later UAC prompt that supplies the old password, or an alternate-credential elevation validated against a reachable controller, can fail while the standard desktop session remains usable.
Confirmed facts: Windows 8 caches domain logon information under the Interactive logon: Number of previous logons to cache policy. Credential Manager holds explicit network credentials. Clearing Credential Manager does not necessarily clear the LSA cache. Updating the cache generally requires a new interactive logon while a domain controller is reachable.
Steps for this case

Confirm whether the elevation account is a domain account and whether a domain controller is reachable when UAC prompts.
Open Event Viewer to Windows Logs > Security and inspect logon events 4624/4625 around a failed elevation. Consent elevation using an existing token may not create a new logon event.
Run cmdkey /list to inspect Credential Manager entries and compare targets and usernames with the elevation account.
Only if a specific saved credential is confirmed stale and no longer needed, remove it with cmdkey /delete:<target>.

Verification
Test elevation after a password change with the domain controller reachable, then unreachable. If elevation succeeds only with the current password and a reachable controller, the failure is live domain validation, not an automatic cache refresh. Check Local Security Policy > Interactive logon: Number of previous logons to cache to confirm caching is enabled.
Assumptions and uncertainty: this applies to Windows 8, not necessarily Windows 8.1, and behavior can vary with UAC policy, domain connectivity, and cached-logon policy. Windows 8 is out of support, and this has not been verified against your environment. Missing diagnostic detail: is the UAC prompt for a domain account with a reachable domain controller? If yes, treat elevation failure as a current-password validation issue rather than something Windows 8 auto-repairs by clearing cached credentials.

How do cached credentials affect UAC elevation in Windows 8?

1 answer

Short answer

Likely explanation versus confirmed facts

Steps for this case

Verification

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