GSEC · Question #113
What is the maximum passphrase length in Windows 2000/XP/2003?
The correct answer is B. 127 characters. Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003 cap passphrase and password length at 127 characters, a constraint of the NT authentication subsystem used by those operating systems.
Question
What is the maximum passphrase length in Windows 2000/XP/2003?
Options
- A255 characters
- B127 characters
- C95 characters
- D63 characters
How the community answered
(56 responses)- A5% (3)
- B70% (39)
- C9% (5)
- D16% (9)
Why each option
Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003 cap passphrase and password length at 127 characters, a constraint of the NT authentication subsystem used by those operating systems.
255 characters exceeds the 127-character hard limit imposed by the NT authentication subsystem in Windows 2000/XP/2003.
The NT LAN Manager (NTLM) authentication subsystem in Windows 2000/XP/2003 supports a maximum of 127 Unicode characters for passwords and passphrases. While the legacy LM hash truncates credentials to 14 characters, the NT hash itself imposes 127 as the hard upper limit, making this the correct maximum for those OS versions.
95 characters is below the actual 127-character maximum supported by NTLM in these Windows versions and therefore understates the limit.
63 characters is the maximum passphrase length defined for WPA-PSK wireless authentication, not for Windows OS login credentials.
Concept tested: Windows 2000/XP/2003 maximum password length limit
Source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/the-default-maximum-password-age-policy-setting-in-windows-2000
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