Windows 11 24H2 Insecure Guest Logins

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Recently, while working with businesses of various sizes, I’ve encountered issues with password less file shares on systems running Windows 11 24H2. This problem has appeared on both Windows file shares and NAS devices that support SMB.

The Best Solution?

Secure Your File Shares Ideally, the best approach is to update your file share security to require usernames and passwords for access. Implementing proper authentication helps protect sensitive data and reduces security risks. However, I know that not every environment is ready for that change right away. Whether you’re waiting to plan a security upgrade or dealing with clients reluctant to make changes, I get it. Sometimes, you just need a quick fix to keep things running smoothly. In the next section, I’ll go over some temporary workarounds to help you bypass this issue while you work toward a long-term solution.

Temporary Workarounds

If you need to access password less file shares on Windows 11 24H2, here are a few potential workarounds:

1 Enable Guest Access in Group Policy (Not Recommended for Security Reasons) 

While enabling guest access isn't ideal, it may help in situations where legacy devices or specific workflows require it.

1. Open Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc).

2. Navigate to:

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   1Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Network → Lanman Workstation

3. Locate and Enable the policy: "Enable insecure guest logons"
4. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Warning: This reduces security and should only be used as a temporary fix.

2 Adjust Windows Registry (If Group Policy Is Unavailable)

If you don’t have access to Group Policy on certain Windows editions, you can modify the registry:

1. Open Registry Editor (regedit).

2. Navigate to:

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   1HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters

    

3. Look for a DWORD entry named "AllowInsecureGuestAuth" (or create it if missing).
4. Set its value to 1.
5. Restart your computer.

3 Check SMB Protocol Version

If you're connecting to a NAS or older file server, it may not support newer SMB versions. To check and enable older SMB versions:

1. Open PowerShell (Admin) and run:

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   1Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Select EnableSMB1Protocol, EnableSMB2Protocol

2. If SMB1 is disabled but required, enable it temporarily:

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   1Set-SmbServerConfiguration -EnableSMB1Protocol $true -Force

3. Restart your computer.

Security Note: SMB1 is deprecated due to security vulnerabilities. If possible, update your NAS or file server to support SMB2/SMB3 instead.