Why do I receive an error when I try to change an Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) user's password?

A. By default, ADAM requires that you perform password operations over a secure channel. If you try to reset a password over a nonsecure channel (e.g., a default LDAP connection through ADSI Edit), you'll receive the error message: "Illegal modify operation. Some aspect of the modification is not permitted."

To resolve this problem, you should use an LDAP over Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection (which will require a certificate in place) or use the ldap_opt_encrypt option of ldp.exe to secure the connection. The ADAM Help file has information about these options under "Set or modify the password of an ADAM user" in the document's "How To" section.

If this password reset is for a test environment and not for a production system, you can disable the secure-channel requirement so that you can reset the password over a nonsecure LDAP connection via ADSI Edit. To disable the secure-channel requirement, perform these steps:

You can now reset passwords over nonsecure channels; however, if this system's role changes so that it holds useful or sensitive data, you should disable the nonsecure channel ability and use one of the options specified earlier.