Bug settings application pool password in IIS

[danjal]

I set the AppPool password using:

MsiSetProperty(ISMSI_HANDLE, "MYIWPASS", _IWDomainUserPassword);

It works depending on what password you input.
"szxck" and "fghjk" fail.
"1234" and "12345" work.

This seems like a bug. I was using IS2008 before... With that version "Password0" worked and "1234" failed.

So there is something wrong with the way IS sets the password.

Is it possible to get a fix for this? What can I do?

I posted when I first had the problem with 08 version here: http://community.installshield.com/showthread.php?t=188632

http://www.acresso.com/webdocuments/PDF/IS2008_Prem_Pro_ReleaseNotes2.pdf says: "IOC-000050915 - If you set the identity password for an application pool in the Internet Information Services view to a string that
has the number 7 as the eighth character, the 7 is no longer truncated at run time." But the problem is NOT solved by fixing just this single issue - it has issues with (a lot of) other passwords.

[danjal]

I just tried installing on Windows 2008 and looked at the log. It says:

MSI (s) (90:40) [15:30:34:843]: PROPERTY CHANGE: Adding MYIWPASS property. Its value is 'Password0'.

InstallShield 15:30:40: GetAdminSection for section 'system.applicationHost/applicationPools' and path 'MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST' and commitpath 'MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST'.

InstallShield 15:30:40: Found element with property 'name' value of: IWAppPool

InstallShield 15:30:40: PutPropertyValue: sProperty password sValue Pasword0 bIsPath 0

InstallShield 15:30:40: PutPropertyCommon: sProperty password sValue Pasword0 bIsPath 0

Hope this helps. I really need a solution.

[joshstechnij]

This issue has been submitted under work order IOC-000082018. We should have a fix available by early next week.

[danjal]

ok, great. How will I be able to get a hold of the fix when it's ready?

[danjal]

Please note that this is also a problem setting the password for Authentication Methods anonymous access for a virtual directory. Here the password '1234' fails when beeing set by InstallShield - the same password goes through right for the application pool. Both are beeing set at the same time. Strange.

Please check this also, when providing a fix.

[joshstechnij]

I have attached a hotfix for this issue. To apply the fix:
1. Make a backup copy of the file C:\Program Files\InstallShield\2010\Support\IISHelper.dll.
2. Extract the attached zip file to C:\Program Files\InstallShield\2010\Support.
3. Rebuild any projects that use the IIS functionality provided in InstallShield.

This fix should resolve this issue with any password field provided in the IIS view.

Please let us know if you encounter any issues with this fix.

[danjal]

I will give it a try tomorrow with different passwords and report back. Thanks for quick support.

[danjal]

Passwords now seem to work correctly when setting Application Pool password. But setting the anonymous access password is still not doing it's job correctly.

I install 2 virtual directories. One has a set anonymous password and the other has the default anonymous password.

On IIS on Win2003, the one with default anonymous access password works correctly (this password is not beeing set by InstallShield). The other virtual directory fails to start. To get it up and running I right click on the virtual directory, click properties, click Directory Security - Edit Authentication and access control and rewrite the password (same one I InstallShield SHOULD have set). After this it works.

On IIS on Win2008, both applications fail, because IIS7 handles anonymous access differently. I can get it up and running in two ways... Click the virtual directory, click Authentication, click anonymous authentication and then edit... Edit the specific user and retype the password or choose to run with "Application pool identity".

Can you please have a look at this?

[joshstechnij]

We are looking into this behavior. When I have more information available I will post it here.

[joshstechnij]

Please try your scenario again with the updated zip file I have attached. The procedure for applying this fix is the same as before. Also note that the InstallScript IIS runtime is included in this zip file, which should be extracted to C:\Program Files\InstallShield\2010\Redist\Compressed Files\Language Independent\Intel 32 if IIS support is being used in InstallScript projects.

Please let us know what your results are.

[danjal]

I can now get it to work on both Win2003 and Win2008.

There is however another problem... When I setup IS this way:
ApplicationPool: Custom (pool setup with custom user/pass)
Enable anonymous access: Yes
IIS Controls Anonymous Password: Yes

And install on Win2008, it fails.

Win2008 works differently with the anonymous settings than Win2003. You either run as application pool identify or as specific user. When I use the settings I described, Win2008 gets configured to run as specific user (same user as application pool) but with an incorrect password.

With the settings I described, I would imagine that Win2008 should run anonymous access with application pool identity instead, this should solve the problem.

I have solved this problem for me, by setting my custom user manually in IS for anonymous access for both virtual directories. This is a fine solution for me, but I can imagine other people can run into the issue I described.

[joshstechnij]

I am not experiencing any rollback with the settings described. Can you provide any additional information on how the IIS items in this project were configured (or attach a verbose log if available)?

Also, note that if the "IIS Controls Anonymous Password" is set to Yes, if any password was supplied in the Anonymous Password field, it is not applied to IIS settings on a target machine.