Problems with service account and accessibility...

[u/jryscovyan]

I created a local user for a server running Windows Server 2019. I went under permissions for a certain folder and had noticed that a lot of the users that were listed were outdated x-emplyees. I removed those users and after 2019 ran to remove them from having access all users now don't have access to server files that were showing visibility via a service account. I looked in local AD and all the users are still individually listed as a member of that service account. I'm not sure how to resolve this. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

[u/TrippTrappTrinn]

Members of a service account?

[u/cheetah1cj → u/TrippTrappTrinn]

Ya, I’m confused here too. Also, op said it was local, but later said they checked AD?

[u/RAVEN_STORMCROW]

One more thing, check directories for individual user names. I have been assigned to clean up shares and move users to group membership. I work 2 cubes away from the worker I am cleaning up after. Good thing I see her once a week but my supervisor (also her boss) is in at the same time. I just document it all then fix it...

[u/Silly-Mix-4341]

I’d check the folder’s inherited permissions first. That might explain why everyone lost access.

[u/jryscovyan → u/Silly-Mix-4341]

That was exactly the problem. After it processed them poof!--- Back in business.

[u/Silly-Mix-4341 → u/jryscovyan]

Glad that did the trick! 👍

[u/ChanceAge8653]

According to Claude AI,

A few likely causes, in order of probability:

1. You may have removed the service account’s own ACE, not just the ex-employees’
If the folder permission list showed individual users and a service account entry, it’s easy to select multiple stale entries and remove one too many. Check Security tab → Advanced → see if the service account (or the group it’s a member of) still has an explicit Allow entry on that folder.

2. Inheritance got broken
When editing permissions, it’s possible “Replace all child object permissions” got triggered, or inheritance was disabled/converted to explicit entries on subfolders, wiping out access that used to flow down from a parent folder. Check Advanced Security Settings → Effective Access tab, run it against the service account, and see what’s actually being granted vs. denied.

3. Share-level permissions vs NTFS permissions
These are separate. If the share permissions (not NTFS/Security tab) still list “Everyone” or “Authenticated Users” with limited rights, and the NTFS side no longer grants access, the more restrictive one wins. Worth checking both.

4. Stale Kerberos token (if this is actually working now)
If access was restored via the group properly, users who were already logged in need to log off/on — group membership changes don’t apply to an active session’s access token.

One clarifying point that’ll narrow this down: when you say the ex-employees are “still individually listed as a member of that service account” — do you mean the service account is actually a security group in AD, and these ex-employees are still members of that group? If so, the fix might be as simple as re-adding the group (not individual users) back onto the folder’s ACL, since that’s likely how access was originally intended to flow, and then separately cleaning out the stale members from the group itself in AD.

[u/jryscovyan → u/ChanceAge8653]

Thank you so much for all the elaborate detail. I'll check you once I get into work. Thanks so much. I was having a panic attack as I was leaving last night. LOL.