Ansible/Windows/ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1
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Cautionary Note on ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1
https://github.com/ansible/ansible-documentation/blob/devel/examples/scripts/README.md
Cautionary Note on ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1
ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1 is a script designed to check the current WinRM (PS Remoting) configuration and makes the necessary changes to allow Ansible to connect, authenticate and execute PowerShell commands. However, recent user experiences have raised concerns about its reliability and potential for causing issues.
Warning: We strongly advised against using ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1 due to several potential issues which are:
- It enables Basic authentication:
- Windows has this disabled by default because it is not secure when running over HTTP.
- Over HTTP this is an issue because the messages are not encrypted, even the credentials are just base64 encoded
- Anyone sniffing the network will be able to get your credentials as well as any data that Ansible sends to the remote host and what it receives back.
- Requires HTTPS to be set up to be secure, even then it's problematic because it only supports local account and not domain accounts.
- It creates a self signed certificate
- Fine for basic testing but in a domain environment you should be using your own CA issued certificates for the host.
- Also it creates both a HTTP and HTTPS listener, where only the latter is enabled by default. Not really an issue but some places like to reduce the amount of inbound entrypoints as much as they can.
- It allows WinRM traffic in all network profiles
- Usually you want to restrict traffic to just the network/profile you will be managing it from.
A lot of these settings are done (Basic auth and HTTPS with self signed certificate) because it was created in a time where the WinRM support on Python was very basic and barebones. There was no NTLM or Kerberos support, no message encryption over HTTP. This is no longer the case and the Python WinRM library that is used supports the full gauntlet of authentication protocols WinRM supports as well as message encryption when it's run over HTTP. In fact, Ansible has been able to connect to a Windows host that has already run Enable-PSRemoting in PowerShell already. There's really no need to use this script at all as the defaults in Windows are just fine.
The reason why we still have this script is simple, people still use it and have their scripts set to download it directly from GitHub. If we were to remove it, or even just some of the default behaviour to be a bit more secure we will be breaking plenty of scripts that still rely on its current behaviour.
TLDR: We are trying to discourage users from using the script as much as we can. It was created for a time where Ansible couldn't work with the default WinRM settings. If you do wish to use it then take a copy of the script and only run the parts you need, i.e. self signed certificates and so on.
ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1
https://github.com/ansible/ansible-documentation/blob/devel/examples/scripts/ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1
As of 2025.12.29
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ansible/ansible-documentation/devel/examples/scripts/ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1
#Requires -Version 3.0
# Configure a Windows host for remote management with Ansible
# -----------------------------------------------------------
#
# This script checks the current WinRM (PS Remoting) configuration and makes
# the necessary changes to allow Ansible to connect, authenticate and
# execute PowerShell commands.
#
# IMPORTANT: This script uses self-signed certificates and authentication mechanisms
# that are intended for development environments and evaluation purposes only.
# Production environments and deployments that are exposed on the network should
# use CA-signed certificates and secure authentication mechanisms such as Kerberos.
#
# To run this script in Powershell:
#
# [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12
# $url = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ansible/ansible-documentation/devel/examples/scripts/ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1"
# $file = "$env:temp\ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1"
#
# (New-Object -TypeName System.Net.WebClient).DownloadFile($url, $file)
#
# powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -File $file
#
# All events are logged to the Windows EventLog, useful for unattended runs.
#
# Use option -Verbose in order to see the verbose output messages.
#
# Use option -CertValidityDays to specify how long this certificate is valid
# starting from today. So you would specify -CertValidityDays 3650 to get
# a 10-year valid certificate.
#
# Use option -ForceNewSSLCert if the system has been SysPreped and a new
# SSL Certificate must be forced on the WinRM Listener when re-running this
# script. This is necessary when a new SID and CN name is created.
#
# Use option -EnableCredSSP to enable CredSSP as an authentication option.
#
# Use option -DisableBasicAuth to disable basic authentication.
#
# Use option -SkipNetworkProfileCheck to skip the network profile check.
# Without specifying this the script will only run if the device's interfaces
# are in DOMAIN or PRIVATE zones. Provide this switch if you want to enable
# WinRM on a device with an interface in PUBLIC zone.
#
# Use option -SubjectName to specify the CN name of the certificate. This
# defaults to the system's hostname and generally should not be specified.
# Written by Trond Hindenes <trond@hindenes.com>
# Updated by Chris Church <cchurch@ansible.com>
# Updated by Michael Crilly <mike@autologic.cm>
# Updated by Anton Ouzounov <Anton.Ouzounov@careerbuilder.com>
# Updated by Nicolas Simond <contact@nicolas-simond.com>
# Updated by Dag Wieërs <dag@wieers.com>
# Updated by Jordan Borean <jborean93@gmail.com>
# Updated by Erwan Quélin <erwan.quelin@gmail.com>
# Updated by David Norman <david@dkn.email>
#
# Version 1.0 - 2014-07-06
# Version 1.1 - 2014-11-11
# Version 1.2 - 2015-05-15
# Version 1.3 - 2016-04-04
# Version 1.4 - 2017-01-05
# Version 1.5 - 2017-02-09
# Version 1.6 - 2017-04-18
# Version 1.7 - 2017-11-23
# Version 1.8 - 2018-02-23
# Version 1.9 - 2018-09-21
# Support -Verbose option
[CmdletBinding()]
Param (
[string]$SubjectName = $env:COMPUTERNAME,
[int]$CertValidityDays = 1095,
[switch]$SkipNetworkProfileCheck,
$CreateSelfSignedCert = $true,
[switch]$ForceNewSSLCert,
[switch]$GlobalHttpFirewallAccess,
[switch]$DisableBasicAuth = $false,
[switch]$EnableCredSSP
)
Function Write-ProgressLog {
$Message = $args[0]
Write-EventLog -LogName Application -Source $EventSource -EntryType Information -EventId 1 -Message $Message
}
Function Write-VerboseLog {
$Message = $args[0]
Write-Verbose $Message
Write-ProgressLog $Message
}
Function Write-HostLog {
$Message = $args[0]
Write-Output $Message
Write-ProgressLog $Message
}
Function New-LegacySelfSignedCert {
Param (
[string]$SubjectName,
[int]$ValidDays = 1095
)
$hostnonFQDN = $env:computerName
$hostFQDN = [System.Net.Dns]::GetHostByName(($env:computerName)).Hostname
$SignatureAlgorithm = "SHA256"
$name = New-Object -COM "X509Enrollment.CX500DistinguishedName.1"
$name.Encode("CN=$SubjectName", 0)
$key = New-Object -COM "X509Enrollment.CX509PrivateKey.1"
$key.ProviderName = "Microsoft Enhanced RSA and AES Cryptographic Provider"
$key.KeySpec = 1
$key.Length = 4096
$key.SecurityDescriptor = "D:PAI(A;;0xd01f01ff;;;SY)(A;;0xd01f01ff;;;BA)(A;;0x80120089;;;NS)"
$key.MachineContext = 1
$key.Create()
$serverauthoid = New-Object -COM "X509Enrollment.CObjectId.1"
$serverauthoid.InitializeFromValue("1.3.6.1.5.5.7.3.1")
$ekuoids = New-Object -COM "X509Enrollment.CObjectIds.1"
$ekuoids.Add($serverauthoid)
$ekuext = New-Object -COM "X509Enrollment.CX509ExtensionEnhancedKeyUsage.1"
$ekuext.InitializeEncode($ekuoids)
$cert = New-Object -COM "X509Enrollment.CX509CertificateRequestCertificate.1"
$cert.InitializeFromPrivateKey(2, $key, "")
$cert.Subject = $name
$cert.Issuer = $cert.Subject
$cert.NotBefore = (Get-Date).AddDays(-1)
$cert.NotAfter = $cert.NotBefore.AddDays($ValidDays)
$SigOID = New-Object -ComObject X509Enrollment.CObjectId
$SigOID.InitializeFromValue(([Security.Cryptography.Oid]$SignatureAlgorithm).Value)
[string[]] $AlternativeName += $hostnonFQDN
$AlternativeName += $hostFQDN
$IAlternativeNames = New-Object -ComObject X509Enrollment.CAlternativeNames
foreach ($AN in $AlternativeName) {
$AltName = New-Object -ComObject X509Enrollment.CAlternativeName
$AltName.InitializeFromString(0x3, $AN)
$IAlternativeNames.Add($AltName)
}
$SubjectAlternativeName = New-Object -ComObject X509Enrollment.CX509ExtensionAlternativeNames
$SubjectAlternativeName.InitializeEncode($IAlternativeNames)
[String[]]$KeyUsage = ("DigitalSignature", "KeyEncipherment")
$KeyUsageObj = New-Object -ComObject X509Enrollment.CX509ExtensionKeyUsage
$KeyUsageObj.InitializeEncode([int][Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates.X509KeyUsageFlags]($KeyUsage))
$KeyUsageObj.Critical = $true
$cert.X509Extensions.Add($KeyUsageObj)
$cert.X509Extensions.Add($ekuext)
$cert.SignatureInformation.HashAlgorithm = $SigOID
$CERT.X509Extensions.Add($SubjectAlternativeName)
$cert.Encode()
$enrollment = New-Object -COM "X509Enrollment.CX509Enrollment.1"
$enrollment.InitializeFromRequest($cert)
$certdata = $enrollment.CreateRequest(0)
$enrollment.InstallResponse(2, $certdata, 0, "")
# extract/return the thumbprint from the generated cert
$parsed_cert = New-Object System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates.X509Certificate2
$parsed_cert.Import([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes($certdata))
return $parsed_cert.Thumbprint
}
Function Enable-GlobalHttpFirewallAccess {
Write-Verbose "Forcing global HTTP firewall access"
# this is a fairly naive implementation; could be more sophisticated about rule matching/collapsing
$fw = New-Object -ComObject HNetCfg.FWPolicy2
# try to find/enable the default rule first
$add_rule = $false
$matching_rules = $fw.Rules | Where-Object { $_.Name -eq "Windows Remote Management (HTTP-In)" }
$rule = $null
If ($matching_rules) {
If ($matching_rules -isnot [Array]) {
Write-Verbose "Editing existing single HTTP firewall rule"
$rule = $matching_rules
}
Else {
# try to find one with the All or Public profile first
Write-Verbose "Found multiple existing HTTP firewall rules..."
$rule = $matching_rules | ForEach-Object { $_.Profiles -band 4 }[0]
If (-not $rule -or $rule -is [Array]) {
Write-Verbose "Editing an arbitrary single HTTP firewall rule (multiple existed)"
# oh well, just pick the first one
$rule = $matching_rules[0]
}
}
}
If (-not $rule) {
Write-Verbose "Creating a new HTTP firewall rule"
$rule = New-Object -ComObject HNetCfg.FWRule
$rule.Name = "Windows Remote Management (HTTP-In)"
$rule.Description = "Inbound rule for Windows Remote Management via WS-Management. [TCP 5985]"
$add_rule = $true
}
$rule.Profiles = 0x7FFFFFFF
$rule.Protocol = 6
$rule.LocalPorts = 5985
$rule.RemotePorts = "*"
$rule.LocalAddresses = "*"
$rule.RemoteAddresses = "*"
$rule.Enabled = $true
$rule.Direction = 1
$rule.Action = 1
$rule.Grouping = "Windows Remote Management"
If ($add_rule) {
$fw.Rules.Add($rule)
}
Write-Verbose "HTTP firewall rule $($rule.Name) updated"
}
# Setup error handling.
Trap {
$_
Exit 1
}
$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
# Get the ID and security principal of the current user account
$myWindowsID = [System.Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()
$myWindowsPrincipal = new-object System.Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal($myWindowsID)
# Get the security principal for the Administrator role
$adminRole = [System.Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole]::Administrator
# Check to see if we are currently running "as Administrator"
if (-Not $myWindowsPrincipal.IsInRole($adminRole)) {
Write-Output "ERROR: You need elevated Administrator privileges in order to run this script."
Write-Output " Start Windows PowerShell by using the Run as Administrator option."
Exit 2
}
$EventSource = $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Name
If (-Not $EventSource) {
$EventSource = "Powershell CLI"
}
If ([System.Diagnostics.EventLog]::Exists('Application') -eq $False -or [System.Diagnostics.EventLog]::SourceExists($EventSource) -eq $False) {
New-EventLog -LogName Application -Source $EventSource
}
# Detect PowerShell version.
If ($PSVersionTable.PSVersion.Major -lt 3) {
Write-ProgressLog "PowerShell version 3 or higher is required."
Throw "PowerShell version 3 or higher is required."
}
# Find and start the WinRM service.
Write-Verbose "Verifying WinRM service."
If (!(Get-Service "WinRM")) {
Write-ProgressLog "Unable to find the WinRM service."
Throw "Unable to find the WinRM service."
}
ElseIf ((Get-Service "WinRM").Status -ne "Running") {
Write-Verbose "Setting WinRM service to start automatically on boot."
Set-Service -Name "WinRM" -StartupType Automatic
Write-ProgressLog "Set WinRM service to start automatically on boot."
Write-Verbose "Starting WinRM service."
Start-Service -Name "WinRM" -ErrorAction Stop
Write-ProgressLog "Started WinRM service."
}
# WinRM should be running; check that we have a PS session config.
If (!(Get-PSSessionConfiguration -Verbose:$false) -or (!(Get-ChildItem WSMan:\localhost\Listener))) {
If ($SkipNetworkProfileCheck) {
Write-Verbose "Enabling PS Remoting without checking Network profile."
Enable-PSRemoting -SkipNetworkProfileCheck -Force -ErrorAction Stop
Write-ProgressLog "Enabled PS Remoting without checking Network profile."
}
Else {
Write-Verbose "Enabling PS Remoting."
Enable-PSRemoting -Force -ErrorAction Stop
Write-ProgressLog "Enabled PS Remoting."
}
}
Else {
Write-Verbose "PS Remoting is already enabled."
}
# Ensure LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy is set to 1
# https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/42978
$token_path = "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System"
$token_prop_name = "LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy"
$token_key = Get-Item -Path $token_path
$token_value = $token_key.GetValue($token_prop_name, $null)
if ($token_value -ne 1) {
Write-Verbose "Setting LocalAccountTOkenFilterPolicy to 1"
if ($null -ne $token_value) {
Remove-ItemProperty -Path $token_path -Name $token_prop_name
}
New-ItemProperty -Path $token_path -Name $token_prop_name -Value 1 -PropertyType DWORD > $null
}
# Make sure there is a SSL listener.
$listeners = Get-ChildItem WSMan:\localhost\Listener
If (!($listeners | Where-Object { $_.Keys -like "TRANSPORT=HTTPS" })) {
# We cannot use New-SelfSignedCertificate on 2012R2 and earlier
$thumbprint = New-LegacySelfSignedCert -SubjectName $SubjectName -ValidDays $CertValidityDays
Write-HostLog "Self-signed SSL certificate generated; thumbprint: $thumbprint"
# Create the hashtables of settings to be used.
$valueset = @{
Hostname = $SubjectName
CertificateThumbprint = $thumbprint
}
$selectorset = @{
Transport = "HTTPS"
Address = "*"
}
Write-Verbose "Enabling SSL listener."
New-WSManInstance -ResourceURI 'winrm/config/Listener' -SelectorSet $selectorset -ValueSet $valueset
Write-ProgressLog "Enabled SSL listener."
}
Else {
Write-Verbose "SSL listener is already active."
# Force a new SSL cert on Listener if the $ForceNewSSLCert
If ($ForceNewSSLCert) {
# We cannot use New-SelfSignedCertificate on 2012R2 and earlier
$thumbprint = New-LegacySelfSignedCert -SubjectName $SubjectName -ValidDays $CertValidityDays
Write-HostLog "Self-signed SSL certificate generated; thumbprint: $thumbprint"
$valueset = @{
CertificateThumbprint = $thumbprint
Hostname = $SubjectName
}
# Delete the listener for SSL
$selectorset = @{
Address = "*"
Transport = "HTTPS"
}
Remove-WSManInstance -ResourceURI 'winrm/config/Listener' -SelectorSet $selectorset
# Add new Listener with new SSL cert
New-WSManInstance -ResourceURI 'winrm/config/Listener' -SelectorSet $selectorset -ValueSet $valueset
}
}
# Check for basic authentication.
$basicAuthSetting = Get-ChildItem WSMan:\localhost\Service\Auth | Where-Object { $_.Name -eq "Basic" }
If ($DisableBasicAuth) {
If (($basicAuthSetting.Value) -eq $true) {
Write-Verbose "Disabling basic auth support."
Set-Item -Path "WSMan:\localhost\Service\Auth\Basic" -Value $false
Write-ProgressLog "Disabled basic auth support."
}
Else {
Write-Verbose "Basic auth is already disabled."
}
}
Else {
If (($basicAuthSetting.Value) -eq $false) {
Write-Verbose "Enabling basic auth support."
Set-Item -Path "WSMan:\localhost\Service\Auth\Basic" -Value $true
Write-ProgressLog "Enabled basic auth support."
}
Else {
Write-Verbose "Basic auth is already enabled."
}
}
# If EnableCredSSP if set to true
If ($EnableCredSSP) {
# Check for CredSSP authentication
$credsspAuthSetting = Get-ChildItem WSMan:\localhost\Service\Auth | Where-Object { $_.Name -eq "CredSSP" }
If (($credsspAuthSetting.Value) -eq $false) {
Write-Verbose "Enabling CredSSP auth support."
Enable-WSManCredSSP -role server -Force
Write-ProgressLog "Enabled CredSSP auth support."
}
}
If ($GlobalHttpFirewallAccess) {
Enable-GlobalHttpFirewallAccess
}
# Configure firewall to allow WinRM HTTPS connections.
$fwtest1 = netsh advfirewall firewall show rule name="Allow WinRM HTTPS"
$fwtest2 = netsh advfirewall firewall show rule name="Allow WinRM HTTPS" profile=any
If ($fwtest1.count -lt 5) {
Write-Verbose "Adding firewall rule to allow WinRM HTTPS."
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule profile=any name="Allow WinRM HTTPS" dir=in localport=5986 protocol=TCP action=allow
Write-ProgressLog "Added firewall rule to allow WinRM HTTPS."
}
ElseIf (($fwtest1.count -ge 5) -and ($fwtest2.count -lt 5)) {
Write-Verbose "Updating firewall rule to allow WinRM HTTPS for any profile."
netsh advfirewall firewall set rule name="Allow WinRM HTTPS" new profile=any
Write-ProgressLog "Updated firewall rule to allow WinRM HTTPS for any profile."
}
Else {
Write-Verbose "Firewall rule already exists to allow WinRM HTTPS."
}
# Test a remoting connection to localhost, which should work.
$httpResult = Invoke-Command -ComputerName "localhost" -ScriptBlock { $using:env:COMPUTERNAME } -ErrorVariable httpError -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
$httpsOptions = New-PSSessionOption -SkipCACheck -SkipCNCheck -SkipRevocationCheck
$httpsResult = New-PSSession -UseSSL -ComputerName "localhost" -SessionOption $httpsOptions -ErrorVariable httpsError -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
If ($httpResult -and $httpsResult) {
Write-Verbose "HTTP: Enabled | HTTPS: Enabled"
}
ElseIf ($httpsResult -and !$httpResult) {
Write-Verbose "HTTP: Disabled | HTTPS: Enabled"
}
ElseIf ($httpResult -and !$httpsResult) {
Write-Verbose "HTTP: Enabled | HTTPS: Disabled"
}
Else {
Write-ProgressLog "Unable to establish an HTTP or HTTPS remoting session."
Throw "Unable to establish an HTTP or HTTPS remoting session."
}
Write-VerboseLog "PS Remoting has been successfully configured for Ansible."