Cannot read configuration file due to insufficient permissions

Question

I am trying to test my Web Service on an IIS instance on my local machine before I promote to a windows server 2008 environment. I get this when I attempt to browse to the service. I have created a custom application pool that this service will run under btw. So I am guessing that that application ID does not have permissions to access that folder etc... I get this little detail btw...

"This error occurs when there is a problem reading the configuration file for the Web server or Web application. In some cases, the event logs may contain more information about what caused this error."

I am thinking I need to give that application identity permissions, but I am unsure how to accomplish this.

Is there another way to get this done?

score 63 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 30 '22 at 09:47

63

Not sure whether this is too late for you.

The IIS website is run by either USERS or IIS_IUSRS.

Try to do following:

From Windows Explorer
Right click on the folder pointed by the web
Go to security tab
Add computername\IIS_IUSRS or computername\USERS with Read permission.

edited Aug 30 '22 at 09:47

Ankit Tiwari

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answered Mar 19 '12 at 06:43

Qinjie

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score 15 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 25 '14 at 11:07

15

1.Open IIS 2.On left side panel click on application pools 3.And go to its properties and change identity value from "ApplicationPoolIdentity" to "Local System".

I resolved the problem when i tried this.

answered Apr 25 '14 at 11:07

Sudha

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Thanks alot... I waste lot of time adding IIS_IUSRS or config permissions etc.. But resolved issue by following your answer.. – Zohaib Jan 07 '15 at 11:40
Indeed a great solution, I was also not happy with adding user and permissions over every damn folder – Mrinal Kamboj Aug 07 '15 at 10:15
This also solved my problem rather than adding IUSR in my permission :) – jace Feb 23 '17 at 04:27
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That is a lot of permissions to grant to a web site account. You should not do this for a production system. – StingyJack Mar 17 '17 at 03:45
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Local System is actually incredibly dangerous. It is such a highly privileged account. Far too high to be granting to any ApplicationPoolIdentity for a publicly visible site. (I'd excuse it, possibly, if you're doing it on an intranet site with some weird requirements) - I'd recommend you use Local Service instead. – davewasthere Jul 02 '18 at 00:31

score 5 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 29 '15 at 09:46

5

I faced a similar issue on Windows 8.1. I fixed it by changing identity value from ApplicationPoolIdentity to Local System.

edited Apr 29 '15 at 09:46

shivam

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answered Apr 29 '15 at 08:57

Marizu

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score 4 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 29 '16 at 21:07

Check your sites Security -> Authentication feature. If anonymousAuthentication is enabled, click on the Edit link (in the Actions column) to see which identity is being used; if it is IUSR, make sure IUSR has FileSystem ACL privileges on the website's folder and files. If it set to 'ApplicationPoolIdentity' make sure group IIS_IUSRS has the same rights, because the 'ApplicationPoolIdentity' is dynamically added to the IIS_IUSRS group at runtime.

It depends on the IIS version. it can be `IUSR` instead. – Douglas Gaskell Feb 20 '19 at 22:11 — Douglas Gaskell, Feb 20 '19 at 22:11

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered May 01 '14 at 09:59

2

Modifying the application's identity setting from "ApplicationPoolIdentity" to "LocalSystem" on IIS(7) solved my issue. when adding permission to the IIS_IUSRS did not. I don't quite understand why though.

answered May 01 '14 at 09:59

Halima

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score 1 · Answer 6 · answered May 15 '13 at 06:47

1

For me, I just transferred my files under c:\inetpub\wwwroot and the error is gone.

answered May 15 '13 at 06:47

Angela T

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score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Oct 08 '14 at 15:54

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All I had to do was edit permissions for the virtual directory(application) in IIS 7.5 and add IUSR to the permissions. That fixed it.

answered Oct 08 '14 at 15:54

user580735

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score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Oct 25 '16 at 14:10

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If you chosen old version of .Net framework in application pool of IIS may sometimes cause this issue. So Try with higher .net framework version.

answered Oct 25 '16 at 14:10

ijas Mohammed

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Cannot read configuration file due to insufficient permissions

8 Answers8