# win_security_policy – Change local security policy settings

New in version 2.4.

- Synopsis

- Parameters

- Notes

- See Also

- Examples

- Return Values

- Status

## Synopsis

- Allows you to set the local security policies that are configured by SecEdit.exe.

## Parameters

Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments
--- | --- | ---
key string / required |  | The ini key of the section or policy name to modify. The module will return an error if this key is invalid.
section string / required |  | The ini section the key exists in. If the section does not exist then the module will return an error. Example sections to use are 'Account Policies', 'Local Policies', 'Event Log', 'Restricted Groups', 'System Services', 'Registry' and 'File System' If wanting to edit the `Privilege Rights` section, use the win_user_right module instead.
value string / required |  | The value for the ini key or policy name. If the key takes in a boolean value then 0 = False and 1 = True.

## Notes

Note

- This module uses the SecEdit.exe tool to configure the values, more details of the areas and keys that can be configured can be found here https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb742512.aspx.

- If you are in a domain environment these policies may be set by a GPO policy, this module can temporarily change these values but the GPO will override it if the value differs.

- You can also run `SecEdit.exe /export /cfg C:\temp\output.ini` to view the current policies set on your system.

- When assigning user rights, use the win_user_right module instead.

## See Also

See also

win_user_right – Manage Windows User Rights

  The official documentation on the win_user_right module.

## Examples

    - name: Change the guest account name
      win_security_policy:
        section: System Access
        key: NewGuestName
        value: Guest Account

    - name: Set the maximum password age
      win_security_policy:
        section: System Access
        key: MaximumPasswordAge
        value: 15

    - name: Do not store passwords using reversible encryption
      win_security_policy:
        section: System Access
        key: ClearTextPassword
        value: 0

    - name: Enable system events
      win_security_policy:
        section: Event Audit
        key: AuditSystemEvents
        value: 1

## Return Values

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key | Returned | Description
--- | --- | ---
import_log string | secedit.exe /import run and change occurred | The log of the SecEdit.exe /configure job that configured the local policies. This is used for debugging purposes on failures. Sample: Completed 6 percent (0/15) \tProcess Privilege Rights area.
key string | success | The key in the section passed to the module to modify. Sample: NewGuestName
rc integer | failure with secedit calls | The return code after a failure when running SecEdit.exe. Sample: -1
section string | success | The section passed to the module to modify. Sample: System Access
stderr string | failure with secedit calls | The output of the STDERR buffer after a failure when running SecEdit.exe. Sample: failed to import security policy
stdout string | failure with secedit calls | The output of the STDOUT buffer after a failure when running SecEdit.exe. Sample: check log for error details
value string | success | The value passed to the module to modify to. Sample: Guest Account

## Status

- This module is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface. [preview]

- This module is maintained by the Ansible Community. [community]

### Authors

- Jordan Borean (@jborean93)

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