The audit for this user shows success, but when using SSMS, the error that is received is 18456 and he cannot sign in

Question

The audit for this user shows success, but when using SSMS, the error that is received is 18456 and he cannot sign in

Patrick Dengler 0

We are using integrated security. All other users have no problem getting to this database. One user, gets and 18456 error. The user is part of the SQL Contributor Group. The activity logs for login shows successful login in SQL server through AD, yet the user cannot connect

Erland Sommarskog 132K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2025-11-18T19:03:39.6766667+00:00

I see that you have discarded the answer from Q&A Assist. However, its first point is very valid:

Check SQL Server Error Log: The SQL Server error log provides additional insights into the specific state of the error. Each error 18456 has a state code that can help identify the cause. You can view the error log using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) if you can connect, or by accessing the log file directly.

Please share what you find in the error log.

Also, what does "SELECT @@version" report?

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Erland Sommarskog 132K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2025-11-18T19:03:39.6766667+00:00

I see that you have discarded the answer from Q&A Assist. However, its first point is very valid:

Check SQL Server Error Log: The SQL Server error log provides additional insights into the specific state of the error. Each error 18456 has a state code that can help identify the cause. You can view the error log using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) if you can connect, or by accessing the log file directly.

Please share what you find in the error log.

Also, what does "SELECT @@version" report?

Answer 1

Shruti Dhruv 875 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Patrick Dengler,

This can be due to login issue.
1.Verify login if it exists at server level.
2.Check if the user has a mapped database user and appropriate roles (e.g., db_datareader, db_datawriter).If the user’s default database is offline or inaccessible, login can fail with 18456.
3.Run this query to check login and database mapping

SELECT name, type_desc FROM sys.server_principals WHERE name = 'Domain\User';
SELECT name FROM sys.database_principals WHERE name = 'Domain\User';

Lastly, share Error log so that we can assist you better.

Hope this helps.
Thank You

Shruti Dhruv 875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-09T11:51:24.3466667+00:00

Hi Patrick Dengler,

Just wanted to check if you were able to fix the error?
If you have any questions, feel free to attach error logs so that we can help you better.

Thank You

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The audit for this user shows success, but when using SSMS, the error that is received is 18456 and he cannot sign in

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