Fix ERROR_CLUSTER_NO_SECURITY_CONTEXT (0x000013C3) Fast

I know this error is infuriating. You've got a Windows Failover Cluster that was working fine, then suddenly you see 0x000013C3 with the message "No cluster security context is available." The cluster nodes can't talk to each other, and your apps are down.

This tripped me up the first time too. The root cause is almost always one of three things: a Kerberos ticket problem, a misconfigured cluster service account, or a firewall blocking essential ports. Let's fix them in order of likelihood.

1. Stale or Missing Kerberos Tickets

This is the most common cause. Windows Failover Clusters rely on Kerberos to authenticate between nodes. When a node's ticket to the cluster's CNO (Cluster Name Object) expires or gets corrupted, you get this error. I've seen this happen after a domain controller reboot or a time sync issue.

How to check and fix:

1. Log into the node that shows the error.
2. Open a command prompt as Administrator.
3. Run klist to see current Kerberos tickets. Look for a ticket for the cluster name (like cifs/ClusterName or host/ClusterName).
4. If it's missing, or you see an error, purge the tickets and re-authenticate:

   klist purge

   This clears all cached tickets.
5. Then force the node to request new tickets by restarting the Cluster service:

   net stop clussvc && net start clussvc

6. Wait 30 seconds, then run klist again. You should see fresh tickets for the cluster.

If the error goes away, you're done. If it comes back after a few hours, check time sync between nodes and the domain controller. Run w32tm /query /status on each node. A drift of more than 5 minutes will kill Kerberos.

2. Broken or Misconfigured Cluster Service Account

The cluster service runs under a domain account (or the Network Service account in older setups). If that account's password was changed, or the account was disabled, the cluster loses its security context.

I've seen admins rotate passwords but forget to update the cluster service. The error pops up immediately after the password change.

How to check and fix:

1. Open Failover Cluster Manager. Right-click the cluster name, choose More Actions > Update Cluster Service Account.
2. Enter the correct account name and password. This must be a domain account that's in the Domain Admins or CN=.../Administrators group on the cluster nodes.
3. Click OK. This updates the account on all nodes and restarts the cluster service.
4. If you're not sure what account the cluster uses, run this PowerShell on any node:

   Get-ClusterResource -Cluster <ClusterName> | Where-Object {$_.ResourceType -eq 'Network Name'} | Get-ClusterParameter

   Look for the ServiceAccountName parameter.

Another quick test: from the node, try to map a drive to the cluster's file share using just the cluster name. If it fails with "Access denied", the account is likely the problem.

3. Firewall Blocking Cluster Communication Ports

Less common but easy to overlook. The cluster uses specific ports for heartbeat and security negotiation. If a firewall rule changed (maybe from a Windows Update or security policy), communication breaks.

The cluster needs these ports open between all nodes:

• UDP 3343 – Cluster Network Driver
• TCP 3343 – Cluster Network Driver (some versions)
• TCP 135 – RPC Endpoint Mapper
• Dynamic RPC ports (TCP 49152-65535) – For cluster management
• ICMP – For heartbeat checks (optional but recommended)

How to check:

1. Run wf.msc to open Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.
2. Check the Inbound Rules for any rules that block or limit traffic from the cluster subnet.
3. Create a new rule if needed:

   netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Cluster Communication" dir=in action=allow protocol=UDP localport=3343 remoteip=<OtherNodeSubnet>

   Repeat for all nodes and all required ports.

A quick test: from Node A, run Test-NetConnection -ComputerName NodeB -Port 3343. If it fails, firewall is blocking something.

Quick-Reference Summary Table

These three fixes cover about 90% of 0x000013C3 cases. If none work, check the cluster logs in %SystemRoot%\Cluster\Reports\. You'll usually see a more specific error there, but the three steps above should get you back up fast.