Remote Access sometimes still asks for certificate verification on secure screens, even if all settings have been copied to use on secure screens

[tech10]

When using NVDA Remote Access, I have noticed that sometimes, NVDA prompts me to verify the certificate of an existing external server on secure screens, after I have told NVDA to automatically connect to this server and have formerly verified the certificate. More details below.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Ensure Remote Access is enabled on NVDA.
2. Check the Automatically connect after NVDA starts, checkbox.
3. Select allow this computer to be controlled, select use existing server, enter information for an existing server's IP/host, and a key, then click ok.
4. Save current configuration, to be safe.
5. Restart NVDA, and when the certificate verification dialog opens, press the connect and do not ask again for this server, button. I may have the wording slightly wrong on that one.
6. Save your configuration.
7. In NVDA's general settings, press the, use currently saved settings during sign-in and on secure screens, button. Answer yes to UAC and allow all settings to be copied.
8. Try something that will prompt a UAC screen, NVDA may or may not connect to your selected server without prompting for certificate verification.

Actual behavior:

NVDA may automatically connect to your selected server without prompting certificate verification, and allow you to answer yes or no to any UAC secure desktop screen, or NVDA might prompt for certificate verification again on a secure screen, despite having copied all settings over. If NVDA prompts for certificate verification, despite this verification being copied already, you cannot remotely answer UAC screens or log on to your computer.

Expected behavior:

If all settings are copied to be used on sign-in or secure screens and Remote Access is set up as described, NVDA should always automatically connect to a selected server without prompting for a certificate verification that has already been accepted and copied to secure screens.

NVDA logs, crash dumps and other attachments:

None.

System configuration

NVDA installed/portable/running from source:

Installed.

NVDA version:

2025.1 and 2025.1.1

Windows version:

Windows 11 24H2

Name and version of other software in use when reproducing the issue:

Windows 11 UAC screens, anything that may prompt one to appear.

Other information about your system:

None.

Other questions

Does the issue still occur after restarting your computer?

Yes, though intermittent as described, I am unsure of when this may or may not occur.

Have you tried any other versions of NVDA? If so, please report their behaviors.

2025.1 is the same as described in this issue.

If NVDA add-ons are disabled, is your problem still occurring?

Yes.

Does the issue still occur after you run the COM Registration Fixing Tool in NVDA's tools menu?

Yes.

additional notes

As previously stated, I'm uncertain when this issue may or may not occur. Yesterday for instance, I was able to use NVDA on secure screens remotely perfectly. However, I cannot do so today and therefore, could not update NVDA from 2025.1 to 2025.1.1 on my computer at home, which I am accessing remotely from another computer at work. The only way I know of to get around this issue, would be to disable user account control while I am using my computer locally, then I could do anything I wanted remotely, but this is not an option I'm willing to consider. If anyone can consistently reproduce this issue or I discover the means to do so, that would go a long way toward solving this problem.

One thing to note, if I am at a computer locally and I can tell NVDA to connect and not ask again on a secure screen, this does seem to solve the issue for a while through restarts or otherwise, but it will eventually return.

I did not have this problem with TeleNVDA or the official NVDA Remote Access addon when I used either of them.

[tspivey]

After you accepted the certificate, you didn't save your configuration. In that case, it won't apply to the settings you copy over.

[tech10]

I actually did save the configuration after accepting the certificate and copying over the settings, I missed that when I was writing down the steps. I'll correct that.

Additionally, I manually verified that the certificate fingerprint was copied over successfully, even while NVDA was still prompting me on secure screens to verify the certificate again, which I could not do remotely and had to wait for UAC screens to time out.

[SaschaCowley]

Hi @tech10, is this happening with the same servers you were using with the NVDA Remote Assistance/TeleNVDA add-ons?

[tech10]

Yes, it is. I do have a little more information.

On the computer that I verified I had copied the certificate fingerprint over to the secure copy of NVDA, manually by looking at configuration files, I was able to use UAC screens after I restarted the computer. I had however, restarted NVDA a few times on this computer before that point, and before the reboot but after the certificates were copied over to the secure screens, NVDA was still presumably prompting me to verify an already verified certificate. After the reboot however, which I was able to do having automatic login set up on the system in question, I could remotely access UAC screens and no verification was required. Perhaps some process or other item was running in the background that did not receive the updated configuration, that's the only thing I can think of in this particular situation.

[SaschaCowley]

I don't think anything like that should be happening. Very strange
Possibly related to #18101