Does SMB use NTLM?
Jackson Reed
Updated on March 02, 2026
NTLM over a Server Message Block (SMB) transport is a common use of NTLM authentication and encryption.
Does SMB use NTLM or Kerberos?
Kerberos is the default authentication mechanism for SMB access, while NTLMv2 is supported as a failover authentication scenario, as in Windows SMB servers.What authentication does SMB use?
NTLM and the older LAN Manager (LM) encryption are supported by Microsoft SMB Protocol. Both encryption methods use challenge-response authentication, where the server sends the client a random string and the client returns a computed response string that proves the client has sufficient credentials for access.What still uses NTLM?
Applications That Use NTLMNTLM was replaced as the default authentication protocol in Windows 2000 by Kerberos. However, NTLM is still maintained in all Windows systems for compatibility purposes between older clients and servers.