.NET Framework Class Library
SqlConnection..::.ChangePassword Method

Changes the SQL Server password for the user indicated in the connection string to the supplied new password.

Namespace:  System.Data.SqlClient
Assembly:  System.Data (in System.Data.dll)
Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)
Public Shared Sub ChangePassword ( _
    connectionString As String, _
    newPassword As String _
)
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim connectionString As String
Dim newPassword As String

SqlConnection.ChangePassword(connectionString, _
    newPassword)
C#
public static void ChangePassword(
    string connectionString,
    string newPassword
)
Visual C++
public:
static void ChangePassword(
    String^ connectionString, 
    String^ newPassword
)
JScript
public static function ChangePassword(
    connectionString : String, 
    newPassword : String
)

Parameters

connectionString
Type: System..::.String
The connection string that contains enough information to connect to the server that you want. The connection string must contain the user ID and the current password.
newPassword
Type: System..::.String
The new password to set. This password must comply with any password security policy set on the server, including minimum length, requirements for specific characters, and so on.
Exceptions

ExceptionCondition
ArgumentException

The connection string includes the option to use integrated security.

Or

The newPassword exceeds 128 characters.

ArgumentNullException

Either the connectionString or the newPassword parameter is null.

Remarks

When you are using SQL Server 2005 on Windows Server 2003 or later, developers can take advantage of functionality that lets the client application supply both the current and a new password in order to change the existing password. Applications can implement functionality such as prompting the user for a new password during initial login if the old one has expired, and this operation can be completed without administrator intervention.

The ChangePassword method changes the SQL Server password for the user indicated in the supplied connectionString parameter to the value supplied in the newPassword parameter. If the connection string includes the option for integrated security (that is, "Integrated Security=True" or the equivalent), an exception is thrown.

To determine that the password has expired, calling the Open method raises a SqlException. In order to indicate that the password that is contained within the connection string must be reset, the Number property for the exception contains the status value 18487 or 18488. The first value (18487) indicates that the password has expired and the second (18488) indicates that the password must be reset before logging in.

This method opens its own connection to the server, requests the password change, and closes the connection as soon as it has completed. This connection is not retrieved from, nor returned to, the SQL Server connection pool.

Examples

The following console application demonstrates the issues involved in changing a user's password because the current password has expired.

Visual Basic
Option Explicit On
Option Strict On

Imports System
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Data.SqlClient

Module Module1
    Sub Main()
        Try
            DemonstrateChangePassword()
        Catch ex As Exception
            Console.WriteLine("Error: " & ex.Message)
        End Try
        Console.WriteLine("Press ENTER to continue...")
        Console.ReadLine()
    End Sub

    Private Sub DemonstrateChangePassword()
        Dim connectionString As String = GetConnectionString()
        Using cnn As New SqlConnection()
            For i As Integer = 0 To 1
                ' Run this loop at most two times. If the first attempt fails, 
                ' the code checks the Number property of the SqlException object.
                ' If that contains the special values 18487 or 18488, the code 
                ' attempts to set the user's password to a new value. 
                ' Assuming this succeeds, the second pass through 
                ' successfully opens the connection.
                ' If not, the exception handler catches the exception.
                Try
                    cnn.ConnectionString = connectionString
                    cnn.Open()
                    ' Once this succeeds, just get out of the loop.
                    ' No need to try again if the connection is already open.
                    Exit For

                Catch ex As SqlException _
                 When (i = 0 And (ex.Number = 18487 Or ex.Number = 18488))
                    ' You must reset the password.
                    connectionString = ModifyConnectionString( _
                     connectionString, GetNewPassword())

                Catch ex As SqlException
                    ' Bubble all other SqlException occurrences
                    ' back up to the caller.
                    Throw
                End Try
            Next
            Dim cmd As New SqlCommand("SELECT ProductID, Name FROM Product", cnn)
            ' Use the connection and command here...
        End Using
    End Sub

    Private Function ModifyConnectionString( _
     ByVal connectionString As String, ByVal NewPassword As String) As String

        ' Use the SqlConnectionStringBuilder class to modify the
        ' password portion of the connection string. 
        Dim builder As New SqlConnectionStringBuilder(connectionString)
        builder.Password = NewPassword
        Return builder.ConnectionString
    End Function

    Private Function GetNewPassword() As String
        ' In a real application, you might display a modal
        ' dialog box to retrieve the new password. The concepts
        ' are the same as for this simple console application, however.
        Console.Write("Your password must be reset. Enter a new password: ")
        Return Console.ReadLine()
    End Function

    Private Function GetConnectionString() As String
        ' For this demonstration, the connection string must
        ' contain both user and password information. In your own
        ' application, you might want to retrieve this setting
        ' from a config file, or from some other source.

        ' In a production application, you would want to 
        ' display a modal form that could gather user and password
        ' information.
        Dim builder As New SqlConnectionStringBuilder( _
         "Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks")

        Console.Write("Enter your user id: ")
        builder.UserID = Console.ReadLine()
        Console.Write("Enter your password: ")
        builder.Password = Console.ReadLine()

        Return builder.ConnectionString
    End Function
End Module
C#
using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        try
        {
            DemonstrateChangePassword();
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: " + ex.Message);
        }
        Console.WriteLine("Press ENTER to continue...");
        Console.ReadLine();
    }

    private static void DemonstrateChangePassword()
    {
        // Retrieve the connection string. In a production application,
        // this string should not be contained within the source code.
        string connectionString = GetConnectionString();

        using (SqlConnection cnn = new SqlConnection())
        {
            for (int i = 0; i <= 1; i++)
            {
                // Run this loop at most two times. If the first attempt fails, 
                // the code checks the Number property of the SqlException object.
                // If that contains the special values 18487 or 18488, the code 
                // attempts to set the user's password to a new value. 
                // Assuming this succeeds, the second pass through 
                // successfully opens the connection.
                // If not, the exception handler catches the exception.
                try
                {
                    cnn.ConnectionString = connectionString;
                    cnn.Open();
                    // Once this succeeds, just get out of the loop.
                    // No need to try again if the connection is already open.
                    break;
                }
                catch (SqlException ex)
                {
                    if (i == 0 && ((ex.Number == 18487) || (ex.Number == 18488)))
                    {
                        // You must reset the password. 
                        connectionString =
                            ModifyConnectionString(connectionString, 
                            GetNewPassword());

                    }
                    else
                        // Bubble all other SqlException occurrences
                        // back up to the caller.
                        throw;
                }
            }
            SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(
                "SELECT ProductID, Name FROM Product", cnn);
            // Use the connection and command here...
        }
    }

    private static string ModifyConnectionString(
        string connectionString, string NewPassword)
    {

        // Use the SqlConnectionStringBuilder class to modify the
        // password portion of the connection string. 
        SqlConnectionStringBuilder builder =
            new SqlConnectionStringBuilder(connectionString);
        builder.Password = NewPassword;
        return builder.ConnectionString;
    }

    private static string GetNewPassword()
    {
        // In a real application, you might display a modal
        // dialog box to retrieve the new password. The concepts
        // are the same as for this simple console application, however.
        Console.Write("Your password must be reset. Enter a new password: ");
        return Console.ReadLine();
    }

    private static string GetConnectionString()
    {
        // For this demonstration, the connection string must
        // contain both user and password information. In your own
        // application, you might want to retrieve this setting
        // from a config file, or from some other source.

        // In a production application, you would want to 
        // display a modal form that could gather user and password
        // information.
        SqlConnectionStringBuilder builder = new SqlConnectionStringBuilder(
            "Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks");

        Console.Write("Enter your user id: ");
        builder.UserID = Console.ReadLine();
        Console.Write("Enter your password: ");
        builder.Password = Console.ReadLine();

        return builder.ConnectionString;
    }
}
Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0
See Also

Reference

Other Resources

Tags :


Page view tracker