Yes. The error indicates that certificate-based 802.1X authentication was attempted, and the certificate presented for user authentication was rejected by the server.
From the message shown:
- Reason Text: "The authentication failed because the user certificate required for this network was rejected by the server"
- Identity:
host/...
That points to a certificate validation problem during EAP authentication, not a random disconnect by itself. Common certificate-related causes in this scenario include:
- expired certificate
- invalid certificate
- certificate chain verification failure
- certificate revocation check failure
- wrong or missing extended key usage (EKU)
- multiple matching certificates on the device, causing the wrong certificate to be selected
For Windows 802.1X, these are the most useful checks:
- Check the wired 802.1X client log
- Open Event Viewer
- Go to Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > Wired-AutoConfig > Operational
- Review the failure event at the disconnect time
- Check certificate validation details
- In Event Viewer, go to Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > CAPI2
- Right-click Operational and select Enable Log if it is not already enabled
- Reproduce the issue and review certificate chain, revocation, and trust errors
- Verify the certificate on the client
- Confirm the certificate used for 802.1X is still valid and not expired
- Confirm the certificate chain is trusted
- Confirm it has the proper EKU for authentication
- Check whether the wrong certificate is being selected
- If the device has multiple certificates and the wired or Wi-Fi EAP profile does not use strict filtering, Windows can auto-select the wrong certificate and authentication can fail
- The profile should be configured so it matches only one intended certificate
- Verify the server-side EAP configuration
- On the NPS side, check which certificate is configured for the EAP method
- In NPS snap-in, go to Policies > Network Policies > [policy] > Properties > Constraints > Authentication Methods
- Confirm the expected certificate and EAP method are configured
Relevant 802.1X certificate failure categories documented by Windows include:
- server certificate expired, invalid, not found, or revoked
- user certificate expired, invalid, or revoked
- trusted root certificate expired or invalid
So the most likely answer is: the client is sending a certificate, but the NAC/NPS is rejecting it. If multiple certificates exist on the endpoint, it can also be sending a different certificate than intended.