Anonymous User Can Only Access Some Files

We have a SharePoint 2013 site that is configured to support anonymous access. 

  1. A couple of weeks ago, we enabled publishing on the site. This had the unintended side effect of enabling the Limited-access user permission lockdown mode feature. As a result, anonymous users could no longer access lists or libraries. However, they could access the landing page and files. To correct this issue, we disabled the Limited-access user permission lockdown mode feature.
  2. Today, we noticed a similar problem. The structure is mysite.mydomain.edu\Document Library\Folder1\Folder2\file1.pdf. Anonymous users can access mysite.mydomain.edu\Document Library\Folder1\Folder2\. However, they cannot access any files in Folder2. Anonymous access is configured on the top-level page of the site. All document libraries and folders inherit the anonymous access.  Any thoughts? Thank you.
September 8th, 2015 6:19pm

Hi,

>> 1.A couple of weeks ago, we enabled publishing on the site. This had the unintended side effect of enabling the Limited-access user permission lockdown mode feature. As a result, anonymous users could no longer access lists or libraries. However, they could access the landing page and files. To correct this issue, we disabled the Limited-access user permission lockdown mode feature.

When the Limited-access user permission lockdown mode feature is enabled, permissions for users with limited access permissions, such as Anonymous Users, are reduced, preventing access to Application pages including item properties or list views. Thus, after you enable publish feature in the site collection, Anonymous Users are unable to access publishing page, etc.

>> 2.Today, we noticed a similar problem. The structure is mysite.mydomain.edu\Document Library\Folder1\Folder2\file1.pdf. Anonymous users can access mysite.mydomain.edu\Document Library\Folder1\Folder2\. However, they cannot access any files in Folder2. Anonymous access is configured on the top-level page of the site. All document libraries and folders inherit the anonymous access.

Please check if the files under the path inherit the anonymous access.

About how to manage permissions for documents in SharePoint 2013 for your reference:

http://community.bamboosolutions.com/blogs/sharepoint-2013/archive/2013/02/01/how-to-manage-permissions-for-a-list-item-or-document-in-sharepoint-2013.aspx

Thanks,

Dean Wang

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
September 9th, 2015 8:20am

Thank you, Dean. Breaking inheritance solved the problem. I now would like to understand the background a bit. We have a public site. The public had read access to all content (lists, libraries, folders, files, etc.) on our site that was configured to support anonymous users. When we enabled publishing so we could create custom branding, we inadvertently changed (at least) 2 settings. Public users could then access files that were not in our document library. However, neither our document library nor or lists were available to them.

  1. At the Site Collection level, we enabled Limited-access user permission lockdown mode. When we disabled this mode, public users were able to access files that were not in document libraries. They were able to navigate through document libraries, but they were not able to access content in those libraries.
  2. We then went into the library, broke inheritance and enabled anonymous access. That solved the problem.

When publishing is enabled on a Team Site, what happens in the background? We'd like to know if we need to check specific settings to ensure that anonymous users can now access all sections of the site.

Thanks again!

September 10th, 2015 9:26pm

Hi,

Here is an article which explains the reason why anonymous users are unable to access list items. And since disabling the ViewFormPagesLockdown feature will have consequences, I suggest you break inheritance and enable anonymous access in library.

https://knowledge.zomers.eu/SharePoint/Pages/Allow-anonymous-users-to-access-listitems-on-a-publishing-site-in-SharePoint-2010.aspx

Activating publishing feature changes the Site Collection and Site functionality greatly. It adds several SharePoint Security Groups, configures a content management scaffolding, and changes the UI for configuring the Navigation among other things.

More information about SharePoint Publishing Feature for your reference:

http://sharepointchick.com/archive/2011/06/23/sharepoint-publishing-features-functionality.aspx

https://redmondmag.com/articles/2014/08/07/the-publishing-feature.aspx

Thanks,

Dean W
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
September 13th, 2015 10:07pm

Thank your sharing this information. We will use it as we continue to refine our customization strategy.
September 14th, 2015 8:28pm

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