I’m trying to use the WinSCard API in a C++ application to establish a context for smart card operations. However, my program is throwing exceptions when trying to establish the context.

Here’s my code:

#include <iostream>
#include <winscard.h>
#pragma comment(lib, "winscard.lib")

int main()
{
    SCARDCONTEXT _context;
    LONG lRetValue = SCardEstablishContext(SCARD_SCOPE_USER, nullptr, nullptr, &_context);

    if (lRetValue == SCARD_S_SUCCESS)
    {
        std::cout << "Context established successfully: " << _context << std::endl;
    }
    else
    {
        std::cout << "Failed to establish context. Error code: " << lRetValue << std::endl;
    }

    return 0;
}

When I run this program, I get the following error:

Exception thrown at 0x00007FFF5CFAB699 in ConsoleApplication1.exe: Microsoft C++ exception: unsigned long at memory location 0x000000B684F8ED38.
Thread 4008 has exited with code 0 (0x0).
'ConsoleApplication1.exe' (Win32): Loaded 'C:WindowsSystem32winsta.dll'.
Exception thrown at 0x00007FFF5CFAB699 in ConsoleApplication1.exe: Microsoft C++ exception: unsigned long at memory location 0x000000B684F8F7C8.
Exception thrown at 0x00007FFF5CFAB699 in ConsoleApplication1.exe: Microsoft C++ exception: unsigned long at memory location 0x000000B684F8F89C.

The program then terminates with exit code 0.

Environment:

• Windows 10
• Visual Studio 2022 (I added winscard.lib in additions dependencies)
• C++

What could be causing this exception, and how can I resolve it to successfully establish a smart card context?

Troubleshooting steps I’ve already tried:

1. Compiled and run in both 32-bit and 64-bit modes
2. Restarted the smart card service
3. Changed the scope from SCARD_SCOPE_USER to other values
4. Tried passing NULL to the _context parameter

None of these attempts resolved the issue.