McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan must be configured to find unknown program threats.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-6614	DTAM054	SV-55199r3_rule		Medium

Description
Due to the ability of malware to mutate after infection, standard antivirus signatures may not be able to catch new strains or variants of the malware. Typically, these strains and variants will share unique characteristics with others in their virus family. By using a generic signature to detect the shared characteristics, using wildcards where differences lie, the generic signature can detect viruses even if they are padded with extra, meaningless code. This method of detection is Heuristic detection.

Description

Due to the ability of malware to mutate after infection, standard antivirus signatures may not be able to catch new strains or variants of the malware. Typically, these strains and variants will share unique characteristics with others in their virus family. By using a generic signature to detect the shared characteristics, using wildcards where differences lie, the generic signature can detect viruses even if they are padded with extra, meaningless code. This method of detection is Heuristic detection.

STIG	Date
McAfee VirusScan 8.8 Managed Client STIG	2019-09-24

Details

Check Text ( C-48801r4_chk )
From the ePO server console System Tree, select the Systems tab, select the asset to be checked, select Actions, select Agent, and select Modify Tasks on a Single System. From the list of available tasks in the Task Name column, with the assistance of the ePO SA, identify the weekly on demand client scan task. In the same row as the client scan task under review, under the Task Type column, ensure it is an "On Demand scan" and in the Status column, ensure that the status is "Enabled". In the Actions column, select "Edit Assignment". In the Task to Schedule: area, verify the Product is "VirusScan Enterprise 8.8.0" and the Task Type is "On Demand Scan". In the Task name column, select "View Selected Task". Under the Scan Items tab, locate the "Heuristics:" label. Ensure the "Find unknown program threats" option is selected. Criteria: If "Find unknown program threats" is selected, this is not a finding. Locally, on the client machine, use the Windows Explorer to navigate to the following folder: (This folder may be hidden.) %SystemDrive%\ProgramData\McAfee\Common Framework\Task (64-Bit) If folder(s) do not exist, an alternative method of validating is via the following registry key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\McAfee\DesktopProtection\Tasks] and are referenced by a GUID for each task. Multiple .ini files will be stored in this folder, one for each task defined on the ePO server for this client. The name for each task is identified in the first section of the file under the [Task] section on the TaskName= "" line. Additionally, a TaskType= line is provided to describe the type of scan. In this case, TaskType=VSC700_Scan_Task is expected. Information for this check is determined by examining the contents of this file. Criteria: If [Advanced] dwProgramHeuristicsLevel=1, this is not a finding.

Check Text ( C-48801r4_chk )

From the ePO server console System Tree, select the Systems tab, select the asset to be checked, select Actions, select Agent, and select Modify Tasks on a Single System. From the list of available tasks in the Task Name column, with the assistance of the ePO SA, identify the weekly on demand client scan task. In the same row as the client scan task under review, under the Task Type column, ensure it is an "On Demand scan" and in the Status column, ensure that the status is "Enabled". In the Actions column, select "Edit Assignment". In the Task to Schedule: area, verify the Product is "VirusScan Enterprise 8.8.0" and the Task Type is "On Demand Scan". In the Task name column, select "View Selected Task". Under the Scan Items tab, locate the "Heuristics:" label. Ensure the "Find unknown program threats" option is selected.

Criteria: If "Find unknown program threats" is selected, this is not a finding.
Locally, on the client machine, use the Windows Explorer to navigate to the following folder: (This folder may be hidden.)
%SystemDrive%\ProgramData\McAfee\Common Framework\Task (64-Bit)

If folder(s) do not exist, an alternative method of validating is via the following registry key:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\McAfee\DesktopProtection\Tasks] and are referenced by a GUID for each task.

Multiple .ini files will be stored in this folder, one for each task defined on the ePO server for this client. The name for each task is identified in the first section of the file under the [Task] section on the TaskName= "" line. Additionally, a TaskType= line is provided to describe the type of scan. In this case, TaskType=VSC700_Scan_Task is expected. Information for this check is determined by examining the contents of this file.

Criteria: If [Advanced] dwProgramHeuristicsLevel=1, this is not a finding.

Fix Text (F-48054r2_fix)
From the ePO server console System Tree, select the Systems tab, select the asset to be checked, select Actions, select Agent, and select Modify Tasks on a Single System. From the list of available tasks in the Task Name column, with the assistance of the ePO SA, identify the weekly on demand client scan task. In the same row as the client scan task under review, under the Task Type column, ensure it is an "On Demand scan" and in the Status column, ensure that the status is "Enabled". In the Task Name column, select the weekly on demand task. Under the Scan Items tab, locate the "Heuristics:" label. Select the "Find unknown program threats" option. Select Save.

Fix Text (F-48054r2_fix)