Exchange messages with a blank sender field must be rejected.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-259609	EX19-ED-000123	SV-259609r961161_rule		Medium

Description
By performing filtering at the perimeter, up to 90 percent of spam, malware, and other undesirable messages are eliminated from the message stream rather than admitting them into the mail server environment. Anonymous email (messages with blank sender fields) cannot be replied to. Messages formatted in this way may be attempting to hide their true origin to avoid responses or to spam any receiver with impunity while hiding their source of origination. Rather than spend resources and risk infection while evaluating them, it is recommended that these messages be filtered immediately upon receipt and not forwarded to end users.

Description

By performing filtering at the perimeter, up to 90 percent of spam, malware, and other undesirable messages are eliminated from the message stream rather than admitting them into the mail server environment. Anonymous email (messages with blank sender fields) cannot be replied to. Messages formatted in this way may be attempting to hide their true origin to avoid responses or to spam any receiver with impunity while hiding their source of origination. Rather than spend resources and risk infection while evaluating them, it is recommended that these messages be filtered immediately upon receipt and not forwarded to end users.

STIG	Date
Microsoft Exchange 2019 Edge Server Security Technical Implementation Guide	2024-06-10

Details

Check Text ( C-63348r942139_chk )
This requirement is Not Applicable for SIPR enclaves. This requirement is Not Applicable if the organization subscribes to EEMSG or other similar DOD enterprise protections for email services. Open the Exchange Management Shell and enter the following command: Get-SenderFilterConfig \| Select-Object -Property Name, Action If the value of "Action" is not set to "Reject", this is a finding. Note: "Reject" is the default value.

Check Text ( C-63348r942139_chk )

This requirement is Not Applicable for SIPR enclaves.

This requirement is Not Applicable if the organization subscribes to EEMSG or other similar DOD enterprise protections for email services.

Open the Exchange Management Shell and enter the following command:

Get-SenderFilterConfig | Select-Object -Property Name, Action

If the value of "Action" is not set to "Reject", this is a finding.

Note: "Reject" is the default value.

Fix Text (F-63256r942140_fix)
Open the Exchange Management Shell and enter the following command: Set-SenderFilterConfig -Action Reject