Media Player must be configured to prevent automatic Codec downloads.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-225544	WN12-UC-000013	SV-225544r852265_rule		Medium

Description
The Windows Media Player uses software components, referred to as Codecs, to play back media files. By default, when an unknown file type is opened with the Media Player, it will search the Internet for the appropriate Codec and automatically download it. To ensure platform consistency and to protect against new vulnerabilities associated with media types, all Codecs must be installed by the System Administrator.

Description

The Windows Media Player uses software components, referred to as Codecs, to play back media files. By default, when an unknown file type is opened with the Media Player, it will search the Internet for the appropriate Codec and automatically download it. To ensure platform consistency and to protect against new vulnerabilities associated with media types, all Codecs must be installed by the System Administrator.

STIG	Date
Microsoft Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 Member Server Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-02-27

Details

Check Text ( C-27243r471974_chk )
If the following registry value does not exist or is not configured as specified, this is a finding: Registry Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER Registry Path: \Software\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsMediaPlayer\ Value Name: PreventCodecDownload Type: REG_DWORD Value: 1

Fix Text (F-27231r471975_fix)
Configure the policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Media Player -> Playback -> "Prevent Codec Download" to "Enabled".