The Windows DNS Servers zone database files must not be accessible for edit/write by users and/or processes other than the Windows DNS Server service account and/or the DNS database administrator.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-259355	WDNS-22-000025	SV-259355r945261_rule		Medium

Description
Discretionary Access Control (DAC) is based on the premise that individual users are "owners" of objects and therefore have discretion over who should be authorized to access the object and in which mode (e.g., read or write). Ownership is usually acquired as a consequence of creating the object or via specified ownership assignment. In a DNS implementation, DAC should be granted to a minimal number of individuals and objects because DNS does not interact directly with users and users do not store and share data with the DNS application directly. The primary objective of DNS authentication and access control is the integrity of DNS records; only authorized personnel must be able to create and modify resource records, and name servers should only accept updates from authoritative primary servers for the relevant zones. Integrity is best ensured through authentication and access control features within the name server software and the file system the name server resides on. To protect the zone files and configuration data, which should only be accessed by the name service or an administrator, access controls must be implemented on files, and rights should not be easily propagated to other users. Lack of a stringent access control policy places the DNS infrastructure at risk to malicious persons and attackers and creates the potential for a denial of service to network resources. DAC allows the owner to determine who will have access to objects they control. An example of DAC includes user-controlled file permissions. DAC models have the potential for the access controls to propagate without limit, resulting in unauthorized access to objects. When applications provide a DAC mechanism, the DNS implementation must be able to limit the propagation of those access rights.

Description

Discretionary Access Control (DAC) is based on the premise that individual users are "owners" of objects and therefore have discretion over who should be authorized to access the object and in which mode (e.g., read or write). Ownership is usually acquired as a consequence of creating the object or via specified ownership assignment. In a DNS implementation, DAC should be granted to a minimal number of individuals and objects because DNS does not interact directly with users and users do not store and share data with the DNS application directly. The primary objective of DNS authentication and access control is the integrity of DNS records; only authorized personnel must be able to create and modify resource records, and name servers should only accept updates from authoritative primary servers for the relevant zones. Integrity is best ensured through authentication and access control features within the name server software and the file system the name server resides on. To protect the zone files and configuration data, which should only be accessed by the name service or an administrator, access controls must be implemented on files, and rights should not be easily propagated to other users. Lack of a stringent access control policy places the DNS infrastructure at risk to malicious persons and attackers and creates the potential for a denial of service to network resources. DAC allows the owner to determine who will have access to objects they control. An example of DAC includes user-controlled file permissions. DAC models have the potential for the access controls to propagate without limit, resulting in unauthorized access to objects. When applications provide a DAC mechanism, the DNS implementation must be able to limit the propagation of those access rights.

STIG	Date
Microsoft Windows Server Domain Name System (DNS) Security Technical Implementation Guide	2024-01-09

Details

Check Text ( C-63094r939768_chk )
For an Active Directory (AD)-integrated DNS implementation, this is not applicable by virtue of being compliant with the Windows 2022 AD STIG because DNS data within an AD-integrated zone is kept within the Active Directory. For a file-based Windows DNS implementation, log on to the DNS server using the Domain Admin or Enterprise Admin account or Local Administrator account. Press the Windows key + R and execute "dnsmgmt.msc". On the opened DNS Manager snap-in from the left pane, expand the server name for the DNS server and then expand "Forward Lookup Zones". From the expanded list, click to select each zone. Right-click each zone and select "Properties". Select the "Security" tab. Review the permissions applied to the zone. No group or user should have greater than READ privileges other than the DNS administrators and the system service account under which the DNS Server Service is running. If any other account/group has greater than READ privileges, this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-63094r939768_chk )

For an Active Directory (AD)-integrated DNS implementation, this is not applicable by virtue of being compliant with the Windows 2022 AD STIG because DNS data within an AD-integrated zone is kept within the Active Directory.

For a file-based Windows DNS implementation, log on to the DNS server using the Domain Admin or Enterprise Admin account or Local Administrator account.

Press the Windows key + R and execute "dnsmgmt.msc".

On the opened DNS Manager snap-in from the left pane, expand the server name for the DNS server and then expand "Forward Lookup Zones".

From the expanded list, click to select each zone.

Right-click each zone and select "Properties".

Select the "Security" tab.

Review the permissions applied to the zone. No group or user should have greater than READ privileges other than the DNS administrators and the system service account under which the DNS Server Service is running.

If any other account/group has greater than READ privileges, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-63002r939769_fix)
For a file-back Windows DNS implementation, log on to the DNS server using the Domain Admin or Enterprise Admin account or Local Administrator account. Press the Windows key + R and execute "dnsmgmt.msc". On the opened DNS Manager snap-in from the left pane, expand the server name for the DNS server and then expand "Forward Lookup Zones". From the expanded list, click to select each zone. Right-click each zone and select "Properties". Select the "Security" tab. Downgrade to READ privileges any group or user that has greater than READ privileges other than the DNS administrators and the system service account under which the DNS Server Service is running.

Fix Text (F-63002r939769_fix)

For a file-back Windows DNS implementation, log on to the DNS server using the Domain Admin or Enterprise Admin account or Local Administrator account.

Press the Windows key + R and execute "dnsmgmt.msc".

On the opened DNS Manager snap-in from the left pane, expand the server name for the DNS server and then expand "Forward Lookup Zones".

From the expanded list, click to select each zone.

Right-click each zone and select "Properties".

Select the "Security" tab.

Downgrade to READ privileges any group or user that has greater than READ privileges other than the DNS administrators and the system service account under which the DNS Server Service is running.