Windows 10 must be configured to audit MPSSVC Rule-Level Policy Change Failures.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-220791	WN10-AU-000580	SV-220791r569187_rule		Medium

Description
Maintaining an audit trail of system activity logs can help identify configuration errors, troubleshoot service disruptions, and analyze compromises that have occurred, as well as detect attacks. Audit logs are necessary to provide a trail of evidence in case the system or network is compromised. Collecting this data is essential for analyzing the security of information assets and detecting signs of suspicious and unexpected behavior. Audit MPSSVC Rule-Level Policy Change determines whether the operating system generates audit events when changes are made to policy rules for the Microsoft Protection Service (MPSSVC.exe).

Description

Maintaining an audit trail of system activity logs can help identify configuration errors, troubleshoot service disruptions, and analyze compromises that have occurred, as well as detect attacks. Audit logs are necessary to provide a trail of evidence in case the system or network is compromised. Collecting this data is essential for analyzing the security of information assets and detecting signs of suspicious and unexpected behavior. Audit MPSSVC Rule-Level Policy Change determines whether the operating system generates audit events when changes are made to policy rules for the Microsoft Protection Service (MPSSVC.exe).

STIG	Date
Windows 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2021-08-18

Details

Check Text ( C-22506r554858_chk )
Security Option "Audit: Force audit policy subcategory settings (Windows Vista or later) to override audit policy category settings" must be set to "Enabled" (WN10-SO-000030) for the detailed auditing subcategories to be effective. Use the AuditPol tool to review the current Audit Policy configuration: Open a Command Prompt with elevated privileges ("Run as Administrator"). Enter "AuditPol /get /category:*". Compare the AuditPol settings with the following. If the system does not audit the following, this is a finding: Policy Change >> MPSSVC Rule-Level Policy Change - Failure

Check Text ( C-22506r554858_chk )

Security Option "Audit: Force audit policy subcategory settings (Windows Vista or later) to override audit policy category settings" must be set to "Enabled" (WN10-SO-000030) for the detailed auditing subcategories to be effective.

Use the AuditPol tool to review the current Audit Policy configuration:
Open a Command Prompt with elevated privileges ("Run as Administrator").
Enter "AuditPol /get /category:*".

Compare the AuditPol settings with the following. If the system does not audit the following, this is a finding:

Policy Change >> MPSSVC Rule-Level Policy Change - Failure

Fix Text (F-22495r554859_fix)
Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Advanced Audit Policy Configuration >> System Audit Policies >> Policy Change >> “Audit MPSSVC Rule-Level Policy Change" with "Failure" selected.