Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
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V-4437 | 5.097 | SV-29612r1_rule | ECSC-1 | Low |
Description |
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In a SYN flood attack, the attacker sends a continuous stream of SYN packets to a server, and the server leaves the half-open connections open until it is overwhelmed and no longer is able to respond to legitimate requests. |
STIG | Date |
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Windows 2003 Domain Controller Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2013-03-14 |
Check Text ( C-2235r1_chk ) |
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Analyze the system using the Security Configuration and Analysis snap-in. Expand the Security Configuration and Analysis tree view. Navigate to Local Policies -> Security Options. If the value for “MSS: (TcpMaxConnectResponseRetransmissions) SYN-ACK retransmissions when a connection is not acknowledged” is not set to “3 & 6 seconds, half-open connections dropped after 21 seconds”, “3 seconds, half-open connections dropped after 9 seconds” or “No retransmission, half-open connections dropped after 3 seconds”, then this is a finding. The policy referenced configures the following registry value: Registry Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Registry Path: \System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\ Value Name: TcpMaxConnectResponseRetransmissions Value Type: REG_DWORD Value: 2 (3 & 6 seconds), 1 (3 seconds), 0 (No retransmission) Warning: Microsoft cautions that setting this to “No retransmission, half-open connections dropped after 3 seconds” may cause legitimate connection attempts from distant clients to fail due to time-out. |
Fix Text (F-6084r1_fix) |
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Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security Options -> “MSS: (TcpMaxConnectResponseRetransmissions) SYN-ACK retransmissions when a connection is not acknowledged” to “3 & 6 seconds, half-open connections dropped after 21 seconds”, “3 seconds, half-open connections dropped after 9 seconds” or “No retransmission, half-open connections dropped after 3 seconds”. |