| V-1074 | High | The Windows 2008 system must use an anti-virus program. | Malicious software can establish a base on individual desktops and servers. Employing an automated mechanism to detect this type of software will aid in elimination of the software from the... |
| V-1073 | High | Systems must be at supported service packs (SP) or releases levels. | Systems at unsupported service packs or releases will not receive security updates for new vulnerabilities and leaves them subject to exploitation. Systems must be maintained at a service pack... |
| V-26683 | High | PKI certificates associated with user accounts must be issued by the DoD PKI or an approved External Certificate Authority (ECA). | A PKI implementation depends on the practices established by the Certificate Authority (CA) to ensure the implementation is secure. Without proper practices, the certificates issued by a CA have... |
| V-34974 | High | The Windows Installer Always install with elevated privileges must be disabled. | Standard user accounts must not be granted elevated privileges. Enabling Windows Installer to elevate privileges when installing applications can allow malicious persons and applications to gain... |
| V-39332 | High | The Active Directory Domain Controllers Organizational Unit (OU) object must have the proper access control permissions. | When Active Directory (AD) objects do not have appropriate access control permissions, it may be possible for malicious users to create, read, update, or delete the objects and degrade or destroy... |
| V-39333 | High | Domain created Active Directory Organizational Unit (OU) objects must have proper access control permissions. | When Active Directory (AD) objects do not have appropriate access control permissions, it may be possible for malicious users to create, read, update, or delete the objects and degrade or destroy... |
| V-26070 | High | Standard user accounts must only have Read permissions to the Winlogon registry key. | Permissions on the Winlogon registry key must only allow privileged accounts to change registry values. If standard users have this capability there is a potential for programs to run with... |
| V-27119 | High | The Active Directory SYSVOL directory must have the proper access control permissions. | Improper access permissions for directory data files could allow unauthorized users to read, modify, or delete directory data.
The SYSVOL directory contains public files (to the domain) such as... |
| V-2908 | High | Unencrypted remote access is permitted to system services. | This is a category 1 finding because when unencrypted access to system services is permitted, an intruder can intercept user identification and passwords that are being transmitted in clear text. ... |
| V-1081 | High | Local volumes are not formatted using NTFS. | This is a category 1 finding because the ability to set access permissions and audit critical directories and files is only available by using the NTFS file system. The capability to assign... |
| V-8316 | High | Active Directory data files must have proper access control permissions. | Improper access permissions for directory data related files could allow unauthorized users to read, modify, or delete directory data or audit trails. |
| V-6834 | High | Named Pipes and Shares can be accessed anonymously. | This is a Category 1 finding because of the potential for gaining unauthorized system access.
Pipes are internal system communications processes. They are identified internally by ID numbers... |
| V-1152 | High | Anonymous access to the registry must be restricted. | The registry is integral to the function, security, and stability of the Windows system. Some processes may require anonymous access to the registry. This must be limited to properly protect the system. |
| V-1153 | High | The Send download LanMan compatible password option is not set to Send NTLMv2 response only\refuse LM. | The Kerberos v5 authentication protocol is the default for authentication of users who are logging on to domain accounts. NTLM is retained in later Windows versions for compatibility with... |
| V-1093 | High | Anonymous shares are not restricted. | This is a Category 1 finding because it allows anonymous logon users (null session connections) to list all account names and enumerate all shared resources, thus providing a map of potential... |
| V-1140 | High | Users with Administrative privilege are not documented or do not have separate accounts for administrative duties and normal operational tasks. | Using a privileged account to perform routine functions makes the computer vulnerable to attack by any virus or Trojan Horse inadvertently introduced during a session that has been granted full... |
| V-33673 | High | Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. | When directory service database objects do not have appropriate access control permissions, it may be possible for malicious users to create, read, update, or delete the objects and degrade or... |
| V-36451 | High | Administrative accounts must not be used with applications that access the Internet, such as web browsers, or with potential Internet sources, such as email. | Using applications that access the internet or have potential internet sources using administrative privileges exposes a system to compromise. If a flaw in an application is exploited while... |
| V-1121 | High | File Transfer Protocol (FTP) servers must be configured to prevent access to the system drive. | The FTP service allows remote users to access shared files and directories. Access outside of the specific directories of shared data could provide access to system resources and compromise the system. |
| V-1127 | High | Only administrators responsible for the system must have Administrator rights on the system. | An account that does not have Administrator duties must not have Administrator rights. Such rights would allow the account to bypass or modify required security restrictions on that machine and... |
| V-3339 | High | Unauthorized registry paths are remotely accessible. | This is a Category 1 finding because it could give unauthorized individuals access to the Registry.
It controls which registry paths are accessible from a remote computer. |
| V-7002 | High | Windows 2008 accounts must be configured to require passwords. | The lack of password protection enables anyone to gain access to the information system, which opens a backdoor opportunity for intruders to compromise the system as well as other resources. |
| V-32282 | High | Standard user accounts must only have Read permissions to the Active Setup\Installed Components registry key. | Permissions on the Active Setup\Installed Components registry key must only allow privileged accounts to add or change registry values. If standard user accounts have this capability there is a... |
| V-18010 | High | Unapproved Users have access to Debug programs. | This is a Category 1 finding as it provides access to the kernel with complete access to sensitive and critical operating system components. |
| V-14798 | High | Directory data (outside the root DSE) of a non-public directory must be configured to prevent anonymous access. | To the extent that anonymous access to directory data (outside the root DSE) is permitted, read access control of the data is effectively disabled. If other means of controlling access (such as... |
| V-2374 | High | The system is configured to autoplay removable media. | Autoplay begins reading from a drive as soon as you insert media in the drive. As a result, the setup file of programs and the music on audio media starts immediately. By default, Autoplay is... |
| V-12780 | High | The Synchronize directory service data user right must be configured to include no accounts or groups (blank). | A Windows account with the "Synchronize directory service data" right has the ability to read all information in the AD database. This bypasses the object access permissions that would otherwise... |
| V-3343 | High | Solicited Remote Assistance is allowed. | This setting controls whether or not solicited remote assistance is allowed from this computer. Solicited assistance is help that is specifically requested by the user. This is a Category 1... |
| V-3340 | High | Unauthorized shares can be accessed anonymously. | This is a Category 1 finding because the potential for gaining unauthorized system access. Any shares listed can be accessed by any network user. This could lead to the exposure or corruption of... |
| V-3344 | High | The use of local accounts with blank passwords is not restricted to console logons only. | This is a Category 1 finding because no accounts with blank passwords should exist on a system. The password policy should prevent this from occurring. However, if a local account with a blank... |
| V-4443 | High | Unauthorized registry paths and sub-paths are remotely accessible. | The registry is a database for computer configuration information, much of which is sensitive. An attacker could use this to facilitate unauthorized activities. To reduce the risk of this... |
| V-3338 | High | Unauthorized named pipes are accessible with anonymous credentials. | This is a Category 1 finding because the potential for gaining unauthorized system access. Pipes are internal system communications processes. They are identified internally by ID numbers that... |
| V-3337 | High | Anonymous SID/Name translation must not be allowed. | Allowing anonymous SID/Name translation can provide sensitive information for accessing a system. Only authorized users must be able to perform such translations. |
| V-14820 | High | Domain Controller PKI certificates must be issued by the DoD PKI or an approved External Certificate Authority (ECA). | A PKI implementation depends on the practices established by the Certificate Authority (CA) to ensure the implementation is secure. Without proper practices, the certificates issued by a CA have... |
| V-1102 | High | Unauthorized users are granted right to Act as part of the operating system. | This is a Category 1 finding because users and user groups that are assigned this right can bypass all security protective mechanisms that apply to all users, including administrators. Accounts... |
| V-17900 | High | Disallow AutoPlay/Autorun from Autorun.inf | This registry key will prevent the autorun.inf from executing commands. |
| V-3379 | High | The system is configured to store the LAN Manager hash of the password in the SAM. | This setting controls whether or not a LAN Manager hash of the password is stored in the SAM the next time the password is changed. The LAN Manager hash is a weak encryption algorithm and there... |
| V-1077 | Medium | Permissions for event logs must conform to minimum requirements. | 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.... |
| V-1072 | Medium | Shared user accounts must not be permitted on the system. | Shared accounts (accounts where two or more people log on with the same user identification) do not provide adequate identification and authentication. There is no way to provide for... |
| V-1070 | Medium | Physical security of the Automated Information System (AIS) does not meet DISA requirements. | Inadequate physical protection can undermine all other security precautions utilized to protect the system. This can jeopardize the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of the system. ... |
| V-3383 | Medium | The system is not configured to use FIPS compliant Algorithms for Encryption, Hashing, and Signing. | This setting ensures that the system uses algorithms that are FIPS compliant for encryption, hashing, and signing. FIPS compliant algorithms meet specific standards established by the U.S.... |
| V-3381 | Medium | The system is not configured to recommended LDAP client signing requirements. | This setting controls the signing requirements for LDAP clients. This setting should be set to Negotiate signing or Require signing depending on the environment and type of LDAP server in use. |
| V-1171 | Medium | Ejection of removable NTFS media is not restricted to Administrators. | Removable hard drives can be formatted and ejected by others who are not members of the Administrators Group, if they are not properly configured. Formatting and ejecting removable NTFS media... |
| V-39330 | Medium | The Active Directory RID Manager$ object must be configured with proper audit settings. | When inappropriate audit settings are configured for directory service database objects, it may be possible for a user or process to update the data without generating any tracking data. The... |
| V-26600 | Medium | The Fax service must be disabled if installed. | Unnecessary services increase the attack surface of a system. Some of these services may not support required levels of authentication or encryption. |
| V-26602 | Medium | The Microsoft FTP service must not be installed unless required. | Unnecessary services increase the attack surface of a system. Some of these services may not support required levels of authentication or encryption. |
| V-3469 | Medium | The system is configured to prevent background refresh of Group Policy. | If this setting is enabled, then Group Policy settings are not refreshed while a user is currently logged on. This could lead to instances when a user does not have the latest changes to a policy... |
| V-26604 | Medium | The Peer Networking Identity Manager service must be disabled if installed. | Unnecessary services increase the attack surface of a system. Some of these services may not support required levels of authentication or encryption. |
| V-26605 | Medium | The Simple TCP/IP Services service must be disabled if installed. | Unnecessary services increase the attack surface of a system. Some of these services may not support required levels of authentication or encryption. |
| V-26606 | Medium | The Telnet service must be disabled if installed. | Unnecessary services increase the attack surface of a system. Some of these services may not support required levels of authentication or encryption. |
| V-15727 | Medium | User Network Sharing | This check verifies that users are prevented from sharing files. |
| V-15721 | Medium | Windows Mail – Disable Application | This check verifies that Windows Mail will be disabled. |
| V-15823 | Medium | Software certificate installation files must be removed from Windows 2008. | Use of software certificates and their accompanying installation files for end users to access resources is less secure than the use of hardware-based certificates. |
| V-15722 | Medium | Media DRM – Internet Access | This check verifies that Windows Media Digital Rights Management will be prevented from accessing the internet. |
| V-16000 | Medium | Terminal Services – Smart Card Device Redirection Enabled (Terminal Server Role). | This check verifies that the system is configured to ensure smart card devices can be redirected to the Terminal Services session. |
| V-14236 | Medium | User Account Control - Behavior of elevation prompt for standard users. | This check verifies that standard users are automatically denied when attempting to complete a task that requires raised privileges. |
| V-16008 | Medium | UAC - Application Elevations | This check verifies that Windows elevates all applications, not just signed ones. |
| V-1168 | Medium | Members of the Backup Operators group must have separate accounts for backup duties and normal operational tasks. | Backup Operators are able to read and write to any file in the system, regardless of the rights assigned to it. Backup and restore rights permit users to circumvent the file access restrictions... |
| V-1164 | Medium | Outgoing secure channel traffic is not signed when possible. | Requests sent on the secure channel are authenticated, and sensitive information (such as passwords) is encrypted, but the channel is not integrity checked. If this policy is enabled, all... |
| V-1166 | Medium | The Windows SMB client is not enabled to perform SMB packet signing when possible. | If this policy is enabled, it causes the Windows Server Message Block (SMB) client to perform SMB packet signing when communicating with an SMB server that is enabled or required to perform SMB... |
| V-3378 | Medium | The system is not configured to use the Classic security model. | Windows includes two network-sharing security models - Classic and Guest only. With the classic model, local accounts must be password protected; otherwise, anyone can use guest user accounts to... |
| V-1163 | Medium | Outgoing secure channel traffic is not encrypted when possible. | Requests sent on the secure channel are authenticated, and sensitive information (such as passwords) is encrypted, but not all information is encrypted. If this policy is enabled, outgoing secure... |
| V-1162 | Medium | The Windows SMB server is not enabled to perform SMB packet signing when possible. | If this policy is enabled, it causes the Windows Server Message Block (SMB) server to perform SMB packet signing. |
| V-3470 | Medium | The system is configured to allow unsolicited remote assistance offers. | This setting controls whether unsolicited offers of help to this computer are allowed. The list of users allowed to offer remote assistance to this system is accessed by pressing the Helpers button. |
| V-3385 | Medium | The system must be configured to require case insensitivity for non-Windows subsystems. | This setting controls the behavior of non-Windows subsystems when dealing with the case of arguments or commands. Case sensitivity could lead to the access of files or commands that must be... |
| V-1089 | Medium | The required legal notice must be configured to display before console logon. | Failure to display the logon banner prior to a logon attempt will negate legal proceedings resulting from unauthorized access to system resources. |
| V-3479 | Medium | The system is not configured to use Safe DLL Search Mode. | The default search behavior, when an application calls a function in a Dynamic Link Library (DLL), is to search the current directory followed by the directories contained in the systems path... |
| V-8317 | Medium | Data files owned by users must be on a different logical partition from the directory server data files. | When directory service data files, especially for directories used for identification, authentication, or authorization, reside on the same logical partition as user-owned files, the directory... |
| V-6850 | Medium | Auditing records must be configured as required. | 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. ... |
| V-15697 | Medium | Network – Responder Driver | This check verifies that the Responder network protocol driver is disabled. |
| V-15696 | Medium | Network – Mapper I/O Driver | This check verifies that the Mapper I/O network protocol driver is disabled. |
| V-6836 | Medium | For systems utilizing a logon ID as the individual identifier, passwords must be a minimum of 14 characters in length. | Information systems not protected with strong password schemes including passwords of minimum length provide the opportunity for anyone to crack the password thus gaining access to the system and... |
| V-27109 | Medium | File Replication Service (FRS) directory data files must have proper access control permissions. | Improper access permissions for directory data files could allow unauthorized users to read, modify, or delete directory data. |
| V-6832 | Medium | The Windows Server SMB client is not enabled to always perform SMB packet signing. | If this policy is enabled, it causes the Windows Server Message Block (SMB) client to perform SMB packet signing when communicating with an SMB server that is enabled or required to perform SMB... |
| V-6833 | Medium | The Windows Server SMB server is not enabled to always perform SMB packet signing. | If this policy is enabled, it causes the Windows Server Message Block (SMB) server to always perform SMB packet signing. |
| V-6831 | Medium | Outgoing secure channel traffic is not encrypted or signed. | Requests sent on the secure channel are authenticated, and sensitive information (such as passwords) is encrypted, but not all information is encrypted. If this policy is enabled, outgoing secure... |
| V-8326 | Medium | The directory server supporting (directly or indirectly) system access or resource authorization must run on a machine dedicated to that function. | Executing application servers on the same host machine with a directory server may substantially weaken the security of the directory server. Web or database server applications usually require... |
| V-8327 | Medium | Windows services that are critical for directory server operation must be configured for automatic startup. | Active Directory (AD) is dependent on several Windows services. If one or more of these services is not configured for automatic startup, AD functions may be partially or completely unavailable... |
| V-8322 | Medium | Time synchronization must be enabled on the domain controller. | When a directory service using multi-master replication (such as AD) executes on computers that do not have synchronized time, directory data may be corrupted or updated invalidly.
The lack of... |
| V-14260 | Medium | Computer prevented from downloading print driver packages over HTTP. | This check verifies that the system is configured to prevent the computer from downloading print driver packages over HTTP. |
| V-1150 | Medium | The built-in Windows password complexity policy must be enabled. | The use of complex passwords increases their strength against attack. The built-in Windows password complexity policy requires passwords to contain at least 3 of the 4 types of characters... |
| V-1154 | Medium | Ctrl+Alt+Del security attention sequence is Disabled. | Disabling the Ctrl+Alt+Del security attention sequence can compromise system security. Because only Windows responds to the Ctrl+Alt+Del security sequence, you can be assured that any passwords... |
| V-1155 | Medium | The Deny access to this computer from the network user right on domain controllers must be configured to prevent unauthenticated access. | Inappropriate granting of user rights can provide system, administrative, and other high level capabilities.
The "Deny Access from the Network" right defines the accounts that are prevented from... |
| V-14269 | Medium | Hide mechanism for removing Zone information from file attachments. | This check verifies that users cannot manually remove zone information from saved file attachments. |
| V-3289 | Medium | A Server does not have a host-based Intrusion Detection System. | A properly configured Host-based Intrusion Detection System provides another level of defense against unauthorized access to critical servers. With proper configuration and logging enabled, such... |
| V-1099 | Medium | Windows 2008 account lockout duration must be configured to 15 minutes or greater. | The account lockout feature, when enabled, prevents brute-force password attacks on the system. This parameter specifies the period of time that an account will remain locked after the specified... |
| V-1098 | Medium | The reset period for the account lockout counter must be configured to 15 minutes or greater on Windows 2008. | The account lockout feature, when enabled, prevents brute-force password attacks on the system. This parameter specifies the period of time that must pass after failed logon attempts before the... |
| V-2373 | Medium | The Server Operators group must have the ability to schedule jobs by means of the AT command disabled. | This policy controls the ability of members of the local Server Operators group to schedule AT jobs. If disabled, only administrators can schedule jobs that use AT commands. Unlike Scheduled Tasks... |
| V-2372 | Medium | Reversible password encryption is not disabled. | Storing passwords using reversible encryption is essentially the same as storing clear-text versions of the passwords. For this reason, this policy should never be enabled. |
| V-3449 | Medium | Terminal Services is not configured to limit users to one remote session (Terminal Server Role) | This setting limits users to one remote session. It is possible, if this setting is disabled, for users to establish multiple sessions. |
| V-2377 | Medium | The Kerberos service ticket maximum lifetime must be limited to 600 minutes or less. | This setting determines the maximum amount of time (in minutes) that a granted session ticket can be used to access a particular service. Session tickets are used only to authenticate new... |
| V-2376 | Medium | Kerberos user logon restrictions must be enforced. | This policy setting determines whether the Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) validates every request for a session ticket against the user rights policy of the target computer. The policy is... |
| V-2379 | Medium | The Kerberos user ticket renewal maximum lifetime must be limited to 7 days or less. | This setting determines the period of time (in days) during which a user's Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT) may be renewed. This security configuration limits the amount of time an attacker has to... |
| V-3349 | Medium | Windows Messenger (MSN Messenger, .NET messenger) is run at system startup. | This setting prevents the automatic launch of Windows Messenger at user logon.
Instant Messaging clients must be in compliance of with the Instant Messaging STIG. Windows Messenger should not... |
| V-1097 | Medium | Number of allowed bad-logon attempts does not meet minimum requirements. | The account lockout feature, when enabled, prevents brute-force password attacks on the system. The higher this value is, the less effective the account lockout feature will be in protecting the... |
| V-3382 | Medium | The system is not configured to meet the minimum requirement for session security for NTLM SSP based Clients. | Microsoft has implemented a variety of security support providers for use with RPC sessions. In a homogenous Windows environment, all of the options should be enabled and testing should be... |
| V-3372 | Medium | The system can be removed from the docking station without logging on first. | This setting controls the ability to undock the system without having to log on. Since the removal of a computer should be controlled, users should have to log on before undocking the computer to... |
| V-15991 | Medium | UAC - Allow UIAccess applications to prompt for elevation without using the secure desktop | This check verifies whether User Interface Accessibility programs can automatically disable the secure desktop for elevation prompts for a standard user. |
| V-3376 | Medium | The system is configured to permit storage of credentials or .NET Passports. | This setting controls the storage of authentication credentials or .NET passports on the local system. Such credentials should never be stored on the local machine as that may lead to account compromise. |
| V-15997 | Medium | Terminal Services – Prevent COM Port Redirection (Terminal Server Role). | This check verifies that the system is configured to prevent users from mapping local COM ports and redirecting data from the Terminal Server to local COM ports. |
| V-3374 | Medium | The system is not configured to require a strong session key. | This setting controls the required strength of a session key. |
| V-15998 | Medium | Terminal Services – Prevent LPT Port Redirection (Terminal Server Role). | This check verifies that the system is configured to prevent users from mapping local LPT ports and redirecting data from the Terminal Server to local LPT ports. |
| V-15999 | Medium | Terminal Services – Prevent Plug and Play Device Redirection (Terminal Server Role). | This check verifies that the system is configured to prevent users from redirecting Plug and Play devices to the Terminal Services session. |
| V-4444 | Medium | Users must be required to enter a password to access private keys stored on the computer. | Configuring this setting so that users must provide a password (distinct from their domain password) every time they use a key makes it more difficult for an attacker to access locally stored user... |
| V-15682 | Medium | Attachments must be prevented from being downloaded from RSS feeds. | Attachments from RSS feeds may not be secure. This setting will prevent attachments from being downloaded from RSS feeds. |
| V-15683 | Medium | Windows Explorer – Shell Protocol Protected Mode | This check verifies that the shell protocol is run in protected mode. (This allows applications to only open limited folders.) |
| V-1145 | Medium | Automatic logons must be disabled. | Allowing a system to automatically log on when the machine is booted could give access to any unauthorized individual who restarts the computer. Automatic logon with administrator privileges... |
| V-1141 | Medium | Unencrypted passwords must not be sent to third-party SMB Servers. | Some non-Microsoft SMB servers only support unencrypted (plain text) password authentication. Sending plain text passwords across the network, when authenticating to an SMB server, reduces the... |
| V-15685 | Medium | Windows Installer – User Control | This check verifies that users are prevented from changing installation options. |
| V-14270 | Medium | Notify antivirus when file attachments are opened. | This check verifies that antivirus programs are notified when a user opens a file attachment. |
| V-14271 | Medium | Application account passwords must meet DoD requirements for length, complexity and changes. | Setting application accounts to expire may cause applications to stop functioning. The organization must have a policy that manually managed application account passwords are changed at least... |
| V-3456 | Medium | Terminal Services is not configured to delete temporary folders (Terminal Server Role). | This setting, which is located under the Temporary Folders section of the Terminal Services configuration option, controls the deletion of the temporary folders when the session is terminated. ... |
| V-3455 | Medium | Terminal Services is configured to use a common temporary folder for all sessions (Terminal Server Role). | This setting, which is located under the Temporary Folders section of the Terminal Services configuration option, controls the use of per session temporary folders or of a communal temporary... |
| V-3454 | Medium | Terminal Services is not configured with the client connection encryption set to the required level. | Remote connections must be encrypted to prevent interception of data or sensitive information. Selecting “High Level” will ensure encryption of Terminal Services sessions in both directions. |
| V-4407 | Medium | Domain Controllers must require LDAP signing. | Unsigned network traffic is susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks where an intruder captures packets between the server and the client and modifies them before forwarding them to the client. ... |
| V-15666 | Medium | Windows Peer to Peer Networking | This check verifies Microsoft Peer-to-Peer Networking Service is turned off. |
| V-1130 | Medium | ACLs for system files and directories do not conform to minimum requirements. | Failure to properly configure file and directory permissions (ACLs) allows the possibility of unauthorized and anonymous modification to the operating system and installed applications. |
| V-26483 | Medium | The Deny log on as a batch job user right on domain controllers must be configured to prevent unauthenticated access. | Inappropriate granting of user rights can provide system, administrative, and other high level capabilities.
The "Deny log on as a batch job" right defines accounts that are prevented from... |
| V-2907 | Medium | System files are not checked for unauthorized changes. | Comparing system files against a baseline on a regular basis will detect the possibility of introduction of malicious code on the system. |
| V-15679 | Medium | Windows Movie Maker Online Hosting | This check verifies that movies can not be sent to a video hosting provider on the web. |
| V-15678 | Medium | Windows Movie Maker Web Links | This check verifies that the links to web sites in Windows Movie Maker will not be available. |
| V-15677 | Medium | Windows Movie Maker Codec Downloads | This check verifies that the codecs will not be automatically downloaded for Windows Movie Maker. |
| V-15674 | Medium | Disable Internet File Association Service | This check verifies that unhandled file associations will not use the Microsoft Web service to find an application. |
| V-14241 | Medium | User Account Control - Switch to secure desktop | This check verifies that the elevation prompt is only used in secure desktop mode. |
| V-14240 | Medium | User Account Control - Run all admins in Admin Approval Mode | This check verifies that UAC has not been disabled. |
| V-14243 | Medium | Administrator accounts must not be enumerated during elevation. | Enumeration of administrator accounts when elevating can provide part of the logon information to an unauthorized user. This setting configures the system to always require users to enter a... |
| V-14242 | Medium | User Account Control - Non UAC Compliant Application Virtualization | This check verifies that non UAC compliant applications will run in virtualized file and registry entries allowing them to run. |
| V-14247 | Medium | Terminal Services / Remote Desktop Service - Prevent password saving in the Remote Desktop Client | This check verifies that the system is configured to prevent Users from saving passwords in the Remote Desktop Client. |
| V-14249 | Medium | Terminal Services / Remote Desktop Services - Local drives prevented from sharing with Terminal Servers (Terminal Server Role). | This check verifies that the system is configured to prevent users from sharing the local drives on their client computers to Terminal Servers that they access. |
| V-1119 | Medium | Booting into alternate operating systems is permitted. | Allowing other operating systems to run on a secure system, can allow users to circumvent security. If more than one operating system is installed on a computer, each must be configured to be... |
| V-1115 | Medium | The built-in administrator account has not been renamed. | The built-in administrator account is a well known account. Renaming the account to an unidentified name improves the protection of this account and the system. |
| V-3377 | Medium | The system is configured to give anonymous users Everyone rights. | This setting helps define the permissions that anonymous users have. If this setting is enabled then anonymous users have the same rights and permissions as the built-in Everyone group. ... |
| V-6840 | Medium | Windows 2008 passwords must be configured to expire. | Passwords that do not expire or are reused increase the exposure of a password with greater probability of being discovered or cracked. |
| V-1120 | Medium | File Transfer Protocol (FTP) servers must be configured to prevent anonymous logons. | The FTP service allows remote users to access shared files and directories. Allowing anonymous FTP makes user auditing difficult.
Using accounts that have administrator privileges to log on to... |
| V-1122 | Medium | The system configuration is not set with a password-protected screen saver. | The system should be locked when unattended. Unattended systems are susceptible to unauthorized use. The screen saver should be set at a maximum of 15 minutes and password protected. This... |
| V-15667 | Medium | Prohibit Network Bridge in Windows | This check verifies the Network Bridge can not be installed and configured. |
| V-15698 | Medium | Network – Windows Connect Now Wireless Configuration | This check verifies that the configuration of wireless devices using Windows Connect Now is disabled. |
| V-1114 | Medium | The built-in guest account has not been renamed. | A system faces an increased vulnerability threat if the built-in guest account is not renamed or disabled. The built-in guest account is a known user account on all Windows systems, and as... |
| V-3491 | Medium | There is no local policy for reviewing audit logs. | To be of value, audit logs from servers and other critical systems will be reviewed on a daily basis to identify security breaches and potential weaknesses in the security structure. This can be... |
| V-14258 | Medium | Search Companion prevented from automatically downloading content updates. | This check verifies that the system is configured to prevent Search Companion from automatically downloading content updates during local and Internet searches. |
| V-14259 | Medium | Prevent printing over HTTP. | This check verifies that the system is configured to prevent the client computer’s ability to print over HTTP, which allows the computer to print to printers on the intranet as well as the Internet. |
| V-14256 | Medium | Web Publishing and online ordering wizards prevented from downloading list of providers. | This check verifies that the system is configured to prevent Windows from downloading a list of providers for the Web publishing and online ordering wizards. |
| V-14257 | Medium | Windows Messenger prevented from collecting anonymous information. | This check verifies that the system is configured to prevent Windows Messenger from collecting anonymous information about how the Windows Messenger software and service is used. |
| V-14255 | Medium | File and Folder Publish to Web option unavailable. | This check verifies that the system is configured to make the options to publish to the web unavailable from File and Folder Tasks in Windows folders. |
| V-26486 | Medium | The Deny log on through Terminal Services user right on domain controllers must be configured to prevent unauthenticated access. | Inappropriate granting of user rights can provide system, administrative, and other high level capabilities.
The "Deny log on through Terminal Services" right defines the accounts that are... |
| V-39326 | Medium | The Active Directory Domain object must be configured with proper audit settings. | When inappropriate audit settings are configured for directory service database objects, it may be possible for a user or process to update the data without generating any tracking data. The... |
| V-15684 | Medium | Windows Installer – IE Security Prompt | This check verifies that users are notified if a web-based program attempts to install software. |
| V-3828 | Medium | Security-related Software Patches are not applied. | Major software vendors release security patches and hot fixes to their products when security vulnerabilities are discovered. It is essential that these updates be applied in a timely manner to... |
| V-26484 | Medium | The Deny log on as a service user right must be configured to include no accounts or groups (blank). | Inappropriate granting of user rights can provide system, administrative, and other high level capabilities.
The "Deny log on as a service" right defines accounts that are denied log on as a... |
| V-32274 | Medium | The DoD Interoperability Root CA cross-certificates must be installed in the Untrusted Certificates Store on unclassified systems. | To ensure users do not experience denial of service when performing certificate-based authentication to DoD websites due to the system chaining to a root other than DoD Root CAs, the DoD... |
| V-1113 | Medium | The built-in guest account is not disabled. | A system faces an increased vulnerability threat if the built-in guest account is not disabled. This account is a known account that exists on all Windows systems and cannot be deleted. This... |
| V-32272 | Medium | The DoD Root CA certificates must be installed in the Trusted Root Store. | To ensure secure DoD websites and DoD-signed code are properly validated, the system must trust the DoD Root Certificate Authorities (CAs). The DoD root certificates will ensure that the trust... |
| V-3348 | Medium | The user is allowed to launch Windows Messenger (MSN Messenger, .NET Messenger). | This setting prevents the Windows Messenger client from being run.
Instant Messaging clients must be in compliance of with the Instant Messaging STIG. Windows Messenger should not be active on... |
| V-1157 | Medium | The Smart Card removal option is set to take no action. | Determines what should happen when the smart card for a logged-on user is removed from the smart card reader.
The options are:
- No Action
- Lock Workstation
- Force Logoff |
| V-14261 | Medium | Windows is prevented from using Windows Update to search for drivers. | This check verifies that the system is configured to prevent Windows from searching Windows Update for device drivers when no local drivers for a device are present. |
| V-2380 | Medium | The computer clock synchronization tolerance must be limited to 5 minutes or less. | This setting determines the maximum time difference (in minutes) that Kerberos will tolerate between the time on a client's clock and the time on a server's clock while still considering the two... |
| V-3480 | Medium | Media Player must be configured to prevent automatic checking for updates. | Uncontrolled system updates can introduce issues to a system. The automatic check for updates performed by Windows Media Player must be disabled to ensure a constant platform and to prevent the... |
| V-1118 | Medium | Windows event log sizes must meet minimum requirements. | Inadequate log size will cause the log to fill up quickly. This may prevent audit events from being recorded properly and require frequent attention by administrative personnel. |
| V-4448 | Medium | Group Policy objects are not reprocessed if they have not changed. | Enabling this setting and then selecting the "Process even if the Group Policy objects have not changed" option ensures that the policies will be reprocessed even if none have been changed. This... |
| V-3481 | Medium | Media Player is configured to allow automatic CODEC downloads. | 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... |
| V-73523 | Medium | The Server Message Block (SMB) v1 protocol must be disabled on the SMB client. | SMBv1 is a legacy protocol that uses the MD5 algorithm as part of SMB. MD5 is known to be vulnerable to a number of attacks such as collision and preimage attacks as well as not being FIPS... |
| V-4447 | Medium | The Terminal Server does not require secure RPC communication (Terminal Server Role). | Allowing unsecure RPC communication exposes the server to man in the middle attacks and data disclosure attacks. A man in the middle attack occurs when an intruder captures packets between a... |
| V-4446 | Medium | Software certificate restriction policies are not enforced. | Software restriction policies help to protect users and computers from executing unauthorized code such as viruses and Trojans horses.
|
| V-14229 | Medium | Audit of Backup and Restore Privileges is not turned off. | This policy setting stops the system from generating audit events for every file backed up or restored which could fill the Security log in Windows. |
| V-14228 | Medium | Auditing Access of Global System Objects must be turned off. | This setting prevents the system from setting up a default system access control list for certain system objects, which could create a very large number of security events, filling the security... |
| V-14226 | Medium | Audit data must be retained for at least one year. | Audit records are essential for investigating system activity after the fact. Retention periods for audit data are determined based on the sensitivity of the data handled by the system. |
| V-14225 | Medium | Administrator Passwords are changed when necessary. | This check verifies that the passwords for the default and backup administrator accounts are changed at least annually or when any member of the administrative team leaves the organization.
|
| V-14224 | Medium | The system does not have a backup administrator account | This check verifies that a backup administrator account has been created to ensure system availability in the event that no administrators are able or available to access the system. The built-in... |
| V-3487 | Medium | Unnecessary services are not disabled. | Unnecessary Services increase the attack surface of a system. Some Services may be run under the local System Account, which generally has more permissions than required by the service. ... |
| V-15706 | Medium | Power Mgmt – Password Wake When Plugged In (Only applicable to 2008 if installed on a laptop.) | This check verifies that the user is prompted for a password on resume from sleep (Plugged In). |
| V-15705 | Medium | Power Mgmt – Password Wake on Battery (Only applicable to 2008 if installed on a laptop.) | This check verifies that the user is prompted for a password on resume from sleep (on battery). |
| V-14268 | Medium | Preserve Zone information when saving attachments. | This check verifies that file attachments are marked with their zone of origin allowing Windows to determine risk. |
| V-16048 | Medium | Disable Help Ratings feed back. | This check verifies that the users cannot provide ratings feedback to Microsoft for Help content |
| V-16021 | Medium | Help Experience Improvement Program is disabled. | This check verifies that the Windows Help Experience Improvement Program is disabled to prevent information from being passed to the vendor. |
| V-16020 | Medium | Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program is disabled. | This check verifies that the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program is disabled so information is not passed to the vendor. |
| V-1103 | Medium | User rights assignments must meet minimum requirements. | Inappropriate granting of user rights can provide system, administrative, and other high level capabilities not required by the normal user. |
| V-3245 | Medium | File share permissions must be configured to remove the Everyone group. | By default, the Everyone group is given full control to new file shares. When a share is created, permissions should be reconfigured to give the minimum access to those accounts that require it. |
| V-1107 | Medium | The password history must be configured to 24 passwords remembered. | A system is more vulnerable to unauthorized access when system users recycle the same password several times without being required to change a password to a unique password on a regularly... |
| V-1105 | Medium | Minimum password age does not meet minimum requirements. | Permitting passwords to be changed in immediate succession within the same day, allows users to cycle passwords through their history database. This enables users to effectively negate the... |
| V-1104 | Medium | Maximum password age does not meet minimum requirements. | The longer a password is in use, the greater the opportunity for someone to gain unauthorized knowledge of the passwords. Further, scheduled changing of passwords hinders the ability of... |
| V-14239 | Medium | User Account Control - Elevate UIAccess applications that are in secure locations | This check verifies whether Windows only allows applications installed in a secure location, such as the Program Files or the Windows\System32 folders, on the file system to run with elevated privileges. |
| V-14230 | Medium | Audit policy using subcategories is enabled. | This policy setting allows administrators to enable the more precise auditing capabilities present in Windows Vista and later. |
| V-14234 | Medium | User Account Control - Built In Admin Approval Mode | This check verifies whether the built-in Administrator account runs in Admin Approval Mode. |
| V-14235 | Medium | User Account Control must, at minimum, prompt administrators for consent. | User Account Control (UAC) is a security mechanism for limiting the elevation of privileges, including administrative accounts, unless authorized. This setting configures the elevation... |
| V-15505 | Medium | The HBSS McAfee Agent must be installed. | The McAfee Agent is the client side distributed component of McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (McAfee ePO) which provides a secure communication channel between the ePO server and managed point products. |
| V-14237 | Medium | User Account Control - Detect Application Installations | This check verifies whether Windows responds to application installation requests by prompting for credentials. |
| V-39327 | Medium | The Active Directory Infrastructure object must be configured with proper audit settings. | When inappropriate audit settings are configured for directory service database objects, it may be possible for a user or process to update the data without generating any tracking data. The... |
| V-39325 | Medium | Active Directory Group Policy objects must be configured with proper audit settings. | When inappropriate audit settings are configured for directory service database objects, it may be possible for a user or process to update the data without generating any tracking data. The... |
| V-26485 | Medium | The Deny log on locally user right on domain controllers must be configured to prevent unauthenticated access. | Inappropriate granting of user rights can provide system, administrative, and other high level capabilities.
The "Deny log on locally" right defines accounts that are prevented from logging on... |
| V-15488 | Medium | Active directory user accounts, including administrators, must be configured to require the use of a Common Access Card (CAC), PIV-compliant hardware token, or Alternate Logon Token (ALT) for user authentication. | Smart cards such as the Common Access Card (CAC) support a two-factor authentication technique. This provides a higher level of trust in the asserted identity than use of the username and... |
| V-75915 | Medium | Orphaned security identifiers (SIDs) must be removed from user rights on Windows 2008. | Accounts or groups given rights on a system may show up as unresolved SIDs for various reasons including deletion of the accounts or groups. If the account or group objects are reanimated, there... |
| V-39329 | Medium | The Active Directory AdminSDHolder object must be configured with proper audit settings. | When inappropriate audit settings are configured for directory service database objects, it may be possible for a user or process to update the data without generating any tracking data. The... |
| V-39328 | Medium | The Active Directory Domain Controllers Organizational Unit (OU) object must be configured with proper audit settings. | When inappropriate audit settings are configured for directory service database objects, it may be possible for a user or process to update the data without generating any tracking data. The... |
| V-3666 | Medium | The system is not configured to meet the minimum requirement for session security for NTLM SSP based Servers. | Microsoft has implemented a variety of security support providers for use with RPC sessions. In a homogenous Windows environment, all of the options should be enabled and testing should be... |
| V-15699 | Medium | Network – Windows Connect Now Wizards | This check verifies that access to the Windows Connect Now wizards is disabled. |
| V-15710 | Medium | Online Assistance – Untrusted Content | This check verifies that untrusted content is not rendered for online assistance. |
| V-15711 | Medium | Search – Encrypted Files Indexing | This check verifies that encrypted files are not indexed. |
| V-15713 | Medium | Defender – SpyNet Reporting | This check verifies that SpyNet membership is disabled. |
| V-2378 | Medium | The Kerberos user ticket lifetime must be limited to 10 hours or less. | In Kerberos, there are 2 types of tickets: Ticket Granting Tickets (TGTs) and Service Tickets. Kerberos tickets have a limited lifetime so the time an attacker has to implement an attack is... |
| V-73519 | Medium | The Server Message Block (SMB) v1 protocol must be disabled on the SMB server. | SMBv1 is a legacy protocol that uses the MD5 algorithm as part of SMB. MD5 is known to be vulnerable to a number of attacks such as collision and preimage attacks as well as not being FIPS... |
| V-40237 | Medium | The US DoD CCEB Interoperability Root CA cross-certificate must be installed in the Untrusted Certificates Store on unclassified systems. | To ensure users do not experience denial of service when performing certificate-based authentication to DoD websites due to the system chaining to a root other than DoD Root CAs, the US DoD CCEB... |
| V-1076 | Low | System information backups are not created, updated, and protected according to DISA requirements. | Recovery of a damaged or compromised system in a timely basis is difficult without a system information backup. A system backup will usually include sensitive information such as user accounts... |
| V-1075 | Low | The system allows shutdown from the logon dialog box. | Displaying the shutdown button may allow individuals to shut down a system anonymously. Only authenticated users should be allowed to shut down the system. Preventing display of this button in... |
| V-4110 | Low | The system is configured to allow IP source routing. | Protects against IP source routing spoofing. |
| V-1174 | Low | The amount of idle time required before suspending a session must be properly set. | Open sessions can increase the avenues of attack on a system. This setting is used to control when a computer disconnects an inactive SMB session. If client activity resumes, the session is... |
| V-1173 | Low | The default permissions of Global system objects are not increased. | Windows system maintains a global list of shared system resources such as DOS device names, mutexes, and semaphores. Each type of object is created with a default DACL that specifies who can... |
| V-16001 | Low | Terminal Services – Default Only Client Printer Redirection (Terminal Server Role). | This check verifies that the system is configured to allow only the default client printer to be redirected in the Terminal Services session. |
| V-3472 | Low | The system is configured to use an unauthorized time server. | The Windows Time Service controls time synchronization settings. Time synchronization is essential for authentication and auditing purposes. If the Windows Time Service is used, it should... |
| V-1165 | Low | The computer account password is prevented from being reset. | As a part of Windows security, computer account passwords are changed automatically. Enabling this policy to disable automatic password changes can make the system more vulnerable to malicious... |
| V-11806 | Low | The system is configured to allow the display of the last user name on the logon screen. | The user name of the last user to log onto a system will not be displayed. This eliminates half of the Userid/Password equation that an unauthorized person would need to log on. |
| V-8324 | Low | The time synchronization tool must be configured to enable logging of time source switching. | When a time synchronization tool executes, it may switch between time sources according to network or server contention. If switches between time sources are not logged, it may be difficult or... |
| V-1151 | Low | Print driver installation privilege is not restricted to administrators. | By default, the print spooler allows any user to add and to delete printer drivers on the local system. This capability should be restricted to authorized personnel. |
| V-1090 | Low | Caching of logon credentials must be limited. | The default Windows configuration caches the last logon credentials for users who log on interactively to a system. This feature is provided for system availability reasons, such as the user's... |
| V-3373 | Low | The maximum age for machine account passwords is not set to requirements. | This setting controls the maximum password age that a machine account may have. This setting should be set to no more than 30 days, ensuring the machine changes its password monthly. |
| V-26359 | Low | The Windows dialog box title for the legal banner must be configured. | Failure to display the logon banner prior to a logon attempt will negate legal proceedings resulting from unauthorized access to system resources. |
| V-15686 | Low | Windows Installer – Vendor Signed Updates | This check verifies that users are prevented applying vendor signed updates. |
| V-15687 | Low | Media Player – First Use Dialog Boxes | This check verifies that users are not presented with Privacy and Installation options on first use of Windows Media Player. |
| V-1112 | Low | Outdated or unused accounts must be removed from the system or disabled. | Outdated or unused accounts provide penetration points that may go undetected. Inactive accounts must be deleted if no longer necessary or, if still required, disabled until needed. |
| V-14831 | Low | The directory service must be configured to terminate LDAP-based network connections to the directory server after five (5) minutes of inactivity. | The failure to terminate inactive network connections increases the risk of a successful attack on the directory server. The longer an established session is in progress, the more time an attacker... |
| V-4408 | Low | The domain controller must be configured to allow reset of machine account passwords. | Enabling this setting on all domain controllers in a domain prevents domain members from changing their computer account passwords. If these passwords are weak or compromised, the inability to... |
| V-1136 | Low | Users must be forcibly disconnected when their logon hours expire. | Users must not be permitted to remain logged on to the network after they have exceeded their permitted logon hours. In many cases, this indicates that a user forgot to log off before leaving for... |
| V-15676 | Low | Order Prints Online | This check verifies that the “Order Prints Online” task is not available in Windows Explorer. |
| V-15675 | Low | Windows Registration Wizard | This check verifies that the Windows Registration Wizard is blocked from online registration. |
| V-15673 | Low | Internet Connection Wizard ISP Downloads | This check verifies that the Internet Connection Wizard cannot download a list of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from Microsoft. |
| V-15672 | Low | Event Viewer Events.asp links must be turned off. | Viewing events is a function of administrators, who must not access the internet with privileged accounts. This setting will disable Events.asp hyperlinks in Event Viewer to prevent links to the... |
| V-1172 | Low | Users are not warned in advance that their passwords will expire. | This setting configures the system to display a warning to users telling them how many days are left before their password expires. By giving the user advanced warning, the user has time to... |
| V-4438 | Low | The system must limit how many times unacknowledged TCP data is retransmitted. | 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... |
| V-4112 | Low | The system is configured to detect and configure default gateway addresses. | Enables or disables the Internet Router Discovery Protocol (IRDP) used to detect and configure Default Gateway addresses on the computer. |
| V-4111 | Low | The system is configured to redirect ICMP. | When disabled, forces ICMP to be routed via shortest path first. |
| V-4108 | Low | The system must generate an audit event when the audit log reaches a percentage of full threshold. | Audit records may be lost if the security log becomes full. When the audit log reaches a given percent full, an audit event is written to the security log. An event is recorded as a success... |
| V-1128 | Low | Security configuration tools or equivalent processes must be used to configure and maintain platforms for security compliance. | Security configuration tools such as Group Policies and Security Templates allow system administrators to consolidate security-related system settings into a single configuration file. These... |
| V-14797 | Low | Anonymous access to the root DSE of a non-public directory must be disabled. | Allowing anonymous access to the root DSE data on a directory server provides potential attackers with a number of details about the configuration and data contents of a directory. For example,... |
| V-15720 | Low | Windows Mail – Communities | This check verifies that Windows Mail will not check newsgroups for Communities support. |
| V-4113 | Low | The system is configured for a greater keep-alive time than recommended. | Controls how often TCP sends a keep-alive packet in attempting to verify that an idle connection is still intact. |
| V-4116 | Low | The system must be configured to ignore NetBIOS name release requests except from WINS servers. | Configuring the system to ignore name release requests, except from WINS servers, prevents a denial of service (DoS) attack. The DoS consists of sending a NetBIOS name release request to the... |
| V-4442 | Low | This check verifies that Windows is configured to have password protection take effect within a limited time frame when the screen saver becomes active. | Allowing more than several seconds makes the computer vulnerable to a potential attack from someone walking up to the console to attempt to log onto the system before the lock takes effect. |
| V-15703 | Low | Driver Install – Device Driver Search Prompt | This check verifies that users will not be prompted to search Windows Updated for device drivers. |
| V-4445 | Low | Optional Subsystems are permitted to operate on the system. | The POSIX subsystem is an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) standard that defines a set of operating system services. The POSIX Subsystem is required if the server supports... |
| V-15707 | Low | Remote Assistance – Session Logging | This check verifies that Remote Assistance log files will be generated. |
| V-1135 | Low | Printer share permissions are not configured as recommended. | Improperly configured share permissions on printers can permit the addition of unauthorized print devices on the network. Windows shares are a means by which files, folders, printers, and other... |
| V-14232 | Low | IPSec Exemptions are limited. | This check verifies that Windows is configured to limit IPSec exemptions. |
| V-1126 | Low | The Recycle Bin on a server must be configured to immediately delete files. | The Recycle Bin saves a copy of a file when it is deleted. A deleted file may contain sensitive data, subjecting that data to potential exposure. |
| V-15718 | Low | Windows Explorer – Heap Termination | This check verifies that heap termination on corruption is disabled. This may prevent Windows Explorer from terminating immediately from certain legacy plug-in applications. |
