The Windows 2008 password for the built-in Administrator account must be changed at least annually or when a member of the administrative team leaves the organization.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-14225	3.122	SV-29750r2_rule		Medium

Description
The longer a password is in use, the greater the opportunity for someone to gain unauthorized knowledge of the password. The password for the built-in Administrator account must be changed at least annually or when any member of the administrative team leaves the organization. Organizations that use an automated tool, such as Microsoft's Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS), on domain-joined systems can configure this to occur more frequently. LAPS will change the password every 30 days by default.

Description

The longer a password is in use, the greater the opportunity for someone to gain unauthorized knowledge of the password. The password for the built-in Administrator account must be changed at least annually or when any member of the administrative team leaves the organization. Organizations that use an automated tool, such as Microsoft's Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS), on domain-joined systems can configure this to occur more frequently. LAPS will change the password every 30 days by default.

STIG	Date
Windows 2008 Member Server Security Technical Implementation Guide	2019-04-01

Details

Check Text ( C-80171r2_chk )
Review the password last set date for the built-in Administrator account. Open "Windows PowerShell" or "Command Prompt". Enter 'Net User [account name] \| Find /i "Password Last Set"', where [account name] is the name of the built-in Administrator account. (The name of the built-in Administrator account must be changed to something other than "Administrator" per STIG requirements.) If the "PasswordLastSet" date is greater than one year old, this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-80171r2_chk )

Review the password last set date for the built-in Administrator account.

Open "Windows PowerShell" or "Command Prompt".

Enter 'Net User [account name] | Find /i "Password Last Set"', where [account name] is the name of the built-in Administrator account.

(The name of the built-in Administrator account must be changed to something other than "Administrator" per STIG requirements.)

If the "PasswordLastSet" date is greater than one year old, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-87303r1_fix)
Change the built-in Administrator account password at least annually or whenever an administrator leaves the organization. More frequent changes are recommended. Automated tools, such as Microsoft's LAPS, may be used on domain-joined member servers to accomplish this.