User Account Control must virtualize file and registry write failures to per-user locations.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
WN08-SO-000085	WN08-SO-000085	WN08-SO-000085_rule		Medium

Description
User Account Control (UAC) is a security mechanism for limiting the elevation of privileges, including administrative accounts, unless authorized. This setting configures non-UAC compliant applications to run in virtualized file and registry entries in per-user locations, allowing them to run.

STIG	Date
Windows 8 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2012-11-21

Details

Check Text ( C-WN08-SO-000085_chk )
Analyze the system using the Security Configuration and Analysis snap-in. (See "Performing Analysis with the Security Configuration and Analysis Snap-in" in the STIG Overview document.) Expand the Security Configuration and Analysis tree view. Navigate to Local Policies -> Security Options. If the value for "User Account Control: Virtualize file and registry write failures to per-user locations" is not set to "Enabled", this is a finding. The policy referenced configures the following registry value: Registry Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Registry Path: \Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\ Value Name: EnableVirtualization Value Type: REG_DWORD Value: 1

Check Text ( C-WN08-SO-000085_chk )

Analyze the system using the Security Configuration and Analysis snap-in. (See "Performing Analysis with the Security Configuration and Analysis Snap-in" in the STIG Overview document.)
Expand the Security Configuration and Analysis tree view.
Navigate to Local Policies -> Security Options.

If the value for "User Account Control: Virtualize file and registry write failures to per-user locations" is not set to "Enabled", this is a finding.

The policy referenced configures the following registry value:

Registry Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry Path: \Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\

Value Name: EnableVirtualization

Value Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1

Fix Text (F-WN08-SO-000085_fix)
Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security Options -> "User Account Control: Virtualize file and registry write failures to per-user locations" to "Enabled".