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The system must be configured to limit how often keep-alive packets are sent.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-4113 WN12-SO-000041 SV-52927r1_rule Low
Description
This setting controls how often TCP sends a keep-alive packet in attempting to verify that an idle connection is still intact. A higher value could allow an attacker to cause a denial of service with numerous connections.
STIG Date
Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 Member Server Security Technical Implementation Guide 2018-09-05

Details

Check Text ( C-47232r2_chk )
If the following registry value does not exist or is not configured as specified, this is a finding:

Registry Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry Path: \System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\

Value Name: KeepAliveTime

Value Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 300000 (or less)
Fix Text (F-45853r2_fix)
Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security Options -> "MSS: (KeepAliveTime) How often keep-alive packets are sent in milliseconds" to "300000 or 5 minutes (recommended)" or less.

(See "Updating the Windows Security Options File" in the STIG Overview document if MSS settings are not visible in the system's policy tools.)