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Microsoft Defender Antivirus Security Technical Implementation Guide

Overview

Version Date Finding Count (41) Downloads
2 2022-04-08 CAT I (High): 4 CAT II (Medium): 37 CAT III (Low): 0 Excel JSON XML
Stig Description
This Security Technical Implementation Guide is published as a tool to improve the security of Department of Defense (DoD) information systems. The requirements are derived from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 800-53 and related documents. Comments or proposed revisions to this document should be sent via email to the following address: disa.stig_spt@mail.mil.
Classified Public Sensitive  
I - Mission Critical Classified I - Mission Critical Public I - Mission Critical Sensitive II - Mission Critical Classified II - Mission Critical Public II - Mission Critical Sensitive III - Mission Critical Classified III - Mission Critical Public III - Mission Critical Sensitive

Findings - All

Finding ID Severity Title Description
V-213453 High Microsoft Defender AV virus definition age must not exceed 7 days. This policy setting allows defining the number of days that must pass before virus definitions are considered out of date. If definitions are determined to be out of date, this state may trigger several additional actions, including falling back to an alternative update source or displaying a warning icon in...
V-213452 High Microsoft Defender AV spyware definition age must not exceed 7 days. This policy setting allows defining the number of days that must pass before spyware definitions are considered out of date. If definitions are determined to be out of date, this state may trigger several additional actions, including falling back to an alternative update source or displaying a warning icon in...
V-213428 High Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to run and scan for malware and other potentially unwanted software. This policy setting turns off Microsoft Defender Antivirus. If this policy setting is enabled, Microsoft Defender Antivirus does not run and computers are not scanned for malware or other potentially unwanted software. When the setting is disabled and a third-party antivirus solution is installed, the two applications can both simultaneously...
V-213426 High Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to block the Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA) feature. After enabling this feature, PUA protection blocking takes effect on endpoint clients after the next signature update or computer restart. Signature updates take place daily under typical circumstances. PUA will be blocked and automatically quarantined.
V-213466 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured for automatic remediation action to be taken for threat alert level Low. This policy setting allows the customization of which automatic remediation action will be taken for each threat alert level. Threat alert levels should be added under the Options for this setting. Each entry must be listed as a name value pair. The name defines a threat alert level. The value...
V-213465 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured for automatic remediation action to be taken for threat alert level Medium. This policy setting allows the customization of which automatic remediation action will be taken for each threat alert level. Threat alert levels should be added under the Options for this setting. Each entry must be listed as a name value pair. The name defines a threat alert level. The value...
V-213464 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured for automatic remediation action to be taken for threat alert level High. This policy setting allows the customization of which automatic remediation action will be taken for each threat alert level. Threat alert levels should be added under the Options for this setting. Each entry must be listed as a name value pair. The name defines a threat alert level. The value...
V-213463 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to prevent user and apps from accessing dangerous websites. Enable Microsoft Defender Exploit Guard network protection to prevent employees from using any application to access dangerous domains that may host phishing scams, exploit-hosting sites, and other malicious content on the internet.
V-213462 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to block Win32 imports from macro code in Office. This rule blocks potentially malicious behavior by not allowing macro code to execute routines in the Win 32 dynamic link library (DLL).
V-213461 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to block execution of potentially obfuscated scripts. Malware and other threats can attempt to obfuscate or hide their malicious code in some script files. This rule prevents scripts that appear to be obfuscated from running. It uses the AntiMalwareScanInterface (AMSI) to determine if a script is potentially obfuscated and then blocks such a script or blocks scripts...
V-213460 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to impede JavaScript and VBScript to launch executables. JavaScript and VBScript scripts can be used by malware to launch other malicious apps. This rule prevents these scripts from being allowed to launch apps, thus preventing malicious use of the scripts to spread malware and infect machines.
V-213459 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to block Office applications from injecting into other processes. Office apps, such as Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, will not be able to inject code into other processes. This is typically used by malware to run malicious code in an attempt to hide the activity from antivirus scanning engines.
V-213458 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured block Office applications from creating executable content. This rule targets typical behaviors used by suspicious and malicious add-ons and scripts (extensions) that create or launch executable files. This is a typical malware technique. Extensions will be blocked from being used by Office apps. Typically these extensions use the Windows Scripting Host (.wsh files) to run scripts that...
V-213457 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured block Office applications from creating child processes. Office apps, such as Word or Excel, will not be allowed to create child processes. This is a typical malware behavior, especially for macro-based attacks that attempt to use Office apps to launch or download malicious executables.
V-213456 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to block executable content from email client and webmail. This rule blocks the following file types from being run or launched from an email seen in either Microsoft Outlook or webmail (such as Gmail.com or Outlook.com): Executable files (such as .exe, .dll, or .scr) Script files (such as a PowerShell .ps, VisualBasic .vbs, or JavaScript .js file) Script archive...
V-213455 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured for automatic remediation action to be taken for threat alert level Severe. This policy setting allows the customization of which automatic remediation action will be taken for each threat alert level. Threat alert levels should be added under the Options for this setting. Each entry must be listed as a name value pair. The name defines a threat alert level. The value...
V-213454 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to check for definition updates daily. This policy setting allows specifying the day of the week on which to check for definition updates. The check can also be configured to run every day or to never run at all. This setting can be configured with the following ordinal number values: (0x0) Every Day (default) (0x1) Sunday...
V-213451 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to turn on e-mail scanning. This policy setting allows the configuration of e-mail scanning. When e-mail scanning is enabled, the engine will parse the mailbox and mail files according to their specific format in order to analyze the mail bodies and attachments. Several e-mail formats are currently supported, for example: pst (Outlook), dbx mbx mime...
V-213450 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to perform a weekly scheduled scan. This policy setting allows specifying the day of the week on which to perform a scheduled scan. The scan can also be configured to run every day or to never run at all. This setting can be configured with the following ordinal number values: (0x0) Every Day (0x1) Sunday (0x2)...
V-213449 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to scan removable drives. This policy setting allows the management of whether or not to scan for malicious software and unwanted software in the contents of removable drives such as USB flash drives when running a full scan. If this setting is enabled, removable drives will be scanned during any type of scan. If...
V-213448 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to scan archive files. This policy setting allows the configuration of scans for malicious software and unwanted software in archive files such as .ZIP or .CAB files. If this setting is enabled or not configured, archive files will be scanned. If this setting is disabled, archive files will not be scanned.
V-213447 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to process scanning when real-time protection is enabled. This policy setting allows the configuration of process scanning when real-time protection is turned on. This helps to catch malware, which could start when real-time protection is turned off. If this setting is enabled or not configured, a process scan will be initiated when real-time protection is turned on. If...
V-213446 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to enable behavior monitoring. This policy setting allows configuration of behavior monitoring. If this setting is enabled or not configured, behavior monitoring will be enabled. If this setting is disabled, behavior monitoring will be disabled.
V-213445 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to always enable real-time protection. This policy setting turns off real-time protection prompts for known malware detection. Microsoft Defender Antivirus alerts when malware or potentially unwanted software attempts to install itself or to run on your computer. If this policy setting is enabled, Microsoft Defender Antivirus will not prompt users to take actions on malware...
V-213444 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to scan all downloaded files and attachments. This policy setting allows configuration of scanning for all downloaded files and attachments. If this setting is enabled or not configured, scanning for all downloaded files and attachments will be enabled. If this setting is disabled, scanning for all downloaded files and attachments will be disabled.
V-213443 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to monitor for file and program activity. This policy setting allows configuration of monitoring for file and program activity. If this setting is enabled or not configured, monitoring for file and program activity will be enabled. If this setting is disabled, monitoring for file and program activity will be disabled.
V-213442 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must monitor for incoming and outgoing files. This policy setting allows the configuration of monitoring for incoming and outgoing files without having to turn off monitoring entirely. It is recommended for use on servers that have a lot of incoming and outgoing file activity but for performance reasons need to have scanning disabled for a particular scan...
V-213441 Medium Microsoft Defender AV Group Policy settings must take priority over the local preference settings. This policy setting configures a local override for the configuration to turn on real-time protection. This setting can only be set by Group Policy. If this setting is enabled, the local preference setting will take priority over Group Policy. If this setting is disabled or not configured, Group Policy will...
V-213440 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to not allow override of behavior monitoring. This policy setting configures a local override for the configuration of behavior monitoring. This setting can only be set by Group Policy. If this setting is enabled, the local preference setting will take priority over Group Policy. If this setting is disabled or not configured, Group Policy will take priority...
V-213439 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to not allow override of scanning for downloaded files and attachments. This policy setting configures a local override for the configuration of scanning for all downloaded files and attachments. This setting can only be set by Group Policy. If this setting is enabled, the local preference setting will take priority over Group Policy. If this setting is disabled or not configured,...
V-213438 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to not allow override of monitoring for incoming and outgoing file activity. This policy setting configures a local override for the configuration of monitoring for incoming and outgoing file activity. This setting can only be set by Group Policy. If this setting is enabled, the local preference setting will take priority over Group Policy. If this setting is disabled or not configured,...
V-213437 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to not allow local override of monitoring for file and program activity. This policy setting configures a local override for the configuration of monitoring for file and program activity on your computer. This setting can only be set by Group Policy. If this setting is enabled, the local preference setting will take priority over Group Policy. If this setting is disabled or...
V-213436 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured for protocol recognition for network protection. This policy setting allows the configuration of protocol recognition for network protection against exploits of known vulnerabilities. If this setting is enabled or not configured, protocol recognition will be enabled. If this setting is disabled, protocol recognition will be disabled.
V-213435 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to only send safe samples for MAPS telemetry. This policy setting configures behavior of samples submission when opt-in for MAPS telemetry is set. Possible options are: (0x0) Always prompt (0x1) Send safe samples automatically (0x2) Never send (0x3) Send all samples automatically
V-213434 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to join Microsoft MAPS. This policy setting allows joining Microsoft MAPS. Microsoft MAPS is the online community that helps in choosing how to respond to potential threats. The community also helps stop the spread of new malicious software infections. You can choose to send basic or additional information about detected software. Additional information helps...
V-213433 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to check in real time with MAPS before content is run or accessed. This feature ensures the device checks in real time with the Microsoft Active Protection Service (MAPS) before allowing certain content to be run or accessed. If this feature is disabled, the check will not occur, which will lower the protection state of the device. Enabled - The Block at First...
V-213432 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to disable local setting override for reporting to Microsoft MAPS. This policy setting configures a local override for the configuration to join Microsoft MAPS. This setting can only be set by Group Policy. If this setting is enabled, the local preference setting will take priority over Group Policy. If this setting is disabled or not configured, Group Policy will take...
V-213431 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to enable the Automatic Exclusions feature. This setting allows an administrator to specify if Automatic Exclusions feature for Server SKUs should be turned off.
V-213430 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to not exclude files opened by specified processes. This policy setting allows the disabling of scheduled and real-time scanning for any file opened by any of the specified processes. The process itself will not be excluded. To exclude the process, use the Path exclusion. Processes should be added under the options for this setting. Each entry must be...
V-213429 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to not exclude files for scanning. This policy setting allows disabling of scheduled and real-time scanning for files under the paths specified or for the fully qualified resources specified. Paths should be added under the Options for this setting. Each entry must be listed as a name value pair where the name should be a string...
V-213427 Medium Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to automatically take action on all detected tasks. This policy setting allows Microsoft Defender configuration to automatically take action on all detected threats. The action to be taken on a particular threat is determined by the combination of the policy-defined action user-defined action and the signature-defined action. If this policy setting is enabled, Microsoft Defender does not automatically...