SV-224999r958472: The Allow log on through Remote Desktop Services user right must only be assigned to the Administrators group. | Microsoft Windows Server 2016 STIG SCAP Benchmark

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Assessment Title

Rule Text

The Allow log on through Remote Desktop Services user right must only be assigned to the Administrators group.

Description

Discussion Text

Inappropriate granting of user rights can provide system, administrative, and other high-level capabilities. Accounts with the "Allow log on through Remote Desktop Services" user right can access a system through Remote Desktop.

How this relates to the STIG checklist: STIG vs SCAP benchmark.

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Not mappedCCI-000213V-73741SV-88405

References

DPMS Target Microsoft Windows Server 2016 DISA DPMS Target Microsoft Windows Server 2016 4205

Checks

DISA STIG (Manual Reference)

This applies to domain controllers, it is NA for other systems.

Verify the effective setting in Local Group Policy Editor.
Run "gpedit.msc".

Navigate to Local Computer Policy >> Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Local Policies >> User Rights Assignment.

If any accounts or groups other than the following are granted the "Allow log on through Remote Desktop Services" user right, this is a finding.

- Administrators

For server core installations, run the following command:

Secedit /Export /Areas User_Rights /cfg c:\path\filename.txt

Review the text file.

If any SIDs other than the following are granted the "SeRemoteInteractiveLogonRight" user right, this is a finding.

S-1-5-32-544 (Administrators)

SCC Automation Reference

The reconstructed evaluation script behind this rule's OVAL check(s) — every module a compound check combines, with this rule's own concrete values and DISA's SCC tool's real per-module mechanism curated from static teardown of SCC releases.

# Windows PowerShell
# Reconstructed from oval:mil.disa.stig.windows:def:1164
# The Allow log on through Remote Desktop Services user right must only be assigned to the Administrators group.
# Per-module read mechanism curated from static teardown of DISA's SCC tool
# (SCAP Compliance Checker) -- see the SCC Automation Reference above.

# System is a DC
# wmi57_object (wmi57_test)
function test_1 {
  return ((((Get-CimInstance -Namespace 'root\cimv2' -Query 'SELECT DomainRole FROM win32_computersystem' | Select-Object -First 1) | Select-Object -ExpandProperty 'DomainRole') -eq '5') -or (((Get-CimInstance -Namespace 'root\cimv2' -Query 'SELECT DomainRole FROM win32_computersystem' | Select-Object -First 1) | Select-Object -ExpandProperty 'DomainRole') -eq '4'))
}
# Allow log on through Remote Desktop Services - Administrators
# accesstoken_object (accesstoken_test)
function test_2 {
  return (($__tmp = "$env:TEMP\scc_userrights_$([guid]::NewGuid().Guid).cfg"; secedit /export /cfg $__tmp /areas USER_RIGHTS /quiet | Out-Null; $__m = Select-String -Path $__tmp -Pattern '^SeRemoteInteractiveLogonRight\s*=\s*(.+)$'; Remove-Item $__tmp -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; if ($__m -and $__m.Matches[0].Groups[1].Value.Trim().Length -gt 0) { '1' } else { '0' }) -eq '0')
}

if ((test_1 -or test_2)) {
  Write-Output "PASS"
} else {
  Write-Output "FAIL"
}

Assessment Script Powered by AISyntax-verified

A standalone PowerShell script to assess this control automatically. Review before running it in your environment.

Syntax-checked as valid PowerShell. Not executed here — running it for real needs the actual ms_windows_server_2016 target this check assesses.

# OVAL Definition: oval:mil.disa.stig.windows:def:1164
$isDomainController = (Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_ComputerSystem).DomainRole -in 5,4
$allowedRights = (Get-LocalGroupMember -Group "Administrators").SID -join ","
$currentUserSID = (New-Object Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal ([Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent())).Identity.SID.Value
if ($isDomainController -or ($allowedRights -contains $currentUserSID)) {
    if (-not (Get-LocalSecurityPolicy -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).AllowLogonThroughRemoteDesktopServices -eq $false) {
        $userRights = (Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\' -Name 'RemoteDesktopUsers' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).RemoteDesktopUsers -split ';'
        if ($userRights -contains "BUILTIN\Administrators") { Write-Output "PASS"; exit 0 } 
    } 
}
Write-Output "FAIL"; exit 1

Remediation

Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Local Policies >> User Rights Assignment >> "Allow log on through Remote Desktop Services" to include only the following accounts or groups:

- Administrators