SV-205655r987796: Windows Server 2019 unencrypted passwords must not be sent to third-party Server Message Block (SMB) servers. | Microsoft Windows Server 2019 STIG SCAP Benchmark

Loading benchmark…

Assessment Title

Rule Text

Windows Server 2019 unencrypted passwords must not be sent to third-party Server Message Block (SMB) servers.

Description

Discussion Text

Some non-Microsoft SMB servers only support unencrypted (plain-text) password authentication. Sending plain-text passwords across the network when authenticating to an SMB server reduces the overall security of the environment. Check with the vendor of the SMB server to determine if there is a way to support encrypted password authentication.

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

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Not mappedCCI-000197V-93469SV-103555

References

DPMS Target Microsoft Windows Server 2019 DISA DPMS Target Microsoft Windows Server 2019 2907

Checks

DISA STIG (Manual Reference)

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\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters\

Value Name:  EnablePlainTextPassword

Value Type:  REG_DWORD
Value:  0x00000000 (0)

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.windows2019:def:205655
# Windows Server 2019 unencrypted passwords must not be sent to third-party Server Message Block (SMB) servers.
# Per-module read mechanism curated from static teardown of DISA's SCC tool
# (SCAP Compliance Checker) -- see the SCC Automation Reference above.

# Verifies 'Microsoft Network Client: Send unencrypted password to connect to third-party SMB servers' is set to 'Disabled'
# registry_object (registry_test)
function test_1 {
  return (((@{String='reg_sz';ExpandString='reg_expand_sz';Binary='reg_binary';DWord='reg_dword';MultiString='reg_multi_sz';QWord='reg_qword';None='reg_none'}[(Get-Item -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters').GetValueKind('EnablePlainTextPassword').ToString()]) -eq 'reg_dword') -and (((Get-ItemProperty -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters' -Name 'EnablePlainTextPassword' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) | Select-Object -ExpandProperty 'EnablePlainTextPassword') -eq 0))
}

if (test_1) {
  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_2019 target this check assesses.

# OVAL Definition: oval:mil.disa.stig.windows2019:def:205655
$compliant = Test-Path -Path "HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters\EnablePlainTextPassword" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; if ($compliant) { $value = (Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters\EnablePlainTextPassword").EnablePlainTextPassword; if ($value -eq 0) { Write-Output "PASS"; Exit 0 } else { Write-Output "FAIL"; Exit 1 } } else { Write-Output "PASS"; Exit 0 }

Remediation

Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Local Policies >> Security Options >> "Microsoft Network Client: Send unencrypted password to third-party SMB servers" to "Disabled".