SV-278026r1180784: Windows Server 2025 must not have Windows PowerShell 2.0 installed. | Microsoft Windows Server 2025 STIG SCAP Benchmark

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Assessment Title

Rule Text

Windows Server 2025 must not have Windows PowerShell 2.0 installed.

Description

Discussion Text

Windows PowerShell 5.x added advanced logging features that can provide additional detail when malware has been run on a system. Disabling the Windows PowerShell 2.0 mitigates against a downgrade attack that evades the Windows PowerShell 5.x script block logging feature.

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

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Not mappedCCI-000381

References

DPMS Target Microsoft Windows Server 2025 DISA DPMS Target Microsoft Windows Server 2025 5719

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.windows2025:def:278026
# Windows Server 2025 must not have Windows PowerShell 2.0 installed.
# Per-module read mechanism curated from static teardown of DISA's SCC tool
# (SCAP Compliance Checker) -- see the SCC Automation Reference above.

# Check the WMI Objects to see if the Windows PowerShell 2.0 Win32_ServerFeature is installed
# wmi57_object (wmi57_test)
function test_1 {
  return (((Get-CimInstance -Namespace 'root\cimv2' -Query 'SELECT ID FROM Win32_ServerFeature' | Select-Object -First 1) | Select-Object -ExpandProperty 'ID') -eq '411')
}

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_2025 target this check assesses.

# OVAL Definition: oval:mil.disa.stig.windows2025:def:278026
if (!(Get-CimInstance -Namespace "root\cimv2" -ClassName Win32_ServerFeature -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object { $_.Name -eq "Windows PowerShell 2.0" }).Count) { Write-Output "PASS"; Exit 0 } else { Write-Output "FAIL"; Exit 1 }

Remediation

Uninstall the Windows PowerShell 2.0 Engine.

Start Server Manager.

Select the server with the feature.

Scroll down to "ROLES AND FEATURES" in the right pane.

Select "Remove Roles and Features" from the drop-down "TASKS" list.

Select the appropriate server on the "Server Selection" page and click "Next".

Deselect "Windows PowerShell 2.0 Engine" under "Windows PowerShell" on the "Features" page.

Click "Next" and "Remove" as prompted.