SV-29003r2: Unencrypted passwords must not be sent to third-party SMB Servers. | Windows Vista Security Technical Implementation Guide

Loading benchmark…

Assessment Title

Rule Text

Unencrypted passwords must not be sent to third-party 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 see 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-000197CCE-2838-1

Additional Details

Third-Party Tools

Responsibility

System Administrator

References

DPMS Target Windows Vista DISA DPMS Target Windows Vista 1029

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.fso.windows:def:431
# Unencrypted passwords must not be sent to third-party SMB Servers.
# Per-module read mechanism curated from static teardown of DISA's SCC tool
# (SCAP Compliance Checker) -- see the SCC Automation Reference above.

# registry_object (registry_test)
function test_1 {
  return (((Get-ItemProperty -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManWorkstation\Parameters' -Name 'EnablePlainTextPassword' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) | Select-Object -ExpandProperty 'EnablePlainTextPassword') -eq 0)
}
# registry_object (registry_test)
function test_2 {
  return (-not ($null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManWorkstation\Parameters' -Name 'EnablePlainTextPassword')))
}
# registry_object (registry_test)
function test_3 {
  return ($null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManWorkstation\Parameters' -Name 'EnablePlainTextPassword'))
}
# registry_object (registry_test)
function test_4 {
  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')
}
# registry_object (registry_test)
function test_5 {
  return (-not ($null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManWorkstation\Parameters' -Name 'EnablePlainTextPassword')))
}

if (((test_1 -or test_2) -and test_3 -and (test_4 -or test_5))) {
  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 windows_vista target this check assesses.

# oval:mil.disa.fso.windows:def:431
if (!(Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManWorkstation\Parameters" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).EnablePlainTextPassword -or (Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManWorkstation\Parameters" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).EnablePlainTextPassword -eq 0) {exit 0} else {exit 1}

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".