Title

Windows 2012/2012 R2 accounts must be configured to require passwords. (Cat I impact)

Discussion

The lack of password protection enables anyone to gain access to the information system, which opens a backdoor opportunity for intruders to compromise the system as well as other resources. Accounts on a system must require passwords.

Check Content

Review the password required status for enabled user accounts. Open "Windows PowerShell". Domain Controllers: Enter "Get-ADUser -Filter * -Properties PasswordNotRequired | Where PasswordNotRequired -eq True | FT Name, PasswordNotRequired, Enabled". Exclude disabled accounts (e.g., Guest) and Trusted Domain Objects (TDOs). If "PasswordNotRequired" is "True" for any enabled user account, this is a finding. Member servers and standalone systems: Enter 'Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_Useraccount -Filter "PasswordRequired=False and LocalAccount=True" | FT Name, PasswordRequired, Disabled, LocalAccount'. Exclude disabled accounts (e.g., Guest). If any enabled user accounts are returned with a "PasswordRequired" status of "False", this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure all enabled accounts to require passwords. The password required flag can be set by entering the following on a command line: "Net user [username] /passwordreq:yes", substituting [username] with the name of the user account.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-226246r794535_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-226246

Group Title: SRG-OS-000104-GPOS-00051

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

Controls tied to check. These are derived from the CCIs shown above.