Title

User Account Control must only elevate UIAccess applications that are installed in secure locations. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

User Account Control (UAC) is a security mechanism for limiting the elevation of privileges, including administrative accounts, unless authorized. This setting configures Windows to only allow applications installed in a secure location on the file system, such as the Program Files or the Windows\System32 folders, to run with elevated privileges.

Check Content

Analyze the system using the Security Configuration and Analysis snap-in. (See "Performing Analysis with the Security Configuration and Analysis Snap-in" in the STIG Overview document.) Expand the Security Configuration and Analysis tree view. Navigate to Local Policies -> Security Options. If the value for "User Account Control: Only elevate UIAccess applications that are installed in secure locations" is not set to "Enabled", this is a finding. The policy referenced configures the following registry value: Registry Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Registry Path: \Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\ Value Name: EnableSecureUIAPaths Value Type: REG_DWORD Value: 1

Fix Text

Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security Options -> "User Account Control: Only elevate UIAccess applications that are installed in secure locations" to "Enabled".

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-48198r2_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-14239

Group Title: UAC - UIAccess Application Elevation

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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