Title

Passwords for the built-in Administrator account must be changed at least every 60 days. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

The longer a password is in use, the greater the opportunity for someone to gain unauthorized knowledge of the password. The built-in Administrator account is not generally used and its password not may be changed as frequently as necessary. Changing the password for the built-in Administrator account on a regular basis will limit its exposure. Organizations that use an automated tool, such Microsoft's Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS), on domain-joined systems can configure this to occur more frequently. LAPS will change the password every "30" days by default.

Check Content

Review the password last set date for the built-in Administrator account. Domain controllers: Open "PowerShell". Enter "Get-ADUser -Filter * -Properties SID, PasswordLastSet | Where SID -Like "*-500" | Ft Name, SID, PasswordLastSet". If the "PasswordLastSet" date is greater than "60" days old, this is a finding. Member servers and standalone systems: Open "Command Prompt". Enter 'Net User [account name] | Find /i "Password Last Set"', where [account name] is the name of the built-in administrator account. (The name of the built-in Administrator account must be changed to something other than "Administrator" per STIG requirements.) If the "PasswordLastSet" date is greater than "60" days old, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Change the built-in Administrator account password at least every "60" days. Automated tools, such as Microsoft's LAPS, may be used on domain-joined member servers to accomplish this.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-87875r2_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-73223

Group Title: SRG-OS-000076-GPOS-00044

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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