Title

Windows Server 2019 PowerShell script block logging must be enabled. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Maintaining an audit trail of system activity logs can help identify configuration errors, troubleshoot service disruptions, and analyze compromises that have occurred, as well as detect attacks. Audit logs are necessary to provide a trail of evidence in case the system or network is compromised. Collecting this data is essential for analyzing the security of information assets and detecting signs of suspicious and unexpected behavior. Enabling PowerShell script block logging will record detailed information from the processing of PowerShell commands and scripts. This can provide additional detail when malware has run on a system.

Check Content

If the following registry value does not exist or is not configured as specified, this is a finding: Registry Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Registry Path: \SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\ScriptBlockLogging\ Value Name: EnableScriptBlockLogging Value Type: REG_DWORD Value: 0x00000001 (1)

Fix Text

Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Windows Components >> Windows PowerShell >> "Turn on PowerShell Script Block Logging" to "Enabled".

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-205639r569188_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-205639

Group Title: SRG-OS-000042-GPOS-00020

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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