Title

Windows Server 2019 must only allow Administrators responsible for the member server or standalone or nondomain-joined system to have Administrator rights on the system. (Cat I impact)

Discussion

An account that does not have Administrator duties must not have Administrator rights. Such rights would allow the account to bypass or modify required security restrictions on that machine and make it vulnerable to attack. System administrators must log on to systems using only accounts with the minimum level of authority necessary. For domain-joined member servers, the Domain Admins group must be replaced by a domain member server administrator group (refer to AD.0003 in the Active Directory Domain STIG). Restricting highly privileged accounts from the local Administrators group helps mitigate the risk of privilege escalation resulting from credential theft attacks. Standard user accounts must not be members of the built-in Administrators group.

Check Content

This applies to member servers and standalone or nondomain-joined systems. A separate version applies to domain controllers. Open "Computer Management". Navigate to "Groups" under "Local Users and Groups". Review the local "Administrators" group. Only administrator groups or accounts responsible for administration of the system may be members of the group. For domain-joined member servers, the Domain Admins group must be replaced by a domain member server administrator group. Standard user accounts must not be members of the local Administrator group. If accounts that do not have responsibility for administration of the system are members of the local Administrators group, this is a finding. If the built-in Administrator account or other required administrative accounts are found on the system, this is not a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the local "Administrators" group to include only administrator groups or accounts responsible for administration of the system. For domain-joined member servers, replace the Domain Admins group with a domain member server administrator group. Remove any standard user accounts.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-205746r958726_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-205746

Group Title: SRG-OS-000324-GPOS-00125

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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