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2.3.11.8 Ensure 'Network security: LDAP client signing requirements' is set to 'Negotiate signing' or higher

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Information

This policy setting determines the level of data signing that is requested on behalf of clients that issue LDAP BIND requests.

Note: This policy setting does not have any impact on LDAP simple bind (ldap_simple_bind) or LDAP simple bind through SSL (ldap_simple_bind_s). No Microsoft LDAP clients that are included with Windows XP Professional use ldap_simple_bind or ldap_simple_bind_s to communicate with a Domain Controller.

The recommended state for this setting is: Negotiate signing. Configuring this setting to Require signing also conforms to the benchmark.

Rationale:

Unsigned network traffic is susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks in which an intruder captures the packets between the client and server, modifies them, and then forwards them to the server. For an LDAP server, this susceptibility means that an attacker could cause a server to make decisions that are based on false or altered data from the LDAP queries. To lower this risk in your network, you can implement strong physical security measures to protect the network infrastructure. Also, you can make all types of man-in-the-middle attacks extremely difficult if you require digital signatures on all network packets by means of IPsec authentication headers.

Solution

To establish the recommended configuration via GP, set the following UI path to Negotiate signing (configuring to Require signing also conforms to the benchmark):

Computer Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options\Network security: LDAP client signing requirements

Impact:

None - this is the default behavior. However, if you choose instead to configure the server to require LDAP signatures then you must also configure the client. If you do not configure the client it will not be able to communicate with the server, which could cause many features to fail, including user authentication, Group Policy, and logon scripts, because the caller will be told that the LDAP BIND command request failed.

Default Value:

Negotiate signing. (If Transport Layer Security/Secure Sockets Layer (TLS/SSL) has not been started, the LDAP BIND request is initiated with the LDAP data signing option set in addition to the caller-specified options. If TLS/SSL has been started, the LDAP BIND request is initiated with the caller-specified options.)

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/2781

Item Details

Category: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION

References: 800-53|IA-5(2), CCE|CCE-36858-9, CSCv6|13, CSCv7|5.1

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: 29ee25c82a9b2c24ecb6820e678f5e4aeaef29164339f3dde9704c26cce4066b