18.3.1 Ensure 'Apply UAC restrictions to local accounts on network logons' is set to 'Enabled'

Information

This setting controls whether local accounts can be used for remote administration via network logon (e.g., NET USE, connecting to C$, etc.). Local accounts are at high risk for credential theft when the same account and password is configured on multiple systems. Enabling this policy significantly reduces that risk.

Enabled: Applies UAC token-filtering to local accounts on network logons. Membership in powerful group such as Administrators is disabled and powerful privileges are removed from the resulting access token. This configures the LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy registry value to 0. This is the default behavior for Windows.

Disabled: Allows local accounts to have full administrative rights when authenticating via network logon, by configuring the LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy registry value to 1.

For more information about local accounts and credential theft, review the 'Mitigating Pass-the-Hash (PtH) Attacks and Other Credential Theft Techniques' documents.

For more information about LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 951016: Description of User Account Control and remote restrictions in Windows Vista.

The recommended state for this setting is: Enabled.

Rationale:

Local accounts are at high risk for credential theft when the same account and password is configured on multiple systems. Ensuring this policy is Enabled significantly reduces that risk.

Solution

To establish the recommended configuration via GP, set the following UI path to Enabled:

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\MS Security Guide\Apply UAC restrictions to local accounts on network logons

Note: This Group Policy path does not exist by default. An additional Group Policy template (SecGuide.admx/adml) is required - it is available from Microsoft at this link.

Impact:

None - this is the default behavior.

Default Value:

Enabled. (UAC token-filtering is applied to local accounts on network logons. Membership in powerful groups such as Administrators and disabled and powerful privileges are removed from the resulting access token.)

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/2700