Detections
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91.1 Ensure 'Hypervisor Enforced Code Integrity' is set to 'Enabled with UEFI lock'

Information

This setting enables virtualization based protection of Kernel Mode Code Integrity. When this is enabled, kernel mode memory protections are enforced and the Code Integrity validation path is protected by the Virtualization Based Security feature.

The recommended state for this setting is: Enabled with UEFI lock.

Note: Virtualization Based Security requires a 64-bit version of Windows with Secure Boot enabled, which in turn requires that Windows was installed with a UEFI BIOS configuration, not a Legacy BIOS configuration. In addition, if running Windows on a virtual machine, the hardware-assisted CPU virtualization feature (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) must be exposed by the host to the guest VM.

More information on system requirements for this feature can be found at Windows Defender Credential Guard Requirements (Windows 10) | Microsoft Docs https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/credential-guard/credential-guard-requirements

Note #2: Credential Guard and Device Guard are not currently supported when using Azure IaaS VMs.

The Enabled with UEFI lock option ensures that Virtualization Based Protection of Code Integrity cannot be disabled remotely.

Solution

To establish the recommended configuration via configuration profiles, set the following Settings Catalog path to Enabled with UEFI lock.

Virtualization Based Technology\Hypervisor Enforced Code Integrity

Impact:

Warning: Windows Autopilot - Policy Conflicts https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/autopilot/policy-conflicts: This policy requires a reboot to apply. As a result, prompts may appear when modifying user account control (UAC) settings during the Out of the Box Experience (OOBE) using the device Enrollment Status Page (ESP). Increased prompts are more likely if the device reboots after policies are applied.

If Windows Autopilot is used in the environment, assign this setting exclusively to user groups rather than device groups. This ensures the setting is applied later during enrollment, allowing Windows Autopilot to complete its pre-provisioning process and prevent potential interruptions.

Warning #2: All drivers on the system must be compatible with this feature or the system may crash. Ensure that this policy setting is only deployed to computers which are known to be compatible.

Warning #3: Once this setting is turned on and active, Virtualization Based Security cannot be disabled solely via GPO or any other remote method. After removing the setting from GPO, the features must also be manually disabled locally at the machine using the steps provided at this link:

Manage Windows Defender Credential Guard (Windows 10) | Microsoft Docs https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/credential-guard/credential-guard-manage#disable-windows-defender-credential-guard

Note: This setting was moved from the Next Generation (NG) profile to the Level 1 (L1) profile for the Windows 11 Operating System only . NG profile settings were isolated from the L1 profile due to potential hardware compatibility issues. The Windows 11 Operating System is dependent on the same hardware as the NG settings, so hardware compatibility is no longer an issue.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/27282

Item Details

Category: SYSTEM AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY

References: 800-53|SI-16, CSCv7|8.3

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: 24fc0f789028c6ba96e5f76bbd834510254198ba7451fc5d216c3255f3a259d5