18.10.43.13.1 (L1) Ensure 'Scan excluded files and directories during quick scans' is set to 'Enabled: 1'

Information

This policy setting manages whether or not Microsoft Defender Antivirus scans excluded files and directories when running a Quick Scan.

The recommended state for this setting is: Enabled: 1

The Real-time Protection feature excludes some files and directories for contextual reasons. This setting ensures that these are scanned during a Quick Scan.

Solution

To establish the recommended configuration via GP, set the following UI path to Enabled: 1 :

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Microsoft Defender Antivirus\Scan\Scan excluded files and directories during quick scans

Note: This Group Policy path is provided by the Group Policy template WindowsDefender.admx/adml that is included with the Microsoft Windows 11 Release 24H2 Administrative Templates (or newer).

Impact:

A Quick Scan could take longer when including the contextually excluded files and directories.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/22007

Item Details

Category: SYSTEM AND INFORMATION INTEGRITY

References: 800-53|SI-3, CSCv7|8.1

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: 1de5f7ef34b86f066535d27ddbd82d7c4a1e00f64a7c5564dd51e8d0f723b766