BaselineWatch
Desk
Your fleet and your work Fleetyour releases and the hardware they run onTriagewhat needs a decisionWatchlistthe products and platforms you runSaved searchesthe lists you come back to
This instance Sourceswhat is read, how often, under what termsDigestthe daily or weekly summary, and alerts
How it is drawn Appearancethe look and the colour schemeBrandingthe mark this instance wears
Owner sign-in

WN25-AC-000090 Windows Server 2025 reversible password encryption must be disabled.

DISA STIG library V1R4
All changes in this version
first version loaded CAT I

Maps to IA-5(1) via CCI-004062

Title

Windows Server 2025 reversible password encryption must be disabled.

Control

Verify the effective setting in Local Group Policy Editor. Run gpedit.msc. Navigate to Local Computer Policy >> Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Account Policies >> Password Policy. If the value for "Store passwords using reversible encryption" is not set to "Disabled", this is a finding. For server core installations, run the following command: Secedit /Export /Areas SecurityPolicy /CFG C:\Path\FileName.Txt If "ClearTextPassword" equals "1" in the file, this is a finding.

Discussion

Storing passwords using reversible encryption is essentially the same as storing clear-text versions of the passwords, which are easily compromised. For this reason, this policy must never be enabled.

Related controls

CCI-004062

Fix

Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Account Policies >> Password Policy. Set "Store passwords using reversible encryption" to "Disabled".