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Outlook must be configured to force authentication when connecting to an Exchange server.

An XCCDF Rule

Description

<VulnDiscussion>Exchange Server supports the Kerberos authentication protocol and NTLM for authentication. The Kerberos protocol is the more secure authentication method and is supported on Windows 2000 Server and later versions. NTLM authentication is supported in pre-Windows 2000 environments. When authentication is enabled, Outlook will attempt to authenticate using the Kerberos authentication protocol, if it cannot (because no Windows 2000 or later domain controllers are available), it will authenticate using NTLM, ensuring a more secure authentication to the Exchange server.</VulnDiscussion><FalsePositives></FalsePositives><FalseNegatives></FalseNegatives><Documentable>false</Documentable><Mitigations></Mitigations><SeverityOverrideGuidance></SeverityOverrideGuidance><PotentialImpacts></PotentialImpacts><ThirdPartyTools></ThirdPartyTools><MitigationControl></MitigationControl><Responsibility>System Administrator</Responsibility><Responsibility>Information Assurance Officer</Responsibility><IAControls></IAControls>

ID
SV-54053r1_rule
Severity
Medium
References
Updated



Remediation - Manual Procedure

Set the policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Outlook 2013 -> Account Settings -> Exchange "Authentication with Exchange Server" to "Enabled (Kerberos/NTLM Password Authentication)".