The Windows DNS Server key file must be owned by the account under which the Windows DNS Server service is run.

Severity	Group ID	Group Title	Version	Rule ID	Date	STIG Version
medium	V-259368	SRG-APP-000176-DNS-000018	WDNS-22-000040	SV-259368r961041_rule	2025-02-25	2

Description
To enable zone transfer (requests and responses) through authenticated messages, it is necessary to generate a key for every pair of name servers. The key can also be used for securing other transactions, such as dynamic updates, DNS queries, and responses. The binary key string that is generated by most key generation utilities used with DNSSEC is Base64 encoded. Transaction Signature (TSIG) is a string used to generate the message authentication hash stored in a TSIG Resource Record (RR) and used to authenticate an entire DNS message.

Description

To enable zone transfer (requests and responses) through authenticated messages, it is necessary to generate a key for every pair of name servers. The key can also be used for securing other transactions, such as dynamic updates, DNS queries, and responses. The binary key string that is generated by most key generation utilities used with DNSSEC is Base64 encoded. Transaction Signature (TSIG) is a string used to generate the message authentication hash stored in a TSIG Resource Record (RR) and used to authenticate an entire DNS message.

ℹ️ Check
Access Services on the Windows DNS Server and locate the DNS Server Service. Determine the account under which the DNS Server Service is running. Access Windows Explorer. Navigate to the following location: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Crypto Note: If the folder above does not exist, this check is not applicable. Right-click on each subfolder, choose "Properties", click the "Security" tab, and click the "Advanced" button. Verify the Owner on the folder, subfolders, and files is the account under which the DNS Server Service is running. If any other user or group is listed as OWNER of the %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Crypto folder, subfolders, and files, this is a finding.

ℹ️ Check

Access Services on the Windows DNS Server and locate the DNS Server Service. Determine the account under which the DNS Server Service is running. Access Windows Explorer. Navigate to the following location: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Crypto Note: If the folder above does not exist, this check is not applicable. Right-click on each subfolder, choose "Properties", click the "Security" tab, and click the "Advanced" button. Verify the Owner on the folder, subfolders, and files is the account under which the DNS Server Service is running. If any other user or group is listed as OWNER of the %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Crypto folder, subfolders, and files, this is a finding.

✔️ Fix
Access Windows Explorer. Navigate to the following location: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Crypto Right-click on each subfolder, choose "Properties", click the "Security" tab, and click the "Advanced" button. Click "Change" next to the listed Owner and change to be the account under which the DNS Server Service is running.