3.1 Ensure 'Server Authentication' Property is set to 'Windows Authentication Mode'

Information

Uses Windows Authentication to validate attempted connections.

Windows provides a more robust authentication mechanism than SQL Server authentication.

Solution

Perform either the GUI or T-SQL method shown:

GUI Method

- Open SQL Server Management Studio
- Open the Object Explorer tab and connect to the target SQL Server instance.
- Right click the instance name and select Properties
- Select the Security page from the left menu.
- Set the Server authentication setting to Windows Authentication Mode

T-SQL Method

Run the following T-SQL in a Query Window:

USE [master]
GO
EXEC xp_instance_regwrite N'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE', N'Software\Microsoft\MSSQLServer\MSSQLServer', N'LoginMode', REG_DWORD, 1
GO

Restart the SQL Server service for the change to take effect.

Impact:

Changing the login mode configuration requires a restart of the service.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/14058