18.5.7 (L2) Ensure 'MSS: (PerformRouterDiscovery) Allow IRDP to detect and configure Default Gateway addresses' is set to 'Disabled'

Information

This setting is used to enable or disable the Internet Router Discovery Protocol (IRDP), which allows the system to detect and configure default gateway addresses automatically as described in RFC 1256 on a per-interface basis.

The recommended state for this setting is: Disabled

An attacker who has gained control of a computer on the same network segment could configure a computer on the network to impersonate a router. Other computers with IRDP enabled would then attempt to route their traffic through the already compromised computer.

Solution

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

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\MSS (Legacy)\MSS: (PerformRouterDiscovery) Allow IRDP to detect and configure Default Gateway addresses

Note: This Group Policy path does not exist by default. An additional Group Policy template ( MSS-legacy.admx/adml ) is required - it is available from this TechNet blog post:

The MSS settings - Microsoft Security Guidance blog

Impact:

Windows will not automatically detect and configure default gateway addresses on the computer.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/17971