9.3.7 Ensure 'Windows Firewall: Public: Logging: Name' is set to '%SystemRoot%\System32\logfiles\firewall\publicfw.log'

Information

Use this option to specify the path and name of the file in which Windows Firewall will write its log information.

The recommended state for this setting is: %SystemRoot%\System32\logfiles\firewall\publicfw.log

If Windows Firewall events are not recorded it may be difficult or impossible for Administrators to analyze system issues or unauthorized activities of malicious users.

Microsoft stores all firewall events as one file on the system ( pfirewall.log ). To improve logging, separate each firewall profile (domain, private, public) into its own distinct log file ( domainfw.log privatefw.log publicfw.log ) for better organization and identification of specific issues within each profile.

Solution

To establish the recommended configuration via GP, set the following UI path to %SystemRoot%\System32\logfiles\firewall\publicfw.log :

Computer Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Windows Firewall with Advanced Security\Windows Firewall with Advanced Security\Windows Firewall Properties\Public Profile\Logging Customize\Name

Impact:

The log file will be stored in the specified file.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/15301

Item Details

Category: AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY, SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION

References: 800-53|AU-3, 800-53|AU-3(1), 800-53|AU-7, 800-53|AU-12, 800-53|SC-7, 800-53|SC-7(5), CSCv7|9.4, CSCv7|11.2

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: b28a3b95184014ad259e15edc8fed2e82448570a9439660903a188a1ce3e6cd0