[REQ-PAW-129] Configure Advanced Security Audit Policies for PAWs

Target Scope

Applicable Systems: Privileged Access Workstations
Operating Systems: Windows 10/11 Enterprise

Implementation Details

Priority: High
GPO Path / Registry Location:
- GPO Path: Computer Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options
- Policy: Audit: Force audit policy subcategory settings (Windows Vista or later) to override audit policy category settings
- Setting: Enabled
- Registry Location: HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\SCENoApplyLegacyAuditPolicy = 1 (DWord)

Rationale

Enforcing category overrides on PAWs is a prerequisite to ensure that the refined audit subcategories (such as Logon, Object Access, System Events, etc.) are correctly logged and not masked by basic legacy policies.

Legacy Impact & Compatibility

Event Log Volume: Ensure the Security log size is at least 512MB to prevent rollover.

Submodule Requirements

The child policies under this parent requirement:

Implementation Steps

Option A: Group Policy Object (GPO) Configuration (Preferred)

Navigate to: Computer Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options
Configure the following setting:
- Policy: Audit: Force audit policy subcategory settings (Windows Vista or later) to override audit policy category settings
- Setting: Enabled

Option B: PowerShell & Registry Configuration (Remediation / Non-GPO)

Download Script: Configure-PawAuditPoliciesParent.ps1

# Configure-PawAuditPoliciesParent.ps1
# Description: Enforces Advanced Audit Policy Overrides registry value.

$RegPath = "reg:\HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa"
$ValueName = "SCENoApplyLegacyAuditPolicy"

if (-not (Test-Path $RegPath)) {
    New-Item -Path $RegPath -Force | Out-Null
}

Set-ItemProperty -Path $RegPath -Name $ValueName -Value 1 -Type DWord -Force
Write-Host "Enforced SCENoApplyLegacyAuditPolicy = 1 on PAW" -ForegroundColor Green

To verify the setting has been applied: Download Script: Get-PawAuditPoliciesParentStatus.ps1

# Get-PawAuditPoliciesParentStatus.ps1
# Description: Audits the Advanced Audit Policy Overrides registry value.

$RegPath = "HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa"
$ValueName = "SCENoApplyLegacyAuditPolicy"

$val = Get-ItemPropertyValue -Path $RegPath -Name $ValueName -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if ($val -eq 1) {
    Write-Host "Advanced Security Audit Policy Overrides are correctly enabled." -ForegroundColor Green
} else {
    Write-Host "Advanced Security Audit Policy Overrides are disabled!" -ForegroundColor Red
}

Sources & Compliance References

ANSSI AD Hardening Guide: Recommendation R48
CIS Benchmark: Section 9 and 17

REQ-PAW-129 - Configure Advanced Security Audit Policies for PAWs