Microsoft Defender AV must control whether exclusions are visible to Local Admins.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-278658 | SRG-APP-000210 | WNDF-AV-000054 | SV-278658r1190746_rule | 2026-02-17 | 2 |
Description
Disabled (Default): If this setting is not configured or disabled, local admins can see exclusions in the Windows Security App or via PowerShell.
Enabled: If this setting is enabled, local admins no longer see the exclusion list in Windows Security App or via PowerShell.O13.
Note: Applying this setting will not remove exclusions, it only prevents them from being visible to local admins. This is reflected in?Get-MpPreference.I13.
ℹ️ Check
Verify the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Windows Components >> Microsoft Defender Antivirus >> Control whether or not exclusions are visible to Local Admins is set to "Enabled"; otherwise, this is a finding.
Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key:
HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender
Criteria: If the value "HideExclusionsFromLocalAdmins" is REG_DWORD = 1, this is not a finding.
If the value is "0", this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
Set the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Windows Components >> Microsoft Defender Antivirus >> Control whether exclusions are visible to Local Admins to "Enabled".