Microsoft Defender AV must enable network protection to be configured into block or audit mode on Windows Server.

Severity	Group ID	Group Title	Version	Rule ID	Date	STIG Version
medium	V-278672	SRG-APP-000210	WNDF-AV-000068	SV-278672r1144067_rule	2025-11-25	2

Description
Microsoft's Exploit Guard comprises several techniques to defend against phishing attacks and malware. These include controlled folder access, attack surface reduction, and network protection.

ℹ️ Check
Verify the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Windows Components >> Microsoft Defender Antivirus >> Microsoft Defender Exploit Guard >> Network Protection >> This settings controls whether Network Protection is allowed to be configured into block or audit mode on Windows Server is set to "Enabled". Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Windows Defender Exploit Guard\Network Protection Criteria: If the value "AllowNetworkProtectionOnWinServer" is REG_DWORD = 1, this is not a finding. If the value is 0, this is a finding.

ℹ️ Check

Verify the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Windows Components >> Microsoft Defender Antivirus >> Microsoft Defender Exploit Guard >> Network Protection >> This settings controls whether Network Protection is allowed to be configured into block or audit mode on Windows Server is set to "Enabled". Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Windows Defender Exploit Guard\Network Protection Criteria: If the value "AllowNetworkProtectionOnWinServer" 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 >> Microsoft Defender Exploit Guard >> Network Protection >> This settings controls whether Network Protection is allowed to be configured into block or audit mode on Windows Server to "Enabled". Click "OK". Click "Apply".