Microsoft Defender AV must enable asynchronous inspection.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-278678 | SRG-APP-000210 | WNDF-AV-000075 | SV-278678r1190771_rule | 2026-02-17 | 2 |
Description
Network protection includes performance optimization that allows block mode to asynchronously inspect long-lived connections, which might provide a performance improvement. This optimization can also help with app compatibility problems.
ℹ️ Check
Verify the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Windows Components >> Microsoft Defender Antivirus >> Network Inspection System >> Turn on asynchronous inspection 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\NIS
Criteria: If the value "AllowSwitchToAsyncInspection" 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 >> Network Inspection System >> Turn on asynchronous inspection to "Enabled".