The Exchange Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) service must be disabled.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-259668 | SRG-APP-000141 | EX19-MB-000066 | SV-259668r960963_rule | 2025-05-14 | 2 |
Description
POP3 is not approved for use within the DOD. It uses a clear-text-based user name and password and does not support the DOD standard for PKI for email access. User name and password could easily be captured from the network, allowing a malicious user to access other system features. Uninstalling or disabling the service will prevent the use of POP3.
ℹ️ Check
Get-Service -Name MSExchangePop3,MSExchangePOP3BE |Select-Object -Property Name,StartType
If any of the POP3 services StartType is NOT set to "Disabled", this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
Open the Windows PowerShell in an Elevated Prompt and enter the following commands:
Get-Service -Name MSExchangePop3,MSExchangePOP3BE |ForEach-Object {Set-Service -Name $_.Name -StartupType Disabled}