Exchange antimalware agent must be enabled and configured.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-259694 | SRG-APP-000272 | EX19-MB-000146 | SV-259694r1015276_rule | 2025-05-14 | 2 |
Description
Microsoft Exchange 2019 offers built-in antimalware protection for messages going through the transport pipeline. When enabled, the default settings are configured to automatically update.
Exchange's built-in Malware Agent is not designed to address all malicious code protection workloads. This workload is best handled by third-party antivirus and intrusion prevention software.
Sites must use an approved DOD scanner. Exchange Malware software has a limited scanning capability and does not scan files that are downloaded, opened, or executed.
ℹ️ Check
Open the Exchange Management Shell and run the following cmdlets:
Get-TransportAgent "Malware Agent"
If the identity "Malware Agent" is not set to "Enabled", this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
Open the Exchange Management Shell and run the following command:
& $env:ExchangeInstallPath\Scripts\Enable-AntimalwareScanning.ps1
This will automatically enable the anti-malware agent. After the script completes, run the following cmdlet to complete the process:
Restart-Service MSExchangeTransport
This may take up to 10 minutes to take effect.