Windows Server 2025 must limit the caching of logon credentials to four or less on domain-joined member servers.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-278181 | SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227 | WN25-MS-000050 | SV-278181r1182288_rule | 2026-02-20 | 1 |
Description
The default Windows configuration caches the last logon credentials for users who log on interactively to a system. This feature is provided for system availability reasons, such as the user's machine being disconnected from the network or domain controllers being unavailable. Even though the credential cache is well protected, if a system is attacked, an unauthorized individual may isolate the password to a domain user account using a password-cracking program and gain access to the domain.
ℹ️ Check
This applies to member servers. For domain controllers and stand-alone or nondomain-joined systems, this is not applicable.
If the following registry value does not exist or is not configured as specified, this is a finding:
Registry HiveHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry Path\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\
Value NameCachedLogonsCount
Value TypeREG_SZ
Value4 (or less)
✔️ Fix
Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings >> Security Settings >> Local Policies >> Security Options >> Interactive Logon: Number of previous logons to cache (in case Domain Controller is not available) to "4" logons or less.