Ensure access to sensitive site features is restricted to authenticated principals only

How it is checked

Audit method: Manual review

This recommendation cannot be checked automatically. A scan lists it with these instructions when you pass --include-manual.

To verify that the authentication module is enabled for a specific site, application, or content, browse to and open the web.config file pertaining to the content. Verify the configuration file now has a mode defined within the <authentication> tags. The example below shows that Forms Authentication is configured, cookies will always be used, and SSL is required: <system.web> <authentication> <forms cookieless="UseCookies" requireSSL="true" /> </authentication> </system.web> OR To verify using AppCmd.exe enter the following command ...

How it is fixed

Fix method: Guidance or infrastructure patch

When configuring an authentication module for the first time, each mechanism must be completely configured before use. Enabling authentication can be performed by using the user interface (UI), running AppCmd.exe commands in a command-line window, editing configuration files directly, or by writing WMI scripts. To verify an authentication mechanism is in place for sensitive content using the IIS Manager GUI: 1. Open IIS Manager and navigate to level with sensitive content 2. In Features View, double-click Authentication 3. On the Authentication page, make sure an authentication module is enabled, while anonymous authentication is enabled (Forms Authentication can have anonymous as well) 4. If necessary, select the desired authentication module, then in the Actions pane, click Enable OR Enter the following command in AppCmd.exe to configure ...