Ensure 'Print Spooler (Spooler)' is set to 'Disabled' (MS only)

MediumLevel 2Automatedwindows

Description

This service spools print jobs and handles interaction with printers. The recommended state for this setting is: Disabled.

How it is checked

Audit method: Windows registry

registry

$bad = @(); $v = (Get-ItemProperty -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Spooler' -Name 'Start' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).'Start'; if (-not ($null -ne $v -and @(4) -contains [int64]$v)) { $bad += 'Start=' + $v }; if ($bad.Count -eq 0) { 'compliant' } else { 'non-compliant: ' + ($bad -join ', ') }

Expected output: compliant

How it is fixed

Fix method: Shell command

shell

if (-not (Test-Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Spooler')) { New-Item -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Spooler' -Force | Out-Null }; New-ItemProperty -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Spooler' -Name 'Start' -Value 4 -PropertyType DWord -Force | Out-Null

Properties

Operating systems: windows-server-2025-ms
Tags: cis-convertedregistrywindows
Reference: CIS Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Benchmark v2.1.0 - 5.2

Check this host

Run this on a machine you are allowed to audit. The scan is read-only.

shell

tmaegis scan --target windows --level 2