[opensourcedex]

windows_hardening is a free, open source compliance & risk management project written in PowerShell and released under MIT. It has 2,658 GitHub stars, 331 forks and 21 open issues, and was last pushed 17 days ago. On this registry it ranks #27 of 45 tracked projects in Compliance & Risk Management, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available. It gained 2 stars over the last 3 tracked days.

What is windows_hardening?

What it is

HardeningKitty and Windows Hardening Settings is a PowerShell project for Windows security baselines, compliance checklists, and system hardening. It began as a simple Windows 10 hardening list and later became a tool that supports Microsoft guidelines, CIS Benchmarks, DoD STIG, BSI SiSyPHuS Win10, and the project's own list. The project lives in the Windows PowerShell and security-baseline ecosystem.

The concrete problem it solves is the gap between published hardening guidance and the need to inspect, compare, and apply those settings on Windows systems. It retrieves configuration from the registry and other modules, assesses it against finding lists, and can harden the system according to predefined values. It also addresses Windows 10 Home, where the Group Policy Editor is absent and registry adjustment is needed.

Key capabilities

  • It audits Windows systems against finding lists from Microsoft, CIS Benchmarks, DoD STIG, BSI SiSyPHuS Win10, and the project's own checklist.
  • It reads settings from the registry and uses other modules to read configurations outside the registry.
  • It applies predefined hardening values after retrieving and assessing the configuration.
  • It provides the HailMary mode to apply settings from any hardening checklist, including the Windows 10 Home registry cases.
  • It reports categorized results, a score, and counts for passed, low, medium, and high findings.
  • It has a signed stable version in the scip AG repository for systems that allow only signed scripts.

Who uses it and how

  • Security and compliance practitioners use it to audit Windows endpoints against recognized baselines and project checklists.
  • Administrators run it with administrative privileges to access machine settings, while a normal account is better for user settings.
  • Organizations that enforce script signing can use the signed stable version from the scip AG repository.
  • Operators of Windows 10 Home systems can use HailMary mode when the Group Policy Editor is unavailable.

Getting started

Download HardeningKitty and copy the script and lists to the target system, then import HardeningKitty.psm1 and run Invoke-HardeningKitty with administrative privileges for machine settings or with a normal account for user settings.

When to use it — and when not to

Use this project when you need an MIT-licensed PowerShell tool for Windows hardening, baseline auditing, and checklist-driven configuration review. Avoid relying on it as an unreviewed enforcement tool, because the settings are recommendations that must be checked against infrastructure operation and usability. It is also less suitable when you need reliable non-English analysis, since it is developed for English systems.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

HardeningKitty and Windows Hardening

Introduction

The project started as a simple hardening list for Windows 10. After some time, HardeningKitty was created to simplify the hardening of Windows. Now, HardeningKitty supports guidelines from Microsoft, CIS Benchmarks, DoD STIG and BSI SiSyPHuS Win10. And of course my own hardening list.

This is a hardening checklist that can be used in private and business environments for hardening Windows 10. The checklist can be used for all Windows versions, but in Windows 10 Home the Group Policy Editor is not integrated and the adjustment must be done directly in the registry. For this, there is the HailMary mode from HardeningKitty.

The settings should be seen as security and privacy recommendation and should be carefully checked whether they will affect the operation of your infrastructure or impact the usability of key functions. It is important to weigh security against usability.

The project started with the creation of a simple hardening checklist for Windows 10. The focus has shifted to the audit of various well-known frameworks / benchmarks with the development of HardeningKitty. Meanwhile, various CIS benchmarks and Microsoft Security Baselines are supported. With the development of the HailMary mode, it will also be possible to apply settings of any hardening checklist on a Windows system.

HardeningKitty

HardeningKitty supports hardening of a Windows system. The configuration of the system is retrieved and assessed using a finding list. In addition, the system can be hardened according to predefined values. HardeningKitty reads settings from the registry and uses other modules to read configurations outside the registry.

The script was developed for English systems. It is possible that in other languages the analysis is incorrect. Please create an issue if this occurs.

Signed Version

The development of HardeningKitty happens in this repository. In the repository of scip AG is a stable version of HardeningKitty that has been signed with the code signing certificate of scip AG. This means that HardeningKitty can also be run on systems that only allow signed scripts.

How To Run

Run the script with administrative privileges to access machine settings. For the user settings it is better to execute them with a normal user account. Ideally, the user account is used for daily work.

Download HardeningKitty and copy it to the target system (script and lists). Then HardeningKitty can be imported and executed:

PS C:\tmp> Import-Module .\HardeningKitty.psm1
PS C:\tmp> Invoke-HardeningKitty -EmojiSupport


         =^._.^=
        _(      )/  HardeningKitty 0.9.0-1662273740


[*] 9/4/2022 8:54:12 AM - Starting HardeningKitty


[*] 9/4/2022 8:54:12 AM - Getting user information
[*] Hostname: DESKTOP-DG83TOD
[*] Domain: WORKGROUP

...

[*] [*] 9/4/2022 8:54:12 AM - Starting Category Account Policies
[😺] ID 1103, Store passwords using reversible encryption, Result=0, Severity=Passed
[😺] ID 1100, Account lockout threshold, Result=10, Severity=Passed
[😺] ID 1101, Account lockout duration, Result=30, Severity=Passed

...

[*] 9/4/2022 8:54:12 AM - Starting Category User Rights Assignment
[😿] ID 1200, Access this computer from the network, Result=BUILTIN\Administrators;BUILTIN\Users, Recommended=BUILTIN\Administrators, Severity=Medium

...

[*] 9/4/2022 8:54:14 AM - Starting Category Administrative Templates: Printer
[🙀] ID 1764, Point and Print Restrictions: When installing drivers for a new connection (CVE-2021-34527), Result=1, Recommended=0, Severity=High
[🙀] ID 1765, Point and Print Restrictions: When updating drivers for an existing connection (CVE-2021-34527), Result=2, Recommended=0, Severity=High

...

[*] 9/4/2022 8:54:19 AM - Starting Category MS Security Guide
[😿] ID 2200, LSA Protection, Result=, Recommended=1, Severity=Medium
[😼] ID 2201, Lsass.exe audit mode, Result=, Recommended=8, Severity=Low

...

[*] 9/4/2022 8:54:25 AM - HardeningKitty is done
[*] 9/4/2022 8:54:25 AM - Your HardeningKitty score is: 4.82. HardeningKitty Statistics: Total checks: 325 - Passed: 213, Low: 33, Medium: 76, High: 3.

How To Install

First create the directory HardeningKitty and for every version a sub directory like 0.9.3 in a path listed in the PSModulePath environment variable.

Copy the module HardeningKitty.psm1, HardeningKitty.psd1, and the lists directory to this new directory.

PS C:\tmp> $Version = "0.9.3"
PS C:\tmp> New-Item -Path $Env:ProgramFiles\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\HardeningKitty\$Version -ItemType Directory
PS C:\tmp> Copy-Item -Path .\HardeningKitty.psd1,.\HardeningKitty.psm1,.\lists\ -Destination $Env:ProgramFiles\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\HardeningKitty\$Version\ -Recurse

For more information see Microsoft's article Installing a PowerShell Module.

How to Automatically Download and Install the Latest Release

You can use the script below to download and install the latest release of HardeningKitty.

Function InstallHardeningKitty() {
    $Version = (((Invoke-WebRequest "https://api.github.com/repos/0x6d69636b/windows_hardening/releases/latest" -UseBasicParsing) | ConvertFrom-Json).Name).SubString(2)
    $HardeningKittyLatestVersionDownloadLink = ((Invoke-WebRequest "https://api.github.com/repos/0x6d69636b/windows_hardening/releases/latest" -UseBasicParsing) | ConvertFrom-Json).zipball_url
    $ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue'
    Invoke-WebRequest $HardeningKittyLatestVersionDownloadLink -Out HardeningKitty$Version.zip
    Expand-Archive -Path ".\HardeningKitty$Version.zip" -Destination ".\HardeningKitty$Version" -Force
    $Folder = Get-ChildItem .\HardeningKitty$Version | Select-Object Name -ExpandProperty Name
    Move-Item ".\HardeningKitty$Version\$Folder\*" ".\HardeningKitty$Version\"
    Remove-Item ".\HardeningKitty$Version\$Folder\"
    New-Item -Path $Env:ProgramFiles\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\HardeningKitty\$Version -ItemType Directory
    Set-Location .\HardeningKitty$Version
    Copy-Item -Path .\HardeningKitty.psd1,.\HardeningKitty.psm1,.\lists\ -Destination $Env:ProgramFiles\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\HardeningKitty\$Version\ -Recurse
    Import-Module "$Env:ProgramFiles\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\HardeningKitty\$Version\HardeningKitty.psm1"
}
InstallHardeningKitty

Examples

Audit

The default mode is audit. HardeningKitty performs an audit, saves the results to a CSV file and creates a log file. The files are automatically named and receive a timestamp. Using the parameters ReportFile or LogFile, it is also possible to assign your own name and path.

The Filter parameter can be used to filter the hardening list. For this purpose the PowerShell ScriptBlock syntax must be used, for example { $_.ID -eq 4505 }. The following elements are useful for filtering: ID, Category, Name, Method, and Severity.

Invoke-HardeningKitty -Mode Audit -Log -Report

HardeningKitty can be executed with a specific list defined by the parameter FileFindingList. If HardeningKitty is run several times on the same system, it may be useful to hide the machine information. The parameter SkipMachineInformation is used for this purpose.

Invoke-HardeningKitty -FileFindingList .\lists\finding_list_0x6d69636b_user.csv -SkipMachineInformation

HardeningKitty uses the default list, and checks only tests with the severity Medium.

Invoke-HardeningKitty -Filter { $_.Severity -eq "Medium" }
Config

The mode config retrives all current settings of a system. If a setting has not been configured, HardeningKitty will use a default value stored in the finding list. This mode can be combined with other functions, for example to create a backup.

HardeningKitty gets the current settings and stores them in a report:

Invoke-HardeningKitty -Mode Config -Report -ReportFile C:\tmp\my_hardeningkitty_report.csv
Backup

Backups are important. Really important. Therefore, HardeningKitty also has a function to retrieve the current configuration and save it in a form that can be partially restored.

Disclaimer: HardeningKitty tries to restore the original configuration. This works quite well with registry keys and Hardening Kitty really tries its best. But the backup function is not a snapshot and does not replace a real system backup. It is not possible to restore the system 1:1 with HardeningKitty alone after HailMary. If this is a requirement, create an image or system backup and restore it.

The Backup switch specifies that the file is written in form of a finding list and can thus be used for the HailMary mode. The name and path of the backup can be specified with the parameter BackupFile.

Invoke-H

readme truncated — read the full docs on github

Frequently asked questions

Is windows_hardening free to use?

windows_hardening is open source under the MIT licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does windows_hardening do?

HardeningKitty and Windows Hardening Settings

What is windows_hardening written in?

windows_hardening is primarily written in PowerShell. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/0x6d69636b/windows_hardening, and it has 2,658 GitHub stars.