Supported SASL mechanism details should be investigated
AD-ROOTDSE-02InfoActive DirectoryDirectory configuration
Part of Active Directory · Active Directory · Directory configuration · All checks
Invoke-Maester -TestId AD-ROOTDSE-02Overview
Section titled “Overview”Understanding the SASL (Simple Authentication and Security Layer) mechanisms supported by Active Directory is crucial for authentication security:
- Security Levels: Different mechanisms offer varying levels of security
- Protocol Selection: Clients negotiate authentication based on available mechanisms
- Attack Surface: Unnecessary mechanisms increase the authentication attack surface
- Compliance: Some regulations may require specific authentication protocols
Common mechanisms and their security levels:
- GSSAPI (Kerberos): Highest security, mutual authentication
- GSS-SPNEGO: Negotiate between Kerberos and NTLM
- EXTERNAL: TLS client certificate authentication
- DIGEST-MD5: Less secure, often disabled in hardened environments
Control Type
Section titled “Control Type”Operational
Security Recommendation
Section titled “Security Recommendation”- Use Kerberos (GSSAPI) as the primary authentication mechanism
- Disable DIGEST-MD5 if not explicitly required
- Enable EXTERNAL for certificate-based authentication scenarios
- Monitor authentication logs for mechanism usage patterns
- Document which mechanisms are required for your environment
How the Test Works
Section titled “How the Test Works”This test retrieves detailed information about each supported SASL mechanism:
- Mechanism name
- Description of the mechanism
- Security level assessment
Related Tests
Section titled “Related Tests”Test-MtAdSupportedSaslMechanismCount- Counts total supported mechanisms
Details
Section titled “Details”Every attribute of this check
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Test ID | AD-ROOTDSE-02 |
| Severity | Info |
| Suite | Active Directory |
| Product | Active Directory |
| Feature | Directory configuration |
| Area | Authentication |
| Resource type | Tenant |
| MITRE ATT&CK | None |
| PowerShell test | Test-MtAdSupportedSaslMechanismDetails |
| Services | ActiveDirectory |
| Permissions | ActiveDirectory:Ldap:domainDNS:ReadProperty |
Source
Section titled “Source”- Test:
tests/ad/replication/Test.AD-ROOTDSE-02.ps1 - Documentation:
tests/ad/replication/Test.AD-ROOTDSE-02.md