Microsoft Defender AV must enable heuristics.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-278680 | WNDF-AV-000077 | SV-278680r1190775_rule | CCI-002624 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| Always-on protection consists of real-time protection, behavior monitoring, and heuristics to identify malware based on known suspicious and malicious activities. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Microsoft Defender Antivirus Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2026-02-17 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-278680r1190775_chk)
Verify the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Windows Components >> Microsoft Defender Antivirus >> Scan >> Turn on heuristics is set to "Enabled"; otherwise, this is a finding.
Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key:
HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scan
Criteria: If the value "DisableHeuristics" is REG_DWORD = 0, this is not a finding.
If the value is 1, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-83119r1190774_fix)
Set the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Windows Components >> Microsoft Defender Antivirus >> Scan >> Turn on heuristics to "Enabled".