The Exchange Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) service must be disabled.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-259668 | EX19-MB-000066 | SV-259668r960963_rule | CCI-000381 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| POP3 is not approved for use within the DOD. It uses a clear-text-based user name and password and does not support the DOD standard for PKI for email access. User name and password could easily be captured from the network, allowing a malicious user to access other system features. Uninstalling or disabling the service will prevent the use of POP3. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Microsoft Exchange 2019 Mailbox Server Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2025-05-14 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-259668r960963_chk)
Get-Service -Name MSExchangePop3,MSExchangePOP3BE |Select-Object -Property Name,StartType
If any of the POP3 services StartType is NOT set to "Disabled", this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-63315r942317_fix)
Open the Windows PowerShell in an Elevated Prompt and enter the following commands:
Get-Service -Name MSExchangePop3,MSExchangePOP3BE |ForEach-Object {Set-Service -Name $_.Name -StartupType Disabled}