0x6d69636b/windows_hardeningHardeningKitty and Windows Hardening Settings
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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" }
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.