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title, description, keywords, ms.prod, ms.mktglfcycl, ms.localizationpriority, author, ms.date
| title | description | keywords | ms.prod | ms.mktglfcycl | ms.localizationpriority | author | ms.date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deploy Managed Installer for Windows Defender Device Guard (Windows 10) | Explains how you can use a managed installer to automatically authorize applications deployed and installed by a designated software distribution solution, such as System Center Configuration Manager. | virtualization, security, malware | w10 | deploy | medium | mdsakibMSFT | 06/13/2018 |
Deploy Managed Installer for Windows Defender Application Control
Applies to:
- Windows 10
- Windows Server 2016
Creating and maintaining application execution control policies has always been challenging, and finding ways to address this issue has been a frequently-cited request for customers of AppLocker and Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC). This is especially true for enterprises with large, ever changing software catalogs.
Windows 10, version 1703 (also known as the Windows 10 Creators Update) provides a new option, known as a managed installer, that allows IT administrators to automatically authorize applications deployed and installed by a designated software distribution solution, such as System Center Configuration Manager. A managed installer helps an IT admin balance security and manageability requirements when employing application execution control policies by providing an option that does not require specifying explicit rules for software that is being managed through a software distribution solution.
How does a managed installer work?
A managed installer uses a new rule collection in AppLocker to specify one or more executables that are trusted by the organization as an authorized source for application deployment. Specifying an executable as a managed installer will cause Windows to tag files that are written from the executable’s process (or processes it launches) as having originated from a trusted installation authority.
Once the IT administrator adds the Allow: Managed Installer option to a WDAC policy, the WDAC component will subsequently check for the presence of the origin information when evaluating other application execution control rules specified in the policy. If there are no deny rules present for the file, it will be authorized based on the managed installer origin information.+
Admins needs to ensure that there is a WDAC policy in place to allow the system to boot and run any other authorized applications that may not be deployed through a managed installer. Examples of WDAC policies available in C:\Windows\schemas\CodeIntegrity\ExamplePolicies help authorize Windows OS components, WHQL signed drivers and all Store apps.
Configuring a managed installer with AppLocker and Windows Defender Application Control
Setting up managed installer tracking and application execution enforcement requires applying both an AppLocker and WDAC policy with specific rules and options enabled. There are three primary steps to keep in mind:
- Specify managed installers using the Managed Installer rule collection in AppLocker policy
- Enable service enforcement in AppLocker policy
- Enable the managed installer option in a WDAC policy
Specify managed installers using the Managed Installer rule collection in AppLocker policy
The identity of the managed installer executable(s) is specified in an AppLocker policy in a Managed Installer rule collection. Currently the AppLocker policy creation UI and cmdlets do not allow for directly specifying rules for the Managed Installer rule collection, however a text editor can be used to make the simple changes needed to an EXE or DLL rule collection policy to specify Type="ManagedInstaller".
An example of a valid Managed Installer rule collection is shown below. For more information about creating an AppLocker policy that includes a managed installer and configuring client devices, see Simplify application whitelisting with Configuration Manager and Windows 10.
<RuleCollection Type="ManagedInstaller" EnforcementMode="AuditOnly">
<FilePublisherRule Id="6cc9a840-b0fd-4f86-aca7-8424a22b4b93" Name="CMM - CCMEXEC.EXE, 5.0.0.0+, Microsoft signed" Description="" UserOrGroupSid="S-1-1-0" Action="Allow">
<Conditions>
<FilePublisherCondition PublisherName="O=MICROSOFT CORPORATION, L=REDMOND, S=WASHINGTON, C=US" ProductName="SYSTEM CENTER CONFIGURATION MANAGER" BinaryName="CCMEXEC.EXE">
<BinaryVersionRange LowSection="5.0.0.0" HighSection="*" />
</FilePublisherCondition>
</Conditions>
</FilePublisherRule>
<FilePublisherRule Id="780ae2d3-5047-4240-8a57-767c251cbb12" Name="CCM - CCMSETUP.EXE, 5.0.0.0+, Microsoft signed" Description="" UserOrGroupSid="S-1-1-0" Action="Allow">
<Conditions>
<FilePublisherCondition PublisherName="O=MICROSOFT CORPORATION, L=REDMOND, S=WASHINGTON, C=US" ProductName="SYSTEM CENTER CONFIGURATION MANAGER" BinaryName="CCMSETUP.EXE">
<BinaryVersionRange LowSection="5.0.0.0" HighSection="*" />
</FilePublisherCondition>
</Conditions>
</FilePublisherRule>
</RuleCollection>
Enable service enforcement in AppLocker policy
Since many installation processes rely on services, it is typically necessary to enable tracking of services. Correct tracking of services requires the presence of at least one rule in the rule collection – a simple audit only rule will suffice. For example:
<RuleCollection Type="Dll" EnforcementMode="AuditOnly" >
<FilePathRule Id="86f235ad-3f7b-4121-bc95-ea8bde3a5db5" Name="Dummy Rule" Description="" UserOrGroupSid="S-1-1-0" Action="Deny">
<Conditions>
<FilePathCondition Path="%OSDRIVE%\ThisWillBeBlocked.dll" />
</Conditions>
</FilePathRule>
<RuleCollectionExtensions>
<ThresholdExtensions>
<Services EnforcementMode="Enabled" />
</ThresholdExtensions>
<RedstoneExtensions>
<SystemApps Allow="Enabled"/>
</RedstoneExtensions>
</RuleCollectionExtensions>
</RuleCollection>
<RuleCollection Type="Exe" EnforcementMode="AuditOnly">
<FilePathRule Id="9420c496-046d-45ab-bd0e-455b2649e41e" Name="Dummy Rule" Description="" UserOrGroupSid="S-1-1-0" Action="Deny">
<Conditions>
<FilePathCondition Path="%OSDRIVE%\ThisWillBeBlocked.exe" />
</Conditions>
</FilePathRule>
<RuleCollectionExtensions>
<ThresholdExtensions>
<Services EnforcementMode="Enabled" />
</ThresholdExtensions>
<RedstoneExtensions>
<SystemApps Allow="Enabled"/>
</RedstoneExtensions>
</RuleCollectionExtensions>
</RuleCollection>
Enable the managed installer option in WDAC policy
In order to enable trust for the binaries laid down by managed installers, the Enabled: Managed Installer option must be specified in your WDAC policy. This can be done by using the Set-RuleOption cmdlet. An example of the managed installer option being set in policy is shown below.
<Rules>
<Rule>
<Option>Enabled:Unsigned System Integrity Policy</Option>
</Rule>
<Rule>
<Option>Enabled:Advanced Boot Options Menu</Option>
</Rule>
<Rule>
<Option>Enabled:UMCI</Option>
</Rule>
<Rule>
<Option>Enabled:Inherit Default Policy</Option>
</Rule>
<Rule>
<Option>Enabled:Managed Installer </Option>
</Rule>
</Rules>
Set the AppLocker filter driver to autostart
To enable the managed installer, you need to set the AppLocker filter driver to autostart and start it. Run the following command as an Administrator:
appidtel.exe start [-mionly]
Specify -mionly if you will not use the Intelligent Security Graph (ISG).
Security considerations with managed installer
Since managed installer is a heuristic-based mechanism, it does not provide the same security guarantees that explicit allow or deny rules do. It is best suited for deployment to systems where each user is configured as a standard user and where all software is deployed and installed by a software distribution solution, such as System Center Configuration Manager.
Users with administrator privileges or malware running as an administrator user on the system may be able to circumvent the intent of Windows Defender Application Control when the managed installer option is allowed. If the authorized managed installer process performs installations in the context of a user with standard privileges, then it is possible that standard users or malware running as standard user may be able to circumvent the intent of Windows Defender Application Control. Some application installers include an option to automatically run the application at the end of the installation process. If this happens when the installer is run by a managed installer, then the managed installer's heuristic tracking and authorization may continue to apply to all files created during the first run of the application. This could result in over-authorization for executables that were not intended. To avoid this, ensure that the application deployment solution being used as a managed installer limits running applications as part of installation.
Known limitations with managed installer
-
Application execution control based on managed installer does not support applications that self-update. If an application deployed by a managed installer subsequently updates itself, the updated application files will no longer include the managed installer origin information and will not be authorized to run. Enterprises should deploy and install all application updates using the managed installer. In some cases, it may be possible to also designate an application binary that performs the self-updates as a managed installer. Proper review for functionality and security should be performed for the application before using this method.
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Although WDAC policies can be deployed in both audit and enforced mode, the managed installer option is currently only recommended for use with policies set to enforced except in lab environments. Using the managed installer option with WDAC policies set to audit only may result in unexpected behavior if the policy is subsequently changed to enforced mode.
-
Modern apps deployed through a managed installer will not be tracked by the managed installer heuristic and will need to be separately authorized in your WDAC policy.
-
Executables that extract files and then attempt to execute may not be allowed by the managed installer heuristic. In some cases, it may be possible to also designate an application binary that performs such an operation as a managed installer. Proper review for functionality and security should be performed for the application before using this method.
-
The managed installer heuristic does not authorize drivers. The WDAC policy must have rules that allow the necessary drivers to run.
-
In some cases, the code integrity logs where WDAC errors and warnings are written will contain error events for native images generated for .NET assemblies. Typically, the error is functionally benign as a blocked native image will result in the corresponding assembly being re-interpreted. Review for functionality and performance for the related applications using the native images maybe necessary in some cases.