Microsoft Defender Antivirus • Release: 7 Benchmark Date: 05 Jan 2026
CAT II V-213438 WNDF-AV-000014
Microsoft Defender AV must be configured to not allow override of monitoring for incoming and outgoing file activity.
Discussion
This policy setting configures a local override for the configuration of monitoring for incoming and outgoing file activity. This setting can only be set by Group Policy. If this setting is enabled, the local preference setting will take priority over Group Policy. If this setting is disabled or not configured, Group Policy will take priority over the local preference setting.
Check Procedure
Verify the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Windows Components >> Microsoft Defender Antivirus >> Real-time Protection >> "Configure local setting override for monitoring for incoming and outgoing file activity" is set to "Disabled" or "Not Configured". Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Real-Time Protection Criteria: If the value "LocalSettingOverrideRealtimeScanDirection" is REG_DWORD = 0, this is not a finding. If the value does not exist, this is not a finding. If the value is 1, this is a finding.
Fix Action
Set the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Windows Components >> Microsoft Defender Antivirus >> Real-time Protection >> "Configure local setting override for monitoring for incoming and outgoing file activity" to "Disabled" or "Not Configured".