How to fix SSL 2.0 and BEAST on IIS

In IIS 7 (and 7.5), there are two things to do:

  1. Navigate to: Start > 'gpedit.msc' > Computer Configuration > Admin Templates > Network > SSL Configuration Settings > SSL Cipher Suite Order (in right pane, double click to open). There, copy and paste the following (entries are separated by a single comma, make sure there's no line wrapping):

    TLS_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_SHA,TLS_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_MD5,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256_P256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256_P384,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256_P521,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384_P384,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384_P521,TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256,TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256_P256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256_P384,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256_P521,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384_P256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384_P384,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384_P521,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256_P256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256_P384,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256_P521,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384_P384,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384_P521,TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256,TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA256,TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA,TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA,TLS_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA_P256

  2. Run the following PowerShell commands as administrator (copy-paste into Notepad, save as 'fix-beast-in-iis.ps1' and run with elevated privileges):

    #make TSL 1.2 protocol reg keys
    md "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2"
    md "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Server"
    md "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Client"
    
    # Enable TLS 1.2 for client and server SCHANNEL communications
    new-itemproperty -path     "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Server" -name "Enabled" -value 1 -PropertyType "DWord"
    new-itemproperty -path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Server" -name "DisabledByDefault" -value 0 -PropertyType "DWord"
    new-itemproperty -path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Client" -name "Enabled" -value 1 -PropertyType "DWord"
    new-itemproperty -path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Client" -name "DisabledByDefault" -value 0 -PropertyType "DWord"
    
    # Make and Enable TLS 1.1 for client and server SCHANNEL communications
    md "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.1"
    md "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.1\Server"
    md "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.1\Client" 
    new-itemproperty -path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.1\Server" -name "Enabled" -value 1 -PropertyType "DWord"
    new-itemproperty -path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.1\Server" -name "DisabledByDefault" -value 0 -PropertyType "DWord"
    new-itemproperty -path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.1\Client" -name "Enabled" -value 1 -PropertyType "DWord"
    new-itemproperty -path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.1\Client" -name "DisabledByDefault" -value 0 -PropertyType "DWord"
    
    # Disable SSL 2.0 (PCI Compliance)
    md "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\SSL 2.0\Server"
    new-itemproperty -path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\SSL 2.0\Server" -name Enabled -value 0 -PropertyType "DWord"
    

Once you've run the script, you can run 'regedit' and make sure the keys in the script were actually created correctly. Then reboot for the change to take effect.

WARNING: Notice I didn't turn off SSL 3.0- the reason for this is due to the fact that, like it or not, there are still people out there using Windows XP with IE 6/7. Without SSL 3.0 enabled, there would be no protocol for those people to fall back on. While you may still not get a perfect on a Qualys SSL Labs scan, the majority of holes should be closed by following the previous steps. If you want absolute PCI compliance, you can copy the lines from the Disable SSL 2.0 section of the Powershell script, paste them at the end of the script and change them to the following:

# Disable SSL 3.0 (PCI Compliance)
md "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\SSL 3.0\Server"
new-itemproperty -path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\SSL 3.0\Server" -name Enabled -value 0 -PropertyType "DWord"

Then, when you run the script, you disable SSL 2.0, SSL 3.0 and enable TLS 1.1 and 1.2.


I just posted an update to IIS Crypto which is a free tool that sets the schannel registry keys and puts RC4 at the top of the SSL cipher suite order with a single click. This mitigates the BEAST attack on Windows Server 2008 and 2012.


As far as the actual risks, it seems hard to say. Whilst tools like SSL Labs reports this as high priority, I am not aware of any real attacks exploiting this in the wild, and from my (very limited) understanding of how the attack works, it's rather complicated to execute and there are plenty of pre-requisites to make it a real threat. You already linked to plenty of resources, so no point repeating what's already covered.

As for configuring IIS 7 to use RC4, perhaps this pdf can help?

Tags:

Iis

Tls

Beast