SMB security hardening

Timelines and exceptions · All guidance changes

Windows Server · Official Microsoft guidanceObserved changes retained

Retained observation

Source metadata changed; retained article content is unchanged.

Documentation metadata only

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Observation details · observed 24 Oct 01:28 UTC

Observed by ChangeIntel: 24 Oct 01:28 UTC
Source update metadata: 15 Sep 2025 17:34 UTC
First observed on this installation: 5 Oct 23:18 UTC
Last successful check: today 01:38 UTC
Next check due: 27 Oct 01:38 UTC

Observation time is not publication time, and a comparison does not establish an effective date. Full source bodies are not published; this page holds generated summaries, section headings and, as the page's license allows, Microsoft's changed wording. A documentation edit does not confirm feature availability in an environment.

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Timeline

From the capture of 24 Oct 01:28 UTC

9 undated sections
10 with conditions
5 recorded changes

Requirements, exceptions and scope

SMB signingRequirementException3 conditions2 passages
Starting with Windows 11 24H2 and Windows Server 2025, all outbound and inbound SMB connections are now required to be signed by default. Previously, SMB…
SMB alternative portsException1 condition1 passage
SMB client encryption mandate now supportedException1 condition1 passage
SMB dialect managementException3 conditions1 passage
SMB Firewall default port changesRequirementException1 condition1 passage
SMB insecure guest authenticationRequirementException2 conditions2 passages
SMB over QUIC client access controlRequirementException1 condition1 passage
SMB over QUIC in Windows ServerRequirementException2 conditions1 passage
SMB Remote Mailslots deprecationRequirement2 passages

Extracted automatically from Microsoft's wording. Confirm dates, conditions and whether they apply to you in the source before acting; a month or quarter is a window, not a day.

How this timeline changed

Changes between ChangeIntel's readings of the page, between commits of its source file where Microsoft publishes it, in Internet Archive copies of pages that keep no other history, and entries from Microsoft's own change log (dated as Microsoft dates them). Edits between readings that neither records are unknown.

26 Sep 2024
No longer on the page SMB over QUIC client access control Microsoft's source, commit 4c78bb4
26 Sep 2024
Requirement added SMB over QUIC client access control Microsoft's source, commit 4c78bb4
26 Sep 2024
No longer on the page SMB over QUIC in Windows Server Microsoft's source, commit c602124
26 Sep 2024
Requirement added SMB over QUIC in Windows Server Microsoft's source, commit c602124
26 Sep 2024
Exception added SMB signing Microsoft's source, commit c602124

Observed history and review priority

Captured 24 Oct 01:28 UTC; extracted 24 Oct 01:28 UTC. Extractor: microsoft-1/9/d9863eb412f92fa5ec3a8ca32e2dd7cfe8095530f456ecb1866608d1166a435d.

Review priority. Extracted assertions require review · Applicability or exceptions require review

0 date changes and 0 condition changes across 1 compared revisions. Suggested check interval: 24 hours.

Earlier unavailable versions and edits between checks are unknown. A missing statement requires review; it does not mean the policy was cancelled. Recovered historical statements are not original revision snapshots.

Retained observations · 8

Compact evidence remains available after full document bodies expire. Earlier extractions can have different vocabulary or capture limitations.

24 Oct 01:28 UTC · 16 candidates
13 Oct 00:55 UTC · 16 candidates
5 Oct 23:18 UTC · 17 candidates
25 Oct 2024 19:50 UTC · 16 candidates
25 Oct 2024 17:01 UTC · 16 candidates
26 Sep 2024 16:25 UTC · 16 candidates
26 Sep 2024 16:17 UTC · 16 candidates
25 Sep 2024 06:59 UTC · 14 candidates

Microsoft's edits

History on GitHub

Commits to the page's source in MicrosoftDocs/windowsserverdocs, with Microsoft's own messages. Commit dates can be hours or days before Learn publishes the change. ChangeIntel keeps a copy of each diff, so an edit stays readable here if GitHub stops serving it. Read today 00:51 UTC.

12 Sep 2025 09:49 UTC [Scoped] Updating msauthor values part 1 Metadata onlyServed on LearnView diff
25 Oct 2024 19:50 UTC Fixing build validation issues View diff
25 Oct 2024 17:01 UTC Bulk update to remove preview suffix View diff
26 Sep 2024 16:25 UTC Minor edit View diff
26 Sep 2024 16:17 UTC Applied PM/Dev feedback View diff
25 Sep 2024 06:59 UTC Compiled SMB security features list View diff

5 metadata-only edits · author, dates or topic labels, no article text

7 Aug 2025 22:05 UTC WindowsServerDocs\storage Metadata onlyView diff
27 Nov 2024 19:10 UTC Update ms.author Metadata onlyView diff
17 Oct 2024 08:27 UTC Replace the non-skilling ms.authors Metadata onlyView diff
26 Sep 2024 17:18 UTC Resolve blocking issue Metadata onlyView diff
25 Sep 2024 07:00 UTC Minor edit Metadata onlyView diff

No related evidence found in this installation's recent collection. This does not establish that no announcement exists.

Retained observations

24 Oct 01:28 UTC · shown above
13 Oct 00:55 UTC
1 removed passage (about 30 words). The changed wording mentions dates and deadlines. Review the source to confirm the effect.
5 Oct 23:18 UTC
Baseline for retained history; no earlier retained text to compare.

What changed

First observed 18 Oct 2026

No field changes are shown for this selection.

Cite this recorded revision to keep the same title, summary, facts and links when the page changes.

A day selects the latest observation by the end of that UTC day; today's selection can change until midnight. History starts when this installation records it.