Controls/EDCA-TLS-019.json

{
  "id": "EDCA-TLS-019",
  "title": "Exchange global recipient count limit is set",
  "description": "The Exchange global recipient count limit (MaxRecipientEnvelopeLimit) places an organization-wide cap on the number of envelope recipients that any single message may carry, regardless of connector-level or mailbox-level limits; this prevents abuse of the mail infrastructure for large-scale spam campaigns and limits the blast radius of accidental mass-mailing events. The Exchange Global Recipient Count Limit MUST be set. A global recipient count limit on outbound messages restricts the maximum number of recipients per message and prevents abuse of the mail infrastructure for large-scale spam campaigns or accidental mass mailing.",
  "verify": true,
  "subject": "Organization",
  "category": "Transport Security",
  "severity": "Low",
  "severityWeight": 3,
  "frameworks": [
    "DISA"
  ],
  "references": [
    {
      "name": "DISA STIG EX19-MB-000142: The Exchange Global Recipient Count Limit must be set (V-259693)",
      "url": "https://www.stigviewer.com/stigs/microsoft_exchange_2019_mailbox_server/2025-05-14/finding/V-259693"
    },
    {
      "name": "Set-TransportConfig cmdlet",
      "url": "https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/exchange/set-transportconfig"
    }
  ],
  "remediation": {
    "automatable": true,
    "description": "Set MaxRecipientEnvelopeLimit in global transport configuration.",
    "scriptTemplate": "Set-TransportConfig -MaxRecipientEnvelopeLimit 5000"
  },
  "considerations": "Setting this limit too low may prevent legitimate bulk internal communications (e.g., company-wide alerts). Establish the limit based on organizational requirements, typically between 200 and 5000 recipients per message.",
  "roles": [
    "Mailbox"
  ]
}