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AD-CFG-05: Recycle bin enabled paths should be retrievable

ID AD-CFG-05
Severity Info
Suite Active Directory (on-premises)
Product Active Directory
Feature Directory configuration
Security area Infrastructure hardening
Resource type Tenant
Reads from On-premises Active Directory

Recycle Bin enabled paths indicate which naming contexts/partitions have AD’s Recycle Bin functionality turned on. This matters because the Recycle Bin is a major control for limiting damage from:

  • Accidental deletions (including bulk removal mistakes)
  • Insider misuse where deletion is used to cover tracks
  • Operational failures where objects must be restored quickly to resume secure workflows

Without Recycle Bin enabled for the right partitions, deleted objects may be irrecoverable once tombstone/purge timelines are exceeded.

Preventive

  • Enable Recycle Bin for all partitions that store security-critical objects (for example, identity data in domains/NCs you manage).
  • Ensure your recovery playbooks explicitly reference Recycle Bin vs. tombstone recovery.
  • Monitor for unexpected changes to enabled partitions and investigate immediately.

This test enumerates AD partitions/paths and reports which ones have Recycle Bin enabled, giving administrators direct visibility into recoverability coverage.

  • Test-MtAdRecycleBinStatus - Confirms overall Recycle Bin functionality state.

Mito check. Author: soulemike. Open-source licences.

Open-source licences. CIS Benchmark material © Center for Internet Security, Inc.; CISA SCuBA baselines are public domain (CC0).

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