Title

Block navigation to URL embedded in Office products to protect against attack by malformed URL. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

To protect users from attacks, Internet Explorer usually does not attempt to load malformed URLs. This functionality can be controlled separately for instances of Internet Explorer spawned by 2007 Office applications (for example, if a user clicks a link in an Office document or selects a menu option that loads a web page). If Internet Explorer attempts to load a malformed URL, a security risk could occur in some cases.

Check Content

Validate the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Microsoft Office 2007 system (Machine) >> Security Settings >> IE Security “Navigate URL” is set to “Enabled” and "spDesign.exe" check box is checked. Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_VALIDATE_NAVIGATE_URL Criteria: If the value spDesign.exe is REG_DWORD = 1, this is not a finding.

Fix Text

Set the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Microsoft Office 2007 system (Machine) >> Security Settings >> IE Security “Navigate URL” to “Enabled” and select the "spDesign.exe" check box.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-18601r2_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-17183

Group Title: DTOO123-Block Navigation to URL from Office

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

Controls tied to check. These are derived from the CCIs shown above.