Title

Inclusion of document properties for PDF and XPS output must be disallowed. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

If the Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS Add-in for Microsoft Office Programs add-in is installed, document properties are saved as metadata when users save files using the PDF or XPS or Publish as PDF or XPS commands in Access 2010, Excel 2010, InfoPath 2010, PowerPoint 2010, and Word 2010, unless the Document properties option is unchecked in the Options dialog box. If this metadata contains sensitive information, saving it with the file could compromise security.

Check Content

The policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office 2010 -> Microsoft Save As PDF and XPS add-ins “Disable inclusion of document properties in PDF and XPS output” must be set to “Enabled”. Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\14.0\common\fixedformat Criteria: If the value DisableFixedFormatDocProperties is REG_DWORD = 1, this is not a finding.

Fix Text

Set the policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office 2010 -> Microsoft Save As PDF and XPS add-ins “Disable inclusion of document properties in PDF and XPS output” to “Enabled”.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-33463r1_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-17660

Group Title: DTOO206 - Incl. Doc. properties for PDF and XPS

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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