Title

Do not permit download of content from safe zones - Outlook (Cat II impact)

Discussion

By default, Outlook 2007 automatically downloads content from sites that are considered "safe," as defined in the Security tab of the Internet Options dialog box in Internet Explorer. This configuration could allow users to inadvertently download Web beacons that reveal their identity to spammers and other malicious people.

Check Content

The intent of this check is to allow content from Safe Zones automatically. In order to allow for content from Safe Zones automatically, the setting for "Do not permit download of content from safe zones" must be set to "Disabled". All other content will be blocked. In addition, the resulting registry key for "UnblockSafeZone" will be true, or a REG_DWORD value of "1", meaning Safe Zone content will be unblocked. Set the policy value for User Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 >> Security >> Automatic Picture Download Settings “Do not permit download of content from safe zones” to “Disabled”. Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Options\Mail Criteria: If the value UnblockSafeZone is REG_DWORD = 1, this is not a finding.

Fix Text

Set the policy value for User Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 >> Security >> Automatic Picture Download Settings “Do not permit download of content from safe zones” will be set to “Disabled”.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-35249r4_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-17470

Group Title:

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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