Title

Fatally corrupt files must be blocked from opening. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Enabling this setting allows a user to open fatally corrupt Publisher 2013 files. As a result, malicious code or users could become active on the user's computer or the network. For example, a malicious user may purposely corrupt a Publisher file. The corrupted file could force the application to fail or execute malicious code, giving the malicious user control of Publisher 2013.

Check Content

Verify the policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Publisher 2013 -> Security "Prompt to allow fatally corrupt files to open instead of blocking them" is set to "Disabled". Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\15.0\publisher Criteria: If the value PromptForBadFiles is REG_DWORD = 0, this is not a finding.

Fix Text

Set the policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Publisher 2013 -> Security "Prompt to allow fatally corrupt files to open instead of blocking them" to "Disabled".

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-53255r1_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-26707

Group Title: DTOO322 - Prompt files to open instead of blocking

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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