Title

Warning Bar settings for VBA macros must be configured. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

When users open files containing VBA macros, applications open the files with the macros disabled and display the Trust Bar with a warning that macros are present and have been disabled. Users may then enable these macros by clicking Options on the Trust Bar and selecting the option to enable them. Disabling or not configuring this setting may allow dangerous macros to become active on user computers or the network.

Check Content

NOTE: If VBA support is not installed, this check is Not Applicable. Verify the policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Word 2013 -> Word Options -> Security -> Trust Center "VBA Macro Notification Settings" is set to "Enabled (Disable all with notification)". Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\15.0\word\security Criteria: If the value VBAWarnings is REG_DWORD = 2, this is not a finding.

Fix Text

Set the policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Word 2013 -> Word Options -> Security -> Trust Center "VBA Macro Notification Settings" to "Enabled (Disable all with notification)".

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-53586r2_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-17545

Group Title: DTOO304 - VBA Macro Warning settings

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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