DTOO104 - Excel - Disable user name and password syntax from being used in URLs.

Information

The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) standard allows user authentication to be included in URL strings in the form http://username:[email protected]. A malicious user might use this URL syntax to create a hyperlink that appears to open a legitimate Web site but actually opens a deceptive (spoofed) Web site. For example, the URL http://[email protected] appears to open http://www.wingtiptoys.com but actually opens http://example.com. To protect users from such attacks, Internet Explorer usually blocks any URLs using this syntax.

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 user names and passwords in URLs are allowed, users could be diverted to dangerous Web pages, which could pose a security risk.

Solution

The policy value for Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office 2007 system (Machine) -> Security Settings -> IE Security 'Disable user name and password' will be set to 'Enabled' and excel.exe is checked.

See Also

http://iase.disa.mil/stigs/app_security/office_auto/u_microsoft_office2007_v4r9_stig_20121026.zip

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-6, CAT|II, CSCv6|3.1, Rule-ID|SV-18567r2_rule, STIG-ID|DTOO104, Vuln-ID|V-17173

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: fba78237cf684da2938d6b31cc9ca4422dc96bbeadd6b971e08b1b4669666359