DTOO142 - Excel - Force encrypted macros to be scanned in open XML documents must be determined and configured.

Information

When an Office Open XML document (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) is rights-managed, or password-protected, any macros embedded in the document are encrypted along with the rest of the contents. By default, these encrypted macros will be disabled unless they are scanned by antivirus software immediately before being loaded. If this default configuration is modified, Office products will not require encrypted macros to be scanned before loading. They will be handled as specified by the Office System macro security settings, which can cause macro viruses to load undetected and lead to data loss or reduced application functionality.

Solution

Set the policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Excel 2010 -> Excel Options -> Security 'Scan encrypted macros in Excel Open XML workbooks' to 'Enabled: Scan encrypted macros (default)'.

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_MS_Excel_2010_V1R11_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION

References: 800-53|SC-18(4), CAT|II, CCI|CCI-001170, Rule-ID|SV-33441r1_rule, STIG-ID|DTOO142, Vuln-ID|V-17473

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: 1ae09a6f26bbfb2893f96786ec31bcbeb159ae4f110e6aa4937b8b86ebe0d02c