The scanning of encrypted macros in open XML documents must be enforced.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-17473	DTOO142	SV-53810r1_rule		Medium

Description
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.

Description

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.

STIG	Date
Microsoft Excel 2013 STIG	2018-04-03

Details

Check Text ( C-47882r1_chk )
Verify the policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Excel 2013 -> Excel Options -> Security "Scan encrypted macros in Excel Open XML workbooks" is set to "Enabled: Scan encrypted macros (default)". Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\15.0\excel\security Criteria: If the value ExcelBypassEncryptedMacroScan is REG_DWORD = 0, this is not a finding.

Check Text ( C-47882r1_chk )

Verify the policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Excel 2013 -> Excel Options -> Security "Scan encrypted macros in Excel Open XML workbooks" is set to "Enabled: Scan encrypted macros (default)".

Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key:

HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\15.0\excel\security

Criteria: If the value ExcelBypassEncryptedMacroScan is REG_DWORD = 0, this is not a finding.

Fix Text (F-46718r1_fix)
Set the policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Excel 2013 -> Excel Options -> Security "Scan encrypted macros in Excel Open XML workbooks" to "Enabled: Scan encrypted macros (default)".