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

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-71015	DTOO142	SV-85639r1_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 2016 STIG	2016-12-01

Details

Check Text ( None )
None

Fix Text (F-46718r1_fix)
Set the policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Excel 2016 -> Excel Options -> Security "Scan encrypted macros in Excel Open XML workbooks" to "Enabled: Scan encrypted macros (default)".