Disable user name and password syntax from being used in URLs

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-17173	DTOO104 - InfoPath	SV-18182r1_rule	ECSC-1	Medium

Description
The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) standard allows user authentication to be included in URL strings in the form http://username:password@example.com. 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://www.wingtiptoys.com@example.com 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.

Description

The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) standard allows user authentication to be included in URL strings in the form http://username:password@example.com. 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://www.wingtiptoys.com@example.com 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.

STIG	Date
Microsoft InfoPath 2007	2014-01-07

Details

Check Text ( C-17857r1_chk )
If Office 2007 PRE SP2: 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 ‘spDesign.exe’ is checked. Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_HTTP_USERNAME_PASSWORD_DISABLE Criteria: If the value spDesign.exe is REG_DWORD = 1, this is not a finding. If Office 2007 SP2: 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 ‘spDesign.exe’ is checked. Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_HTTP_USERNAME_PASSWORD_DISABLE Criteria: If the value spDesign.exe is REG_DWORD = 1, this is not a finding.

Check Text ( C-17857r1_chk )

If Office 2007 PRE SP2: 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 ‘spDesign.exe’ is checked.

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

HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_HTTP_USERNAME_PASSWORD_DISABLE

Criteria: If the value spDesign.exe is REG_DWORD = 1, this is not a finding.

If Office 2007 SP2: 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 ‘spDesign.exe’ is checked.

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

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_HTTP_USERNAME_PASSWORD_DISABLE

Criteria: If the value spDesign.exe is REG_DWORD = 1, this is not a finding.

Fix Text (F-16959r1_fix)
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 ‘spDesign.exe’ is checked. Note: In Office SP2 adm use, filtering in GPEDIT.MSC should have deselected any checks in "Only show configured policy settings" box, and "Only show policy settings that can be fully managed" box, in order to view the hive within the GP Console for policy use.

Fix Text (F-16959r1_fix)

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 ‘spDesign.exe’ is checked.

Note: In Office SP2 adm use, filtering in GPEDIT.MSC should have deselected any checks in "Only show configured policy settings" box, and "Only show policy settings that can be fully managed" box, in order to view the hive within the GP Console for policy use.