Font downloads must be disallowed (Internet zone).

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-46505	DTBI030-IE11	SV-59369r1_rule	DCMC-1	Medium

Description
Downloads of fonts can sometimes contain malicious code. It is possible that a font could include malformed data that would cause Internet Explorer to crash when it attempts to load and render the font. This policy setting allows you to manage whether pages of the zone may download HTML fonts. If you enable this policy setting, HTML fonts can be downloaded automatically. If you enable this policy setting and "Prompt" is selected in the drop-down box, users are queried whether to allow HTML fonts to download. If you disable this policy setting, HTML fonts are prevented from downloading.

Description

Downloads of fonts can sometimes contain malicious code. It is possible that a font could include malformed data that would cause Internet Explorer to crash when it attempts to load and render the font. This policy setting allows you to manage whether pages of the zone may download HTML fonts. If you enable this policy setting, HTML fonts can be downloaded automatically. If you enable this policy setting and "Prompt" is selected in the drop-down box, users are queried whether to allow HTML fonts to download. If you disable this policy setting, HTML fonts are prevented from downloading.

STIG	Date
Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2018-04-02

Details

Check Text ( C-49695r2_chk )
The policy value for Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Internet Explorer -> Internet Control Panel -> Security Page -> Internet Zone -> 'Allow font downloads' must be 'Enabled', and 'Disable' selected from the drop-down box. Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\3 Criteria: If the value "1604" is REG_DWORD = 3, this is not a finding.

Check Text ( C-49695r2_chk )

The policy value for Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Internet Explorer -> Internet Control Panel -> Security Page -> Internet Zone -> 'Allow font downloads' must be 'Enabled', and 'Disable' selected from the drop-down box. Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\3 Criteria: If the value "1604" is REG_DWORD = 3, this is not a finding.

Fix Text (F-50295r1_fix)
Set the policy value for Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Internet Explorer -> Internet Control Panel -> Security Page -> Internet Zone -> 'Allow font downloads' to 'Enabled', and select 'Disable' from the drop-down box.