The Allow META REFRESH property must be disallowed (Restricted Sites zone).

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-223063	DTBI123-IE11	SV-223063r879887_rule		Medium

Description
It is possible that users will unknowingly be redirected to a site hosting malicious content. 'Allow META REFRESH' must have a level of protection based upon the site being browsed. This policy setting allows you to manage whether a user's browser can be redirected to another web page if the author of the web page uses the Meta Refresh setting to redirect browsers to another web page.

STIG	Date
Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-12-01

Details

Check Text ( C-24736r428739_chk )
The policy value for Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Internet Explorer -> Internet Control Panel -> Security Page -> Restricted Sites Zone -> 'Allow META REFRESH' 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\4 Criteria: If the value "1608" is REG_DWORD = 3, this is not a finding.

Check Text ( C-24736r428739_chk )

The policy value for Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Internet Explorer -> Internet Control Panel -> Security Page -> Restricted Sites Zone -> 'Allow META REFRESH' 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\4 Criteria: If the value "1608" is REG_DWORD = 3, this is not a finding.

Fix Text (F-24724r428740_fix)
Set the policy value for Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Internet Explorer -> Internet Control Panel -> Security Page -> Restricted Sites Zone -> 'Allow META REFRESH' to 'Enabled', and select 'Disable' from the drop-down box.