Enable IE Bind to Object functionality for instances of IE launched from Outlook

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-17174	DTOO111 - Outlook	SV-18188r2_rule	ECSC-1	Medium

Description
Internet Explorer performs a number of safety checks before initializing an ActiveX control. It will not initialize a control if the kill bit for the control is set in the registry, or if the security settings for the zone in which the control is located do not allow it to be initialized. 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). A security risk could occur if potentially dangerous controls are allowed to load.

Description

Internet Explorer performs a number of safety checks before initializing an ActiveX control. It will not initialize a control if the kill bit for the control is set in the registry, or if the security settings for the zone in which the control is located do not allow it to be initialized. 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). A security risk could occur if potentially dangerous controls are allowed to load.

STIG	Date
Microsoft Outlook 2007	2015-09-17

Details

Check Text ( C-17867r4_chk )
Verify the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Microsoft Office 2007 system (Machine) >> Security Settings >> IE Security “Bind to Object” is set to “Enabled” and ‘outlook.exe’ is selected. Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_SAFE_BINDTOOBJECT Criteria: If the value outlook.exe is REG_DWORD = 1, this is not a finding.

Check Text ( C-17867r4_chk )

Verify the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Microsoft Office 2007 system (Machine) >> Security Settings >> IE Security “Bind to Object” is set to “Enabled” and ‘outlook.exe’ is selected.

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

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

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

Fix Text (F-16964r3_fix)
For the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Microsoft Office 2007 system (Machine) >> Security Settings >> IE Security “Bind to Object” select “Enabled” and select the ‘outlook.exe’ check box.