Disable the feature to "unblock automatic download of linked images" in PowerPoint.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-17809	DTOO291 - PowerPoint	SV-19044r1_rule		Medium

Description
When users insert images into PowerPoint 2007 presentations, they can select Link to File instead of Insert. If they do so, the image is represented by a link to a file on disk instead of being embedded in the presentation file itself. By default, when PowerPoint opens a presentation it does not display any linked images saved on a different computer unless the presentation itself is saved in a trusted location (as configured in the Trust Center). If this configuration is changed, PowerPoint will load any images that were saved in remote locations, which presents a security risk.

Description

When users insert images into PowerPoint 2007 presentations, they can select Link to File instead of Insert. If they do so, the image is represented by a link to a file on disk instead of being embedded in the presentation file itself. By default, when PowerPoint opens a presentation it does not display any linked images saved on a different computer unless the presentation itself is saved in a trusted location (as configured in the Trust Center). If this configuration is changed, PowerPoint will load any images that were saved in remote locations, which presents a security risk.

STIG	Date
Microsoft PowerPoint 2007	2016-03-31

Details

Check Text ( C-19070r1_chk )
The policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 -> PowerPoint Options -> Security “Unblock automatic download of linked images” will be set to “Disabled”. Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\PowerPoint\Security Criteria: If the value DownloadImages is REG_DWORD = 0, this is not a finding

Check Text ( C-19070r1_chk )

The policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 -> PowerPoint Options -> Security “Unblock automatic download of linked images” will be set to “Disabled”.

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

HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\PowerPoint\Security

Criteria: If the value DownloadImages is REG_DWORD = 0, this is not a finding

Fix Text (F-17710r1_fix)
The policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 -> PowerPoint Options -> Security “Unblock automatic download of linked images” will be set to “Disabled”.