Inclusion of document properties for PDF and XPS output must be disallowed.

From Microsoft Office System 2013 STIG

Part of DTOO206 - Incl. Doc. properties for PDF and XPS

Associated with: CCI-000366

SV-52753r2_rule Inclusion of document properties for PDF and XPS output must be disallowed.

Vulnerability discussion

If the Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS Add-in for Microsoft Office Programs is installed, document properties are saved as metadata when users save or publish files using the PDF or XPS commands in Access 2013, Excel 2013, InfoPath 2013, PowerPoint 2013, and Word 2013 using the PDF or XPS or Publish. If this metadata contains sensitive information, saving it with the file could compromise security.

Check content

Verify the policy value for User Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Microsoft Office 2013 >> Microsoft Save As PDF and XPS add-ins "Disable inclusion of document properties in PDF and XPS output" is set to "Enabled". Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following hive: HKEY_Users For every users profile hive under HKEY_Users, navigate to the following key: \Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\15.0\common\fixedformat If the value “DisableFixedFormatDocProperties” is REG_DWORD = 1 for every user profile hive, this is not a finding.

Fix text

Set the policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office 2013 -> Microsoft Save As PDF and XPS add-ins "Disable inclusion of document properties in PDF and XPS output" to "Enabled".

Pro Tips

Lavender hyperlinks in small type off to the right (of CSS class id, if you view the page source) point to globally unique URIs for each document and item. Copy the link location and paste anywhere you need to talk unambiguously about these things.

You can obtain data about documents and items in other formats. Simply provide an HTTP header Accept: text/turtle or Accept: application/rdf+xml.