Links that invoke instances of Internet Explorer from within an Office product must be blocked in PowerPoint Viewer.

From Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Associated with: CCI-001662

SV-85319r1_rule Links that invoke instances of Internet Explorer from within an Office product must be blocked in PowerPoint Viewer.

Vulnerability discussion

The Pop-up Blocker feature in Internet Explorer can be used to block most unwanted pop-up and pop-under windows from appearing. This functionality can be controlled separately for instances of Internet Explorer spawned by Office applications (for example, if a user clicks a link in an Office document or selects a menu option that loads a web page). If the Pop-up Blocker is disabled, disruptive and potentially dangerous pop-up windows could load and present a security risk.

Check content

Verify the policy value for Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office 2016 (Machine) -> Security Settings -> IE Security "Block popups" is set to "Enabled" and 'pptview.exe' is checked. Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_WEBOC_POPUPMANAGEMENT Criteria: If the value pptview.exe is REG_DWORD = 1, this is not a finding.

Fix text

Set the policy value for Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office 2016 (Machine) -> Security Settings -> IE Security "Block popups" to "Enabled" and place a check in the 'pptview.exe' check box.

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.