Adobe Acrobat Pro XI Default Handler changes must be disabled.

From Adobe Acrobat Pro XI Security Technical Implementation Guide

Associated with: CCI-001499

SV-89973r1_rule Adobe Acrobat Pro XI Default Handler changes must be disabled.

Vulnerability discussion

Acrobat Pro allows users to change the version of Acrobat Pro that is used to read PDF files. This is a risk if multiple versions of Acrobat are installed on the system and the other version has dissimilar security configurations or known vulnerabilities. When the Default PDF Handler is disabled, the end users will not be able to change the default PDF viewer.

Check content

Verify the following registry configuration: Using the Registry Editor, navigate to the following: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\11.0\FeatureLockDown Value Name: bDisablePDFHandlerSwitching Type: REG_DWORD Value: 1 If the value for bDisablePDFHandlerSwitching is not set to “1” and Type is not configured to REG_DWORD or does not exist, this is a finding.

Fix text

Configure the following registry value: Registry Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Registry Path: \Software\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\11.0\FeatureLockDown Value Name: bDisablePDFHandlerSwitching Type: REG_DWORD Value: 1

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