2.25.6 Ensure 'Protect Document Metadata for Password Protected Files' is set to Enabled

Information

This policy setting determines whether metadata is encrypted when an Office Open XML file is password protected. The recommended state for this setting is: Enabled. By default, when an Office Open XML document is protected with a password and saved, any metadata associated with the document is encrypted along with the rest of the document's contents. If this configuration is changed, potentially sensitive information such as the document author and hyperlink references could be exposed to unauthorized people.

Solution

To implement the recommended configuration state, set the following Group Policy setting to Enabled. User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2016\Security Settings\Protect Document Metadata for Password Protected Files Impact: Enabling this setting might interfere with the functioning of tools that aggregate and display metadata information for Office Open XML files, but is otherwise unlikely to cause significant usability issues.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/571

Item Details

Category: SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION

References: 800-53|SC-13

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: 7aa96ae0c74c6c038786dc178b6f4b2a4560704a8fad779ea5b84f90f11e451f