Navigate URL must be enabled in all Office programs.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-223302	O365-CO-000020	SV-223302r961092_rule		Medium

Description

To protect users from attacks, Internet Explorer usually does not attempt to load malformed URLs. 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 Internet Explorer attempts to load a malformed URL, a security risk could occur.

STIG	Date
Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus Security Technical Implementation Guide	2025-03-05

Details

Check Text (C-24975r442125_chk)

Verify the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Microsoft Office 2016 (Machine) >> Security Settings >> IE Security >> Navigate URL is set to "Enabled" and the check box is selected for every installed Office program.

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

HKLM\software\microsoft\internet explorer\main\featurecontrol\feature_validate_navigate_url

If the value for all installed programs is REG_DWORD = 1, this is not a finding.

Fix Text (F-24963r442126_fix)

Set the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Microsoft Office 2016 (Machine) >> Security Settings >> IE Security >> Navigate URL to "Enabled" and select the check boxes for all installed Office programs.