Outlook must be configured to not allow hyperlinks in suspected phishing messages.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-223372	O365-OU-000027	SV-223372r961863_rule		Medium

Description

This policy setting controls whether hyperlinks in suspected phishing e-mail messages in Outlook are allowed. If you enable this policy setting, Outlook will allow hyperlinks in suspected phishing messages that are not also classified as junk e-mail. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, Outlook will not allow hyperlinks in suspected phishing messages, even if they are not classified as junk e-mail.

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

Details

Check Text (C-25045r442335_chk)

Verify the policy value for User Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Microsoft Outlook 2016 >> Security >> Trust Center "Allow hyperlinks in suspected phishing e-mail messages" is set to "Disabled".

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

HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\outlook\options\mail

If the value JunkMailEnableLinks is REG_DWORD = 0, this is not a finding.

Fix Text (F-25033r442336_fix)

Set the policy value for User Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Microsoft Outlook 2016 >> Security >> Trust Center "Allow hyperlinks in suspected phishing e-mail messages" to "Disabled".