SV-45324r1: The Allow META REFRESH property must be disallowed (Restricted Sites zone). | Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 Security Technical Implementation Guide

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Assessment Title

Rule Text

The Allow META REFRESH property must be disallowed (Restricted Sites zone).

Description

Discussion Text

It is possible that users will unknowingly be redirected to a site hosting malicious content. "Allow META REFRESH" must have a level of protection based upon the site being browsed. This policy setting allows you to manage whether a user's browser can be redirected to another web page if the author of the web page uses the Meta Refresh setting to redirect browsers to another web page.

How this relates to the STIG checklist: STIG vs SCAP benchmark.

Additional Details

Responsibility

System Administrator

References

DPMS Target IE Version 10 DISA DPMS Target IE Version 10 2351

Checks

OVAL

oval:mil.disa.fso.ie:var:29000 ← xccdf_mil.disa.stig_value_AllowMETAREFRESH_RestrictedSitesZone_LocalComputer_var

SCC Automation Reference

The reconstructed evaluation script behind this rule's OVAL check(s) — every module a compound check combines, with this rule's own concrete values and DISA's SCC tool's real per-module mechanism curated from static teardown of SCC releases.

# Windows PowerShell
# Reconstructed from oval:mil.disa.fso.ie:def:290
# The Allow META REFRESH property must be disallowed (Restricted Sites zone).
# Per-module read mechanism curated from static teardown of DISA's SCC tool
# (SCAP Compliance Checker) -- see the SCC Automation Reference above.

# Computer Configuration\Network\Internet Explorer\Internet Control Panel\Security Page\Restricted Sites Zone\Allow META REFRESH
# registry_object (registry_test)
function test_1 {
  return (((@{String='reg_sz';ExpandString='reg_expand_sz';Binary='reg_binary';DWord='reg_dword';MultiString='reg_multi_sz';QWord='reg_qword';None='reg_none'}[(Get-Item -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\4').GetValueKind('1608').ToString()]) -eq 'reg_dword') -and (((Get-ItemProperty -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\4' -Name '1608' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) | Select-Object -ExpandProperty '1608') -eq 3))
}

if (test_1) {
  Write-Output "PASS"
} else {
  Write-Output "FAIL"
}

Assessment Script Powered by AISyntax-verified

A standalone PowerShell script to assess this control automatically. Review before running it in your environment.

Syntax-checked as valid PowerShell. Not executed here — running it for real needs the actual ms_ie10 target this check assesses.

# OVAL Definition: oval:mil.disa.fso.ie:def:290
$regPath = "HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\4\1608"
if (Test-Path $regPath) {
    $regValue = (Get-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).Value
    if ($regValue -eq 3) {
        Write-Output "PASS"
        Exit 0
    }
}
Write-Output "FAIL"
Exit 1

Remediation

Set the policy value for Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Internet Explorer -> Internet Control Panel -> Security Page -> Restricted Sites Zone -> "Allow META REFRESH" to "Enabled", and select "Disable" from the drop-down box.