Details

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.

Solution

Configure the following registry value:

Registry Hive:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry Path:
SoftwarePoliciesAdobeAdobe Acrobat2015FeatureLockDown

Value Name: bDisablePDFHandlerSwitching
Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1

Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration > Administrative Template > Adobe Acrobat Pro DC Classic > Preferences > General > ‘Disable PDF handler switching’ to ‘Enabled’.

This policy setting requires the installation of the AcrobatProDCClassic custom templates included with the STIG package. ‘AcrobatProDCClassic.admx’ and ‘AcrobatProDCClassic.adml’ must be copied to the WindowsPolicyDefinitions and WindowsPolicyDefinitionsen-US directories respectively.

Supportive Information

The following resource is also helpful.

• https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_Adobe_Acrobat_Pro_DC_Classic_V2R1_STIG.zip

This security hardening control applies to the following category of controls within NIST 800-53: Configuration Management.This control applies to the following type of system Windows.

References

• 800-53|CM-5(6)
• CAT|III
• CCI|CCI-001499
• Rule-ID|SV-213106r557504_rule
• STIG-ID|AADC-CL-001280
• STIG-Legacy|SV-94841
• STIG-Legacy|V-80137
• Vuln-ID|V-213106

Source

• Tenable.com/audits