T1173: Dynamic Data Exchange Mitigation
Registry keys specific to Microsoft Office feature control security can be set to disable automatic DDE/OLE execution. [1] [2] [3] Microsoft also created, and enabled by default, Registry keys to completely disable DDE execution in Word and Excel. [4]
Ensure Protected View is enabled [5] and consider disabling embedded files in Office programs, such as OneNote, not enrolled in Protected View. [6] [3]
On Windows 10, enable Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rules to prevent DDE attacks and spawning of child processes from Office programs. [7] [6]
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Analyst summary pending validation
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Dynamic Data Exchange Mitigation
Registry keys specific to Microsoft Office feature control security can be set to disable automatic DDE/OLE execution. [1] [2] [3] Microsoft also created, and enabled by default, Registry keys to completely disable DDE execution in Word and Excel. [4]
Ensure Protected View is enabled [5] and consider disabling embedded files in Office programs, such as OneNote, not enrolled in Protected View. [6] [3]
On Windows 10, enable Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rules to prevent DDE attacks and spawning of child processes from Office programs. [7] [6]
How security teams should use this page
Treat this object as behavior context, not an attribution claim. Validate the related groups, software, data sources, and mitigations against official ATT&CK relationships and your own telemetry before making control-coverage decisions.
All related ATT&CK context
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Object version and sync metadata
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Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases (1)
| Release | Bundle imported | Object version | Modified | Status | Raw hash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19.1 | 1.0 | Current bundle Deprecated | 93575fb7c196… |
Mirrored ATT&CK source object
The raw object is retained through the mirrored ATT&CK source bundle and object hash. The raw endpoint returns the exact object from the mirrored bundle when available.
External references and citations
MITRE external references are preserved separately from Glexia analysis so citations remain traceable to their original source records.
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[1]
Microsoft DDE Advisory Nov 2017
Microsoft. (2017, November 8). Microsoft Security Advisory 4053440 - Securely opening Microsoft Office documents that contain Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) fields. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
Open source URL -
[2]
BleepingComputer DDE Disabled in Word Dec 2017
Cimpanu, C. (2017, December 15). Microsoft Disables DDE Feature in Word to Prevent Further Malware Attacks. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
Open source URL -
[3]
GitHub Disable DDEAUTO Oct 2017
Dormann, W. (2017, October 20). Disable DDEAUTO for Outlook, Word, OneNote, and Excel versions 2010, 2013, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
Open source URL -
[4]
Microsoft ADV170021 Dec 2017
Microsoft. (2017, December 12). ADV170021 - Microsoft Office Defense in Depth Update. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
Open source URL -
[5]
Microsoft Protected View
Microsoft. (n.d.). What is Protected View?. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
Open source URL -
[6]
Enigma Reviving DDE Jan 2018
Nelson, M. (2018, January 29). Reviving DDE: Using OneNote and Excel for Code Execution. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
Open source URL -
[7]
Microsoft ASR Nov 2017
Brower, N. & D'Souza-Wiltshire, I. (2017, November 9). Enable Attack surface reduction. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
Open source URL -
[8]
mitre-attack T1173Open source URL
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