AN0894: Analytic 0894
Disabling of security macros or safe mode settings within Word/Excel/Outlook. Detect registry edits or configuration file changes that weaken macro enforcement.
Analyst context for executives and security teams
This analytic matters because weakened Office macro or safe-mode settings can remove an important barrier between routine document handling and unsafe code execution. For leaders, the practical question is whether the organization can prove that Word, Excel, and Outlook security settings remain enforced and that unauthorized weakening of those controls would be noticed quickly.
Executive priority
Prioritize this as a control-integrity and audit-evidence issue for Office Suite environments. It supports business continuity and incident readiness by validating that macro enforcement and safe-mode protections have not been silently reduced. Security leaders should ask who is allowed to change Office security policy, how those changes are approved, and whether SOC or endpoint teams receive reliable evidence when registry or configuration changes weaken enforcement.
Technical view
The supplied ATT&CK object describes detection of registry edits or configuration file changes that disable security macros or safe-mode settings in Word, Excel, or Outlook. SOC and detection teams should validate visibility into Office-related configuration changes on managed endpoints, especially changes that reduce macro enforcement. Because ATT&CK provides no tactic mapping, relationship context, or detailed detection logic for this analytic, teams should tune detections against local baseline configuration, approved administration activity, and change-management records.
Likely telemetry
- Endpoint registry change telemetry for Office-related security settings
- File integrity or configuration monitoring for Office configuration files
- Endpoint management or configuration compliance state for Word, Excel, and Outlook
- Administrative change logs from device management or policy deployment tools
- Security alerts or audit records showing Office security policy drift
Detection direction
- Confirm that registry and configuration changes affecting Office macro enforcement and safe-mode settings are actually collected, retained, and searchable.
- Baseline approved Office security settings and alert on changes that weaken macro enforcement rather than any benign configuration update.
- Correlate detected changes with authorized change windows, device management actions, and administrator identity to reduce false positives.
- Pay attention to blind spots on unmanaged endpoints, locally administered systems, or devices where registry/configuration telemetry is not forwarded.
- Use this analytic as a control-drift signal; ATT&CK does not provide detailed detection logic or related technique context in the supplied fields.
Mitigation priorities
- Define and enforce approved Office macro and safe-mode security settings through centralized configuration management where available.
- Restrict who can modify Office security settings and require change approval for exceptions.
- Continuously assess configuration compliance for Word, Excel, and Outlook across managed endpoints.
- Investigate unauthorized weakening of macro or safe-mode controls as a potential precursor or enabler of broader security events.
- Maintain audit evidence showing policy state, change history, and response actions for compliance and incident review.
Analyst notes and limits
AN0894 is a detection analytic for Office Suite configuration weakening, specifically disabling security macros or safe-mode settings in Word, Excel, and Outlook. Its value is strongest when used to validate control integrity and configuration drift monitoring rather than as a standalone indicator of compromise.
The supplied ATT&CK fields include a short description but no official detection logic, tactics, related techniques, mitigations, data sources, or relationship context. Local registry paths, configuration mechanisms, normal administrative activity, and policy baselines must be determined from the environment before operationalizing this analytic.
Analytic 0894
Disabling of security macros or safe mode settings within Word/Excel/Outlook. Detect registry edits or configuration file changes that weaken macro enforcement.
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
No relationships are available in the current normalized data for this object.
Object version and sync metadata
The fields below describe the current mirrored snapshot. When Glexia retains multiple ATT&CK source imports, you can open the table to compare the same object across releases (hashes and MITRE timestamps). For MITRE’s own release notes and roadmap, see ATT&CK resources — Updates .
Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases (1)
| Release | Bundle imported | Object version | Modified | Status | Raw hash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19.1 | 1.0 | Current bundle | 75a1d383f1d7… |
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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mitre-attack AN0894Open source URL
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