Permissions on Office registry key

[Guest]

I have a third party vendor that requested a change in the registry so
their COM add in would work in Office:

Registry Permissions (Word)
Full Control permission to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\OFFICE

This appears to be a gigantic security risk, especially in an environment
where the users are locked down and do not have admin rights, so I have two
questions that need to be answered to reply to the vendor:

1. What documentation/security guide can I provide to the vendor that states
that VERY BAD THINGS will/could happen after making such a global change?
2. Which registry key for Word 2007 should be changed to give the local
users group full rights to the add in COM object at the most specific
registry key? I have tried HKLM\Software\Microsoft Office\Word\Addins, but
this didn't solve the issue.

PS for a similar horror story of changing registry permissions given by
untrained tech support see
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/9982-2-modified-registry-keys-restore-permissions

I also respect and agree with the standard Microsoft advice for using
registry tools:
WARNING: Using the Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-
wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows to correct them.
Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of the
Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.

 

[steven du]

Dear Partner,

To answer your questions:

1. There is no official document to tell the bad effect after modifying the
global registry settings because there will appear unexpected problems like
system crash or function failure if the registry keys are corrupted or set
incorrectly. It is difficult for us to list all potential issues.

2. I am not quite clear about this question. Please help to describe the
symptom in detail. As I understand, users who do not have admin permission
cannot access the COM add-in in Office but your vendor would like to change
this behavior by modifying the registry key. Am I right?

Have a ncie day.

Regards,

Steven Du

Microsoft Online Support
Microsoft Global Technical Support Center
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--------------------
| From: <[email protected]>
| Subject: Permissions on Office registry key
| Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2010 15:19:00 -0700

|
| I have a third party vendor that requested a change in the registry so
| their COM add in would work in Office:
|
| Registry Permissions (Word)
| Full Control permission to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\OFFICE
|
| This appears to be a gigantic security risk, especially in an environment
| where the users are locked down and do not have admin rights, so I have
two
| questions that need to be answered to reply to the vendor:
|
| 1. What documentation/security guide can I provide to the vendor that
states
| that VERY BAD THINGS will/could happen after making such a global change?
| 2. Which registry key for Word 2007 should be changed to give the local
| users group full rights to the add in COM object at the most specific
| registry key? I have tried HKLM\Software\Microsoft Office\Word\Addins,
but
| this didn't solve the issue.
|
| PS for a similar horror story of changing registry permissions given by
| untrained tech support see
|
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/9982-2-modified-registry-keys-restore-perm
issions
|
| I also respect and agree with the standard Microsoft advice for using
| registry tools:
| WARNING: Using the Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-
| wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows to correct them.
| Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of
the
| Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.
|
|