The functionality of an add-in, an ActiveX control, or a COM add-in is reduced, or the functionality is blocked after you install Office 2003 Service Pack 3

You install Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3 (SP3). When you start an Office 2003 program, the functionality of an add-in, an ActiveX control, or a COM add-in is reduced. Or, the functionality is blocked in some scenarios.

The behavior of add-ins, ActiveX controls, and COM add-ins was changed in some scenarios in Office 2003 SP3 to improve the security of Office 2003 files.

Office 2003 SP3 performs a test for poorly written COM components that use the QueryInterface() method when an Office 2003 program is started. Most COM components will pass the test successfully. However, if a COM component fails the test, the functionality of some add-ins, ActiveX controls, or COM add-ins may be reduced. Or, the functionality may be blocked. The COM components may fail the test in scenarios in which the component provides an incorrect response to the QueryInterface() method.

To determine whether the behavior that you experience is because of this change in Office 2003 SP3, follow these steps:

1. Start the Event Viewer. To do this, click Start, click Run, type eventvwr.exe in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Click Application.
3. Click the Event column heading to sort by event ID number.
4. Determine whether event ID 21296 occurred. If you locate event ID 21296, right-click the event, and then click Properties.
5. Determine the following information about the offending COM component if it is present:
   • Class identifier (CLSID)
   • Module name
   • Module version

To resolve this behavior in Office 2003 SP3, contact the provider of the add-in, the ActiveX control, or the COM add-in. The component provider should update the component so that implementations of the QueryInterface() method return only interface pointers for interfaces that are implemented by the component.

Warning This workaround may make a computer or a network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

To work around this behavior in Office 2003 SP3 when a policy is used, an administrator can disable the feature completely. Or, an administrator can disable the feature for a specific CLSID.

To do this in the registry, use one of the following methods.

Note The values that are set in the following methods may affect other versions of Microsoft Office that are installed on the computer.

Method 1: Disable this feature completely

1. Exit all Office 2003 programs.
2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click one of the following registry subkeys:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Security
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Security
   Note If the policy value exists, the value in the \Software\Policies\Microsoft\Security subkey is used. If the policy value does not exist in the registry, the value in the \Software\Microsoft\Security subkey is checked. Additionally, the value is used if it is present.
4. After you click the subkey that is specified in step 3, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD Value.
5. Type CLSIDInterfaceTest, and then press ENTER.
6. Right-click CLSIDInterfaceTest, and then click Modify.
7. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
8. On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.

Method 2: Disable this feature for a specific CLSID

1. Exit all Office 2003 programs.
2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{<COM CoClass GUID>}
4. After you click the subkey that is specified in step 3, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD Value.
5. Type InsecureQI, and then press ENTER.
6. Right-click InsecureQI, and then click Modify.
7. In the Value data box, type one of the following values, and then click OK:
   • 0: This is the default value. This value performs the test on the CLSID and then releases the random nonexistent interface when the test is complete.
   • 1: This value will not perform the test on the CLSID.
   • 2: This value will not perform the test on the CLSID.
   • 3: This value will not perform the test on the CLSID. Additionally, this value does not release the random nonexistent interface. Office programs may act as if the test on the CLSID failed without actually performing the test.
8. On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.

For more information about CLSID, visit the following Microsoft Web site: For more information about how to obtain the latest Office 2003 service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: