How to control the blocking of OLE/COM components in Microsoft 365 Subscription

  • Article
  • Applies to:
    Microsoft 365

Introduction

After you install the March 2017 updates for Microsoft 365 Subscription Version 1703 (Build 7967.2139), you gain the ability to block activation of OLE/COM components. In this update, we are blocking activation of components that are listed under the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\REGISTRY\MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\COM Compatibility

In this update, we have added the following components to the blocked list:

  • {3050F4D8-98B5-11CF-BB82-00AA00BDCE0B} - ProgId: htafile, "CLSID_HTML Application"
  • {06290BD3-48AA-11D2-8432-006008C3FBFC} - ProgId: script, "CLSID_Moniker to a Windows Script Component"

In this update, we are allowing the following components to be activated:

  • {8856F961-340A-11D0-A96B-00C04FD705A2} - ProgId: shell.explorer, "CLSID_Microsoft Web Browser"
  • {25336920-03F9-11CF-8FD0-00AA00686F13} - ProgId: htmlfile, "CLSID_Microsoft HTML Document 6.0"

More information

Important

Follow the steps in this section carefully. Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Before you modify it, back up the registry for restoration in case problems occur.

How to control the blocking of OLE/COM components in Microsoft 365 Subscription

To override and allow a specific component, follow these steps:

  1. Locate the ActivationFilterOverride value under the following registry subkey:

    • For 64-bit Office installations, and for 32-bit Office installations on 32-bit Windows:

      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\REGISTRY\MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\COM Compatibility\{CLSID}

    • For 32-bit Office installations on 64-bit Windows:

      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\REGISTRY\MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\COM Compatibility\{CLSID}

  2. Make sure that the value is set to 1 (one). If the value is set to 0, or the value is missing, we will block that component.

To disable filtering per individual Office application, follow these steps:

  1. Locate the ActivationFilter value under the following registry subkey:

    • For 64-bit Office installations, and 32-bit Office installations on 32-bit Windows:

      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\REGISTRY\MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\{APP}\Security

    • For 32-bit Office installations on 64-bit Windows:

      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\REGISTRY\MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\{APP}\Security

  2. Make sure that the value is set to 0 (zero). If the value is set to 1, or the value is missing, filtering is enabled.

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