Microsoft Office 2016 › Security Settings
Macro Runtime Scan Scope
Supported on SUPPORTED_Windows_10_0 (defined in the Windows templates)
What it does
This policy setting specifies the behavior for both the VBA and Excel 4.0 (XLM) runtime scan features. Multiple Office apps support VBA macros, but XLM macros are only supported by Excel. Macros can only be scanned if the anti-virus software registers as an Antimalware Scan Interface (AMSI) provider on the device. If you enable this policy setting, you can choose from the following options to determine the macro runtime scanning behavior: - Disable for all files (not recommended): If you choose this option, no runtime scanning of enabled macros will be performed. - Enable for low trust files: If you choose this option, runtime scanning will be enabled for all files for which macros are enabled, except for the following files: - Files opened while macro security settings are set to “Enable All Macros” - Files opened from a Trusted Location - Files that are Trusted Documents - Files that contain VBA that is digitally signed by a Trusted Publisher - Enable for all files: If you choose this option, then low trust files are not excluded from runtime scanning. - Enable for files, excluding documents marked as trusted by an admin: If you choose this option, runtime scanning will be enabled for all files for which macros are enabled, except for the following files: - Files opened from a Trusted Location - Files that contain VBA that is digitally signed by a Trusted Publisher The VBA and XLM runtimes report to an antivirus system certain high-risk code behaviors the macro is about to execute. This allows the antivirus system to indicate whether or not the macro behavior is malicious. If the behavior is determined to be malicious, the Office application closes the session and the antivirus system can quarantine the file. If the behavior is non-malicious, the macro execution proceeds. Note: When macro runtime scanning is enabled, the runtime performance of affected VBA projects and XLM sheets may be reduced. If you disable this policy setting, no runtime scanning of enabled macros will be performed. If you don’t configure this policy setting, “Enable for low trust files” will be the default setting. Note: This policy setting only applies to subscription versions of Office, such as Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise.
What it writes
- Hive
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER
- Registry key
software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\security
Why it needs changes for Intune
- Policy references a Windows supportedOn definition.
- ADMX-INTUNE-WINDOWS-SUPPORTEDON-REFERENCE
Security baselines
Microsoft's Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise 2512 sets this to Enabled, in its GPO “MSFT Microsoft 365 Apps v2512 - User”.
- macroruntimescanscope
- Set to “Enable for all documents” (2).
Read from the registry.pol files in the baselines' GPO backups, downloaded from Microsoft's Security Compliance Toolkit. All baselines
Options
| Option | Type | Registry value | Allowed values |
|---|---|---|---|
| L_MacroRuntimeScanScopeEnumDefault: Disable for all documents | Drop-down list | macroruntimescanscope |
|
Configure and deploy
Choose a state and the option values; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.
Enabled · User · template defaults
Registry file (.reg)
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\security]
"macroruntimescanscope"=dword:00000000
PowerShell
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
function Set-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
}
New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}
function Remove-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
)
if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
}
function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
return
}
foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
}
# Policy: Macro Runtime Scan Scope
# Name: L_MacroRuntimeScanScope
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: office16.admx
Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\security' -Name 'macroruntimescanscope' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 0
- The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
- Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.
ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)
./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_office16/L_MacroRuntimeScanScopeADMX SyncML candidate
<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
<SyncBody>
<Replace>
<CmdID>1</CmdID>
<Item>
<Meta>
<Format>chr</Format>
<Type>text/plain</Type>
</Meta>
<Target>
<LocURI>./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_office16/L_MacroRuntimeScanScope</LocURI>
</Target>
<Data><enabled/>
<data id="L_MacroRuntimeScanScopeEnum" value="0"/></Data>
</Item>
</Replace>
<Final/>
</SyncBody>
</SyncML>Intune remediation scripts
Detection
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()
function Test-RegistryValueExists {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
return $false
}
return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}
function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
return $false
}
$valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
return $false
}
$actual = $valueObject.$Name
switch ($Kind) {
'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
'MultiString' {
$actualArray = @($actual)
$expectedArray = @($Expected)
if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
'Binary' {
$actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
$expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
}
}
# Policy: Macro Runtime Scan Scope
# Name: L_MacroRuntimeScanScope
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: office16.admx
$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\security' -Name 'macroruntimescanscope' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 0
if (-not $isMatch) {
$reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\security\macroruntimescanscope') | Out-Null
}
if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1
Remediation
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
function Set-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
}
New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}
function Remove-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
)
if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
}
function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
return
}
foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
}
# Policy: Macro Runtime Scan Scope
# Name: L_MacroRuntimeScanScope
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: office16.admx
Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\security' -Name 'macroruntimescanscope' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 0
History 1 retained release
- 5568.100010 Aug 2026
- Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.
Template
- Internal name
L_MacroRuntimeScanScope- Namespace
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows- Template file
office16.admx- Release
- Microsoft 365 Apps 5568.1000 · file set
8be05d876aae137d…
Definition, editor controls and support
Definition
<policy Area="Security Baseline" AreaCategory="Macros" class="User" displayName="$(string.L_MacroRuntimeScanScope)" explainText="$(string.L_MacroRuntimeScanScopeExplain)" key="software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\security" name="L_MacroRuntimeScanScope" presentation="$(presentation.L_MacroRuntimeScanScope)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_SecuritySettings" />
<supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows_10_0" />
<elements>
<enum id="L_MacroRuntimeScanScopeEnum" valueName="macroruntimescanscope">
<item displayName="$(string.L_DisableForAllDocuments)">
<value>
<decimal value="0" />
</value>
</item>
<item displayName="$(string.L_EnableForLowTrustDocumentsOnly)">
<value>
<decimal value="1" />
</value>
</item>
<item displayName="$(string.L_EnableForAllDocuments)">
<value>
<decimal value="2" />
</value>
</item>
<item displayName="$(string.L_EnableForFilesExcludingAdminTrustedDocuments)">
<value>
<decimal value="3" />
</value>
</item>
</enum>
</elements>
</policy>Editor controls
<presentation id="L_MacroRuntimeScanScope" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<dropdownList defaultItem="0" noSort="true" refId="L_MacroRuntimeScanScopeEnum">
</dropdownList>
</presentation>Supported platforms and category
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem
<category displayName="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_SecuritySettings
<category displayName="$(string.L_SecuritySettings)" name="L_SecuritySettings" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem" />
</category>
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows_10_0
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows_10_0" />
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem
<category displayName="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem">Microsoft Office 2016</string></strings>
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_SecuritySettings
<category displayName="$(string.L_SecuritySettings)" name="L_SecuritySettings" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem" />
</category>
<strings><string id="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_SecuritySettings">Security Settings</string></strings>