Windows Components › Internet Explorer › Security Features › Add-on Management
Turn on ActiveX control logging in Internet Explorer
Supported on At least Internet Explorer 8.0
What it does
This policy setting determines whether Internet Explorer saves log information for ActiveX controls. If you enable this policy setting, Internet Explorer logs ActiveX control information (including the source URI that loaded the control and whether it was blocked) to a local file. If you disable or don't configure this policy setting, Internet Explorer won't log ActiveX control information. Note that you can turn this policy setting on or off regardless of the "Turn off blocking of outdated ActiveX controls for Internet Explorer" or "Turn off blocking of outdated ActiveX controls for Internet Explorer on specific domains" policy settings. For more information, see "Outdated ActiveX Controls" in the Internet Explorer TechNet library.
What it writes
- Hive
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_CURRENT_USER
- Registry key
Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Ext- Value name
AuditModeEnabled- When enabled
- DWORD 1
- When disabled
- DWORD 0
In Intune
No native CSP; import the ADMX (Intune-ready).
From Microsoft's Policy CSP DDF files (DDF v2 Files, February 2026), read 18 Oct 2026.
Configure and deploy
Choose a state; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.
Enabled · Computer · template defaults
Registry file (.reg)
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Ext]
"AuditModeEnabled"=dword:00000001
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: Turn on ActiveX control logging in Internet Explorer
# Name: VerMgmtAuditModeEnable
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: inetres.admx
Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Ext' -Name 'AuditModeEnabled' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1
- 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)
./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_inetres/VerMgmtAuditModeEnableADMX SyncML candidate
<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
<SyncBody>
<Replace>
<CmdID>1</CmdID>
<Item>
<Meta>
<Format>chr</Format>
<Type>text/plain</Type>
</Meta>
<Target>
<LocURI>./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_inetres/VerMgmtAuditModeEnable</LocURI>
</Target>
<Data><enabled/></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: Turn on ActiveX control logging in Internet Explorer
# Name: VerMgmtAuditModeEnable
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: inetres.admx
$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Ext' -Name 'AuditModeEnabled' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
$reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Ext\AuditModeEnabled') | Out-Null
}
if ($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 $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
}
# Policy: Turn on ActiveX control logging in Internet Explorer
# Name: VerMgmtAuditModeEnable
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: inetres.admx
Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Ext' -Name 'AuditModeEnabled' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1
History 5 retained releases
- 22H2 · 1.015 Jul 2024
- Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.
4 later releases left it unchanged.
Template
- Internal name
VerMgmtAuditModeEnable- Namespace
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer- Template file
inetres.admx- Release
- Windows 11 25H2 · 1.0 · file set
de4e49983ebd651f…
Definition, editor controls and support
Definition
<policy class="Both" displayName="$(string.VerMgmtAuditModeEnable)" explainText="$(string.IE_ExplainVerMgmtAuditModeEnable)" key="Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Ext" name="VerMgmtAuditModeEnable" valueName="AuditModeEnabled" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:IESF_AddOnManagement" />
<supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:SUPPORTED_IE8" />
<enabledValue>
<decimal value="1" />
</enabledValue>
<disabledValue>
<decimal value="0" />
</disabledValue>
</policy>Editor controls
Supported platforms and category
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:category:IESF_AddOnManagement
<category displayName="$(string.IESF_AddOnManagement)" explainText="$(string.IESF_ExplainAddOnManagementCategory)" name="IESF_AddOnManagement" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:SecurityFeatures" />
</category>
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:category:InternetExplorer
<category displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer)" explainText="$(string.IE_ExplainCat)" name="InternetExplorer" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
</category>
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:category:SecurityFeatures
<category displayName="$(string.SecurityFeatures)" explainText="$(string.IESF_ExplainSecurityFeaturesCategory)" name="SecurityFeatures" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:InternetExplorer" />
</category>
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:definition:SUPPORTED_IE8
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_IE8)" name="SUPPORTED_IE8" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<or>
<range minVersionIndex="8" ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer" />
</or>
</definition>
Microsoft.Policies.Products:product:InternetExplorer
sha256:f287ee590cbba46b7a95511866303967b9370c7c7d81185659d675ca19b05d72
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:category:IESF_AddOnManagement
<category displayName="$(string.IESF_AddOnManagement)" explainText="$(string.IESF_ExplainAddOnManagementCategory)" name="IESF_AddOnManagement" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:SecurityFeatures" />
</category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:IESF_AddOnManagement">Add-on Management</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:IESF_ExplainAddOnManagementCategory">Internet Explorer allows users and administrators to decide which add-ons are permitted to load. Applications hosting the Web Browser Control can be configured to respect the same settings as Internet Explorer.</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:category:InternetExplorer
<category displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer)" explainText="$(string.IE_ExplainCat)" name="InternetExplorer" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
</category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:IE_ExplainCat">Contains settings to configure Internet Explorer</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:InternetExplorer">Internet Explorer</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:category:SecurityFeatures
<category displayName="$(string.SecurityFeatures)" explainText="$(string.IESF_ExplainSecurityFeaturesCategory)" name="SecurityFeatures" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:InternetExplorer" />
</category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:IESF_ExplainSecurityFeaturesCategory">Contains settings to enable or disable security features for Internet Explorer, File Explorer and other applications.</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:SecurityFeatures">Security Features</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:definition:SUPPORTED_IE8
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_IE8)" name="SUPPORTED_IE8" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<or>
<range minVersionIndex="8" ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer" />
</or>
</definition>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.InternetExplorer:SUPPORTED_IE8">At least Internet Explorer 8.0</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Products:product:InternetExplorer
<product displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer)" name="InternetExplorer" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer30)" name="InternetExplorer30" versionIndex="3" />
<majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer40)" name="InternetExplorer40" versionIndex="4" />
<majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer50)" name="InternetExplorer50" versionIndex="5" />
<majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer60)" name="InternetExplorer60" versionIndex="6" />
<majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer70)" name="InternetExplorer70" versionIndex="7" />
<majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer80)" name="InternetExplorer80" versionIndex="8" />
<majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer90)" name="InternetExplorer90" versionIndex="9" />
<majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer100)" name="InternetExplorer100" versionIndex="10" />
<majorVersion displayName="$(string.InternetExplorer110)" name="InternetExplorer110" versionIndex="11" />
</product>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer">Internet Explorer</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer100">Internet Explorer 10</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer110">Internet Explorer 11</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer30">Internet Explorer 3</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer40">Internet Explorer 4</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer50">Internet Explorer 5</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer60">Internet Explorer 6</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer70">Internet Explorer 7</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer80">Internet Explorer 8</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Products:InternetExplorer90">Internet Explorer 9</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents">Windows Components</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents_Help">Contains settings for operating system components.</string></strings>