Turn off automatic download of the ActiveX VersionList

UserNative Intune settingVersionListAutomaticDownloadDisable

Supported on At least Internet Explorer 8.0

25H2 · 1.0

What it does

This setting determines whether IE automatically downloads updated versions of Microsoft’s VersionList.XML. IE uses this file to determine whether an ActiveX control should be stopped from loading. If you enable this setting, IE stops downloading updated versions of VersionList.XML. Turning off this automatic download breaks the out-of-date ActiveX control blocking feature by not letting the version list update with newly outdated controls, potentially compromising the security of your computer. If you disable or don't configure this setting, IE continues to download updated versions of VersionList.XML. For more information, see "Out-of-date ActiveX control blocking" in the Internet Explorer TechNet library.

What it writes

Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Registry key: Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\VersionManager
Value name: DownloadVersionList
When enabled: DWORD 0
When disabled: DWORD 1

In Intune

Native Intune setting: Yes — Policy CSP

./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/InternetExplorer/DisableActiveXVersionListAutoDownloadInternetExplorer on Microsoft LearnADMX-backed: Windows ships this template, so it is set with the template's own values, without an import.Windows builds listed: 10.0.18362.

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 · User · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\VersionManager]
"DownloadVersionList"=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 off automatic download of the ActiveX VersionList
# Name: VersionListAutomaticDownloadDisable
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: inetres.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\VersionManager' -Name 'DownloadVersionList' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 0

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\VersionManager' -Name 'DownloadVersionList' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

These deployment candidates come from the ADMX template; they are separate from the native CSP mapping above.

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_inetres/VersionListAutomaticDownloadDisable

ADMX 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_inetres/VersionListAutomaticDownloadDisable</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;</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 off automatic download of the ActiveX VersionList
# Name: VersionListAutomaticDownloadDisable
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: inetres.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\VersionManager' -Name 'DownloadVersionList' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 0
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\VersionManager\DownloadVersionList') | Out-Null
}

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\VersionManager' -Name 'DownloadVersionList' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\VersionManager\DownloadVersionList') | 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 off automatic download of the ActiveX VersionList
# Name: VersionListAutomaticDownloadDisable
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: inetres.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\VersionManager' -Name 'DownloadVersionList' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 0

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\VersionManager' -Name 'DownloadVersionList' -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: VersionListAutomaticDownloadDisable
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="User" displayName="$(string.VersionListAutomaticDownloadDisable)" explainText="$(string.IE_Explain_VersionListAutomaticDownloadDisable)" key="Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\VersionManager" name="VersionListAutomaticDownloadDisable" valueName="DownloadVersionList" 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="0" />
      </enabledValue>
      <disabledValue>
        <decimal value="1" />
      </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>