| ID | Name |
|---|---|
| T1137.001 | Office Template Macros |
| T1137.002 | Office Test |
| T1137.003 | Outlook Forms |
| T1137.004 | Outlook Home Page |
| T1137.005 | Outlook Rules |
| T1137.006 | Add-ins |
Adversaries may abuse Microsoft Outlook forms to obtain persistence on a compromised system. Outlook forms are used as templates for presentation and functionality in Outlook messages. Custom Outlook forms can be created that will execute code when a specifically crafted email is sent by an adversary utilizing the same custom Outlook form.[1]
Once malicious forms have been added to the user’s mailbox, they will be loaded when Outlook is started. Malicious forms will execute when an adversary sends a specifically crafted email to the user.[1]
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| S0358 | Ruler |
Ruler can be used to automate the abuse of Outlook Forms to establish persistence.[2] |
| ID | Mitigation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| M1040 | Behavior Prevention on Endpoint |
On Windows 10, enable Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rules to prevent Office applications from creating child processes and from writing potentially malicious executable content to disk. [3] |
| M1051 | Update Software |
For the Outlook methods, blocking macros may be ineffective as the Visual Basic engine used for these features is separate from the macro scripting engine.[1] Microsoft has released patches to try to address each issue. Ensure KB3191938 which blocks Outlook Visual Basic and displays a malicious code warning, KB4011091 which disables custom forms by default, and KB4011162 which removes the legacy Home Page feature, are applied to systems.[4] |
| ID | Name | Analytic ID | Analytic Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| DET0029 | Detect Persistence via Outlook Custom Forms Triggered by Malicious Email | AN0085 |
Adversary uses a tool like Ruler to insert a malicious custom form into the user's Outlook mailbox. The form is designed to auto-execute on Outlook startup or on receipt of a specially crafted email. This results in child processes launched from outlook.exe and possibly network connections or payload loading. |
| AN0086 |
Outlook form execution upon message receipt or client launch results in automated code execution within user session. Form definitions deviate from standard templates and include script logic or COM object calls embedded in form fields. |