M365SPO-003: Default sharing link type
- Platform
- Entra ID / M365
- Category
- SharePoint & OneDrive Security
- Severity
- Medium
- Zero Trust pillar
- Data (weight 1)
- Golden fixtures
- 3
- Branch coverage
- Observed: fixtures prove the verdicts they exercise
- Provenance
- baseline
What it checks
The default sharing link type determines the initial permission level when users create sharing links, and a permissive default increases the likelihood of accidental oversharing. If the default is set to 'Anyone' or 'Organization-wide,' users may inadvertently share sensitive documents with a broader audience than intended. Setting the default to 'Specific people' ensures users make a conscious choice about who receives access to shared content.
Recommended value
Default sharing link type set to 'Specific people' with 'View' permission level
Remediation
Set the default sharing link type to 'Specific people' in the SharePoint admin center to require users to explicitly specify recipients when sharing. Configure the default link permission to 'View' rather than 'Edit' to enforce a least-privilege approach to shared content. Educate users on the differences between sharing link types and the importance of selecting the most restrictive link type appropriate for their sharing scenario.
Fixture-proven verdicts
Every verdict below is proven by a golden fixture in the module's gating test suite. This table derives from the last green run; it cannot be edited by hand.
| Scenario | Expected verdict |
|---|---|
| clean | PASS |
| known-bad | FAIL |
| no-data | Not Assessed |
Framework mappings
- CISA SCuBA
- MS.SHAREPOINT.2.1v1, MS.SHAREPOINT.2.2v1, MS.SHAREPOINT.3.2v1
- NIST SP 800-53
- AC-3
- CIS M365 Benchmark
- 7.2.2