No longer able to digitally sign VBA code in Excel 2016

Anonymous
2017-05-01T19:09:15+00:00

Hello all! 

I have a DigiCert issued code signing certificate that I have been able to use from January 2017 up until two weeks ago (about the time of the Creator's Update for Windows 10 Pro). The Cert is valid through 2020. Unfortunately, I when I try to sign VBA code with it now, I get the error message "There was a problem with the digital certificate. The VBA project could not be signed. The signature will be discarded.

Is anyone else getting this message when signing VBA code with a Cert that previously worked?

I was able to test on a co-worker’s computer running

OS: Windows 7 Pro SP1

Office: Office 365 ProPlus Ver 1701 (build 7766.2076).

I was able to successfully sign a macro file on this machine.

My computer is running

OS: Windows 10 Pro version 1703 (build 15063.250)

Office: Office 365 Ver 1701 (Build 7967.2139)

I am not able to successfully sign a macro file on my machine. I am able to successfully import the certificate though.

DigiCert of course blames the issue on Microsoft, and given that I can successfully sign on my co-worker's Windows 7 machine with a slightly older build of Office 365, I wonder if something  in the newer version of Office 365 broke the ability to sign VBA macros.

Thanks - Nate

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Anonymous
2017-08-03T18:12:15+00:00

Hi StephenGibb,

My re-installation must have missed the August updates you mention by a whisker. I forced an update just now, 1707 Build 8326.2062 is now my version. And, thankfully, it works!

Some extra info about when the problem was occurring for anyone else who might come across this thread:

As well as the failure to sign a project, Office was silently disabling all signed macros, not just those in the locations I mentioned above.

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-07-26T06:46:38+00:00

    There is no official Microsoft solution that I am aware of.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-07-25T22:14:31+00:00

    Interesting topic. Tonight I removed my "old" Office 2016 install HUP program and reinstall Office 365 Business 64-bit from the Office portal (Version 1706 Build 8229.2103.

    My previous working VBA macros (Word and Outlook) did not work anymore as they were not signed. I signed them with a valid certificate and got the same error when saving.

    Is there already a solution for this (I read some of you are in contact with Microsoft Support)

    Bas

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-07-21T17:38:16+00:00

    Don't forget that a 32 bit version of Office on a 64 bit version of Windows will have the entries under WOW6432Node. You may need to move the entries to the correct hive.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-07-21T15:54:53+00:00

    That sounds very do-able. I'll have a look into this next week. Thanks again for your help!

    Stephen.

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