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Default Passwords — Try Before Anything Else

Two Microsoft Office applications ship with spec-defined default passwords that silently encrypt files when a protection record is set but the user never supplies an open password. Before attempting any hash extraction, cracking, or protection stripping, try these passwords first — they succeed instantly on a large class of "encrypted" files.

Word, OneNote, Outlook (PST/OST), Access, and ODF formats have no default passwords.

Which Products Have Defaults?

flowchart LR
  subgraph defaults ["Has a default password"]
    EXCEL["Excel\nVelvetSweatshop\n.xls / .xlsx / .xlsb"]
    PPT["PowerPoint\n/01Hannes Ruescher/01\n.ppt only\n2003-2007 SP1"]
  end
  subgraph none ["No default password"]
    WORD["Word\n.doc / .docx"]
    ONENOTE["OneNote\n.one / .onepkg"]
    OUTLOOK["Outlook\n.pst / .ost"]
    ACCESS["Access\n.mdb / .accdb"]
    ODF["ODF\n.odt / .ods / .odp"]
  end

  style defaults fill:#d4edda,stroke:#28a745,color:#000
  style none fill:#f8d7da,stroke:#dc3545,color:#000

Decision Flowchart

flowchart TD
  START(["Encrypted Office file"]) --> APP{"Application?"}
  APP -->|"Excel (.xls/.xlsx/.xlsb)"| VS["Try VelvetSweatshop"]
  APP -->|"PowerPoint (.ppt)"| HR["Try /01Hannes Ruescher/01"]
  APP -->|"PowerPoint (.pptx)"| NO_PPTX["No default -- .pptx never uses it"]
  APP -->|"Word / OneNote / Outlook / Access / ODF"| NO_DEF["No default password exists"]

  VS -->|"Decrypts"| DONE_VS["File had protection but no user open password\nContent recovered instantly"]
  VS -->|"Fails"| REAL_VS["File has a real user-chosen password\nProceed to hash extraction"]

  HR -->|"Decrypts"| DONE_HR["File had modify password but no user open password\nContent recovered instantly"]
  HR -->|"Fails"| CHECK_VER["Check: was it created with 2007 SP2+?\nIf so, default was never used\nProceed to hash extraction"]

VelvetSweatshop (Excel)

Field Value
Password string VelvetSweatshop
Hex bytes (UTF-16LE input) 56 65 6C 76 65 74 53 77 65 61 74 73 68 6F 70
Spec reference [MS-OFFCRYPTO] SS2.4.2.3, Appendix A notes \<24>, \<25>
Applies to Excel 2007, Excel 2010, Excel 2013
Formats .xls (BIFF8), .xlsx (OOXML), .xlsb (binary OOXML)
Recovery speed Instant — single decryption attempt

When Excel Uses VelvetSweatshop

Excel auto-encrypts the entire workbook stream under this fixed password when a protection verifier is set but the user never supplied an open/encryption password. The encryption method used is ECMA-376 Document Encryption as specified in [MS-OFFCRYPTO] SS2.3.4.

The trigger conditions are any of the following:

Format Record / Element Field Trigger condition Spec reference
.xls Password (0x0013) in Globals substream wPassword != 0x0000 [MS-XLS] SS2.4.191, product note \<100>
.xls Prot4RevPass (0x01BC) protPwdRev != 0x0000 [MS-XLS] SS2.4.206, product note \<104>
.xlsb BrtBookProtection (type 534) protpwdBook != 0x0000 [MS-XLSB] SS2.4.308, product note \<25>
.xlsb BrtBookProtection (type 534) protpwdRev != 0x0000 [MS-XLSB] SS2.4.308, product note \<26>
.xlsb BrtBookProtectionIso (type 677) ipdBookPasswordData.rgbHash non-empty (cbLength > 0) [MS-XLSB] SS2.4.309, product note \<27>
.xlsb BrtBookProtectionIso (type 677) ipdRevPasswordData.rgbHash non-empty (cbLength > 0) [MS-XLSB] SS2.4.309, product note \<28>

In plain English: the user set sheet protection, workbook protection, or revision protection but never clicked through the "encrypt with password" dialog. Excel quietly encrypts the file under VelvetSweatshop so the protection verifier is carried inside an encrypted container.

Detecting VelvetSweatshop Files

A VelvetSweatshop-encrypted file looks identical to a user-password-encrypted file on disk. There is no flag or marker distinguishing them. The only way to know is to attempt decryption with the default password.

For .xlsx / .xlsb: the file on disk is an OLE/CFB container (starts with D0 CF 11 E0), not a ZIP (not PK\x03\x04), containing \EncryptionInfo and \EncryptedPackage streams — exactly the same structure as a user-password-encrypted file.

For .xls: the Workbook stream contains a FilePass record (0x002F) with XOR, RC4+MD5, or RC4 CryptoAPI encryption parameters — again indistinguishable from user-chosen encryption.

Python: Try VelvetSweatshop with msoffcrypto-tool

from __future__ import annotations

import msoffcrypto
import io
from pathlib import Path


def try_velvetsweatshop(file_path: str | Path) -> io.BytesIO | None:
    """Attempt to decrypt an Excel file using the VelvetSweatshop default password.

    Returns a BytesIO with the decrypted content on success, None on failure.
    Try this FIRST on any encrypted Excel file before password cracking.
    Per [MS-OFFCRYPTO] SS2.4.2.3.
    """
    file_path = Path(file_path)

    with file_path.open("rb") as f:
        try:
            office_file = msoffcrypto.OfficeFile(f)
        except Exception:
            # Not a recognized encrypted Office file
            return None

        if not office_file.is_encrypted():
            return None

        # Try the spec-defined default password
        office_file.load_key(password="VelvetSweatshop")

        decrypted = io.BytesIO()
        try:
            office_file.decrypt(decrypted)
        except Exception:
            # Default password did not work -- file has a real user password
            return None

    decrypted.seek(0)
    return decrypted


if __name__ == "__main__":
    import sys

    if len(sys.argv) != 2:
        print(f"Usage: {sys.argv[0]} <encrypted-excel-file>")
        sys.exit(1)

    result = try_velvetsweatshop(sys.argv[1])
    if result is not None:
        out_path = Path(sys.argv[1]).stem + "_decrypted" + Path(sys.argv[1]).suffix
        Path(out_path).write_bytes(result.read())
        print(f"VelvetSweatshop worked -- decrypted to {out_path}")
    else:
        print("VelvetSweatshop did not work -- file has a real user password")

What You Get After Decryption

When VelvetSweatshop succeeds, the decrypted file still has its protection verifiers in place (sheet protection, workbook protection, revision protection). Those are all strippable gates — 16-bit verifiers (.xls) or ISO hashes (.xlsx) that can be removed by zeroing or deleting the protection records/elements. See the protection stripping techniques.

The file never had a real open password — the encryption was just a side effect of setting protection on a file that Excel then needed to "seal."

/01Hannes Ruescher/01 (PowerPoint)

Field Value
Password string /01Hannes Ruescher/01
Hex bytes (ASCII) 2F 30 31 48 61 6E 6E 65 73 20 52 75 65 73 63 68 65 72 2F 30 31
Spec reference [MS-OFFCRYPTO] SS2.4.2.3, SS5 note \<26>
Applies to PowerPoint 2003, PowerPoint 2007, PowerPoint 2007 SP1
Stopped in PowerPoint 2007 SP2
Formats .ppt only (OLE/CFB binary format)
Recovery speed Instant — single decryption attempt

When PowerPoint Uses /01Hannes Ruescher/01

PowerPoint's binary format stores the modify password in cleartext UTF-16LE in the ModifyPasswordAtom record (RT 0x0FBA, recInstance 0x003) — this is [MS-OFFCRYPTO] SS2.4.2.3 "Binary Document Write Protection Method 3." The spec says files with a modify password MUST be encrypted. When the user set a modify password but did not separately set an open/encryption password, PowerPoint 2003 through 2007 SP1 encrypted the file under /01Hannes Ruescher/01.

The encryption method is RC4 CryptoAPI + SHA-1, the only encryption PowerPoint binary supports ([MS-PPT] SS2.3.7). The key derivation has no iteration: H0 = SHA-1(salt + password), then Hfinal = SHA-1(H0 + blockNumber).

Version Applicability

PowerPoint Version Uses Default Password?
PowerPoint 2003 Yes
PowerPoint 2007 Yes
PowerPoint 2007 SP1 Yes
PowerPoint 2007 SP2 No — stopped using it
PowerPoint 2010+ No

The spec note \<26> in [MS-OFFCRYPTO] SS5 states: "Due to security concerns, it is preferable not to use the default password."

A .ppt file created without the default password (2007 SP2+) can still be opened by earlier versions — the change is in the saving application, not the format.

.pptx Never Uses a Default Password

The OOXML PowerPoint format (.pptx, .pptm, .ppsx, .potx) does not use the /01Hannes Ruescher/01 default password. The modify verifier in .pptx is stored as a <p:modifyVerifier> element in ppt/presentation.xml using an ISO hash — it does not trigger file-level encryption.

Python: Try /01Hannes Ruescher/01 with msoffcrypto-tool

from __future__ import annotations

import msoffcrypto
import io
from pathlib import Path

# The default password for PowerPoint 2003-2007 SP1
# Per [MS-OFFCRYPTO] SS2.4.2.3, SS5 note <26>
HANNES_RUESCHER = "/01Hannes Ruescher/01"


def try_hannes_ruescher(file_path: str | Path) -> io.BytesIO | None:
    """Attempt to decrypt a .ppt file using the /01Hannes Ruescher/01 default password.

    Returns a BytesIO with the decrypted content on success, None on failure.
    Only applies to .ppt files from PowerPoint 2003 through 2007 SP1.
    """
    file_path = Path(file_path)

    with file_path.open("rb") as f:
        try:
            office_file = msoffcrypto.OfficeFile(f)
        except Exception:
            return None

        if not office_file.is_encrypted():
            return None

        office_file.load_key(password=HANNES_RUESCHER)

        decrypted = io.BytesIO()
        try:
            office_file.decrypt(decrypted)
        except Exception:
            return None

    decrypted.seek(0)
    return decrypted

What You Get After Decryption

When the default password works, the decrypted .ppt file contains the modify password in cleartext UTF-16LE in the ModifyPasswordAtom. That password is readable with a hex editor or by parsing the OLE stream — it is not hashed, not obfuscated, stored verbatim. The modify password itself is not a security mechanism ([MS-OFFCRYPTO] SS4.1.4).

Combined Trial Script

Try both default passwords on any encrypted Office file:

from __future__ import annotations

import msoffcrypto
import io
from pathlib import Path

# Per [MS-OFFCRYPTO] SS2.4.2.3
DEFAULT_PASSWORDS = [
    ("VelvetSweatshop", "Excel 2007-2013"),
    ("/01Hannes Ruescher/01", "PowerPoint 2003-2007 SP1"),
]


def try_defaults(file_path: str | Path) -> tuple[str, io.BytesIO] | None:
    """Try all known default passwords against an encrypted Office file.

    Returns (password_name, decrypted_stream) on success, None if all fail.
    """
    file_path = Path(file_path)

    for password, description in DEFAULT_PASSWORDS:
        with file_path.open("rb") as f:
            try:
                office_file = msoffcrypto.OfficeFile(f)
            except Exception:
                return None

            if not office_file.is_encrypted():
                return None

            office_file.load_key(password=password)

            decrypted = io.BytesIO()
            try:
                office_file.decrypt(decrypted)
                decrypted.seek(0)
                print(f"Default password worked: {password} ({description})")
                return password, decrypted
            except Exception:
                continue

    return None


if __name__ == "__main__":
    import sys

    if len(sys.argv) != 2:
        print(f"Usage: {sys.argv[0]} <encrypted-office-file>")
        sys.exit(1)

    result = try_defaults(sys.argv[1])
    if result is not None:
        password, stream = result
        out_path = Path(sys.argv[1]).stem + "_decrypted" + Path(sys.argv[1]).suffix
        Path(out_path).write_bytes(stream.read())
        print(f"Decrypted to {out_path}")
    else:
        print("No default password worked -- file has a real user-chosen password")

Quick Reference

Product Default Password Hex Bytes Spec Versions Formats
🟢 Excel VelvetSweatshop 56 65 6C 76 65 74 53 77 65 61 74 73 68 6F 70 [MS-OFFCRYPTO] SS2.4.2.3 note \<24> 2007, 2010, 2013 .xls, .xlsx, .xlsb
🟡 PowerPoint /01Hannes Ruescher/01 2F 30 31 48 61 6E 6E 65 73 20 52 75 65 73 63 68 65 72 2F 30 31 [MS-OFFCRYPTO] SS5 note \<26> 2003, 2007, 2007 SP1 .ppt only
🔴 Word None — — — —
🔴 OneNote None — — — —
🔴 Outlook None — — — —
🔴 Access None — — — —
🔴 ODF None — — — —

🟢 = try first on any encrypted file of this type, instant recovery if it works 🟡 = try on .ppt files only, limited to older versions (2003-2007 SP1) 🔴 = no default password exists, do not waste time trying

Why These Defaults Exist

Both defaults exist because of the same design decision: the spec requires that files with certain protection records be encrypted ([MS-OFFCRYPTO] SS2.4.2.3). When the user sets a protection verifier (sheet/workbook/revision protection in Excel, modify password in PowerPoint) but does not separately set an open password, the application needs a password to feed into the encryption engine. Rather than leaving the file unencrypted (which would expose the protection verifier to trivial removal), the application encrypts under a fixed default password.

The result is a file that appears encrypted but can be opened by anyone who knows the default password — which is published in the spec itself.

Cross-References