The macOS system must be configured to audit all changes of object attributes.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-259463	APPL-14-001021	SV-259463r941011_rule		Medium

Description

The audit system must be configured to record enforcement actions of attempts to modify file attributes (fm). Enforcement actions are the methods or mechanisms used to prevent unauthorized changes to configuration settings. One common and effective enforcement action method is using access restrictions (i.e., modifications to a file by applying file permissions). This configuration ensures that audit lists include events in which enforcement actions attempts to modify a file. Without auditing the enforcement of access restrictions, it is difficult to identify attempted attacks, as there is no audit trail available for forensic investigation. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000057-GPOS-00027,SRG-OS-000058-GPOS-00028,SRG-OS-000059-GPOS-00029,SRG-OS-000064-GPOS-00033,SRG-OS-000256-GPOS-00097,SRG-OS-000257-GPOS-00098,SRG-OS-000258-GPOS-00099,SRG-OS-000365-GPOS-00152,SRG-OS-000392-GPOS-00172,SRG-OS-000458-GPOS-00203,SRG-OS-000462-GPOS-00206,SRG-OS-000463-GPOS-00207,SRG-OS-000465-GPOS-00209,SRG-OS-000466-GPOS-00210,SRG-OS-000467-GPOS-00211,SRG-OS-000468-GPOS-00212

STIG	Date
Apple macOS 14 (Sonoma) Security Technical Implementation Guide	2024-01-10

Details

Check Text ( C-63202r941009_chk )
Verify the macOS system is configured to audit all changes of object attributes with the following command: /usr/bin/awk -F':' '/^flags/ { print $NF }' /etc/security/audit_control | /usr/bin/tr ',' '\n' | /usr/bin/grep -Ec '^fm' If the result is not "1", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-63110r941010_fix)
Configure the macOS system to audit all changes of object attributes with the following command: /usr/bin/grep -qE "^flags.*fm" /etc/security/audit_control || /usr/bin/sed -i.bak '/^flags/ s/$/,fm/' /etc/security/audit_control;/usr/sbin/audit -s