The macOS system must disable Remote Apple Events.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-259495	APPL-14-002022	SV-259495r941107_rule		Medium

Description
If the system does not require Remote Apple Events, support for Apple Remote Events is nonessential and must be disabled. The information system must be configured to provide only essential capabilities. Disabling Remote Apple Events helps prevent the unauthorized connection of devices, the unauthorized transfer of information, and unauthorized tunneling. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000080-GPOS-00048,SRG-OS-000096-GPOS-00050

Description

If the system does not require Remote Apple Events, support for Apple Remote Events is nonessential and must be disabled. The information system must be configured to provide only essential capabilities. Disabling Remote Apple Events helps prevent the unauthorized connection of devices, the unauthorized transfer of information, and unauthorized tunneling. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000080-GPOS-00048,SRG-OS-000096-GPOS-00050

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

Details

Check Text ( C-63234r941105_chk )
Verify the macOS system is configured to disable Remote Apple Events with the following command: /bin/launchctl print-disabled system \| /usr/bin/grep -c '"com.apple.AEServer" => disabled' If the result is not "1", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-63142r941106_fix)
Configure the macOS system to disable Remote Apple Events with the following commands: /usr/sbin/systemsetup -setremoteappleevents off /bin/launchctl disable system/com.apple.AEServer Note: Systemsetup with -setremoteappleevents flag will fail unless Full Disk Access to systemsetup or its parent process is granted. This requires supervision.