The macOS system must be configured to disable the system preference pane for TouchID.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-252508	APPL-12-002051	SV-252508r853294_rule		Medium

Description
It is detrimental for operating systems to provide, or install by default, functionality exceeding requirements or mission objectives. These unnecessary capabilities or services are often overlooked and therefore may remain unsecured. They increase the risk to the platform by providing additional attack vectors. Operating systems are capable of providing a wide variety of functions and services. Some of the functions and services, provided by default, may not be necessary to support essential organizational operations (e.g., key missions, functions). Examples of non-essential capabilities include but are not limited to games, software packages, tools, and demonstration software not related to requirements or providing a wide array of functionality not required for every mission but that cannot be disabled. The TouchID System Preference Pane must be disabled. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000370-GPOS-00155, SRG-OS-000095-GPOS-00049

Description

It is detrimental for operating systems to provide, or install by default, functionality exceeding requirements or mission objectives. These unnecessary capabilities or services are often overlooked and therefore may remain unsecured. They increase the risk to the platform by providing additional attack vectors. Operating systems are capable of providing a wide variety of functions and services. Some of the functions and services, provided by default, may not be necessary to support essential organizational operations (e.g., key missions, functions). Examples of non-essential capabilities include but are not limited to games, software packages, tools, and demonstration software not related to requirements or providing a wide array of functionality not required for every mission but that cannot be disabled. The TouchID System Preference Pane must be disabled. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000370-GPOS-00155, SRG-OS-000095-GPOS-00049

STIG	Date
Apple macOS 12 (Monterey) Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-08-28

Details

Check Text ( C-55964r816336_chk )
To check if the system is configured to disable access to the TouchID preference pane and prevent it from being displayed, run the following command: /usr/sbin/system_profiler SPConfigurationProfileDataType \| /usr/bin/grep -A 6 -E 'DisabledPreferencePanes\|HiddenPreferencePanes' If the return is not two arrays (HiddenPreferencePanes and DisabledPreferencePanes) each containing: "com.apple.preferences.password", this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-55964r816336_chk )

To check if the system is configured to disable access to the TouchID preference pane and prevent it from being displayed, run the following command:

/usr/sbin/system_profiler SPConfigurationProfileDataType | /usr/bin/grep -A 6 -E 'DisabledPreferencePanes|HiddenPreferencePanes'

If the return is not two arrays (HiddenPreferencePanes and DisabledPreferencePanes) each containing: "com.apple.preferences.password", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-55914r816337_fix)
This setting is enforced using the "Restrictions Policy" configuration profile.