The macOS system must disable the SSHD service.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-257149	APPL-13-000011	SV-257149r905080_rule		High

Description
Without confidentiality and integrity protection mechanisms, unauthorized individuals may gain access to sensitive information via a remote access session. Remote access is access to DOD nonpublic information systems by an authorized user (or an information system) communicating through an external, nonorganization-controlled network. Remote access methods include, for example, dial-up, broadband, and wireless. Encryption provides a means to secure the remote connection to prevent unauthorized access to the data traversing the remote access connection (e.g., Remote Desktop Protocol [RDP]), thereby providing a degree of confidentiality. The encryption strength of a mechanism is selected based on the security categorization of the information. Privileged access contains control and configuration information and is particularly sensitive, so additional protections are necessary. This is maintained by using cryptographic mechanisms, such as a hash function or digital signature, to protect integrity. Nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic activities are those activities conducted by individuals communicating through a network, either an external network (e.g., the internet) or an internal network. Use of weak or untested encryption algorithms undermines the purposes of using encryption to protect data. The operating system must implement cryptographic modules adhering to the higher standards approved by the federal government since this provides assurance they have been tested and validated. The implementation of OpenSSH that is included with macOS does not use a FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic module. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000033-GPOS-00014, SRG-OS-000112-GPOS-00057, SRG-OS-000113-GPOS-00058, SRG-OS-000250-GPOS-00093, SRG-OS-000379-GPOS-00164, SRG-OS-000393-GPOS-00173, SRG-OS-000394-GPOS-00174, SRG-OS-000423-GPOS-00187, SRG-OS-000424-GPOS-00188, SRG-OS-000425-GPOS-00189, SRG-OS-000426-GPOS-00190

Description

Without confidentiality and integrity protection mechanisms, unauthorized individuals may gain access to sensitive information via a remote access session. Remote access is access to DOD nonpublic information systems by an authorized user (or an information system) communicating through an external, nonorganization-controlled network. Remote access methods include, for example, dial-up, broadband, and wireless. Encryption provides a means to secure the remote connection to prevent unauthorized access to the data traversing the remote access connection (e.g., Remote Desktop Protocol [RDP]), thereby providing a degree of confidentiality. The encryption strength of a mechanism is selected based on the security categorization of the information. Privileged access contains control and configuration information and is particularly sensitive, so additional protections are necessary. This is maintained by using cryptographic mechanisms, such as a hash function or digital signature, to protect integrity. Nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic activities are those activities conducted by individuals communicating through a network, either an external network (e.g., the internet) or an internal network. Use of weak or untested encryption algorithms undermines the purposes of using encryption to protect data. The operating system must implement cryptographic modules adhering to the higher standards approved by the federal government since this provides assurance they have been tested and validated. The implementation of OpenSSH that is included with macOS does not use a FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic module. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000033-GPOS-00014, SRG-OS-000112-GPOS-00057, SRG-OS-000113-GPOS-00058, SRG-OS-000250-GPOS-00093, SRG-OS-000379-GPOS-00164, SRG-OS-000393-GPOS-00173, SRG-OS-000394-GPOS-00174, SRG-OS-000423-GPOS-00187, SRG-OS-000424-GPOS-00188, SRG-OS-000425-GPOS-00189, SRG-OS-000426-GPOS-00190

STIG	Date
Apple macOS 13 (Ventura) Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-04-12

Details

Check Text ( C-60834r905078_chk )
Verify the macOS system is configured to disable the "SSHD" service with the following command: /bin/launchctl print-disabled system \| /usr/bin/grep com.openssh.sshd "com.openssh.sshd" => disabled If the results are not "com.openssh.sshd => disabled", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-60775r905079_fix)
Configure the macOS system to disable the "SSHD" service with the following command: /usr/bin/sudo /bin/launchctl disable system/com.openssh.sshd The system may need to be restarted for the update to take effect.