The operating system must implement cryptography to protect the integrity of remote access sessions.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-59531	AOSX-10-000040	SV-73961r1_rule		High

Description
The telnet service must be disabled, as it sends all data, including the user's password, in a clear text form that can be easily intercepted and read. Passwords need to be protected at all times and encryption is the standard method for protecting passwords. If passwords are not encrypted, they can be plainly read (i.e., clear text) and easily compromised. Disabling telnet is one way to mitigate this risk. Authorized users should be instructed to use an alternate service that implements cryptography for remote access sessions, such as SSH.

Description

The telnet service must be disabled, as it sends all data, including the user's password, in a clear text form that can be easily intercepted and read. Passwords need to be protected at all times and encryption is the standard method for protecting passwords. If passwords are not encrypted, they can be plainly read (i.e., clear text) and easily compromised. Disabling telnet is one way to mitigate this risk. Authorized users should be instructed to use an alternate service that implements cryptography for remote access sessions, such as SSH.

STIG	Date
Apple OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) Workstation Security Technical Implementation Guide	2017-04-06

Details

Check Text ( C-60301r5_chk )
To check if the 'telnet' service is disabled, use the following command: sudo launchctl print-disabled system \| grep com.apple.telnetd If the results do not show the following: "com.apple.telnetd" => true this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-64941r1_fix)
To disable the 'telnet' service, run the following command: sudo launchctl disable system/com.apple.telnetd The system may need to be restarted for the update to take effect.