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Operating systems used for non-local maintenance sessions must implement cryptographic mechanisms to protect the confidentiality of non-local maintenance and diagnostic communications.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-59675 AOSX-10-000691 SV-74105r1_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. Administrator users should be instructed to use an alternate service that implements cryptography such as SSH.
STIG Date
Apple OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) Workstation Security Technical Implementation Guide 2017-04-06

Details

Check Text ( C-60445r2_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-65085r1_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.