The macOS system must be configured to disable the tftpd service.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-209594	AOSX-14-002038	SV-209594r610285_rule		High

Description
The "tftpd" service must be disabled as it sends all data in a clear-text form that can be easily intercepted and read. The data needs to be protected at all times during transmission, and encryption is the standard method for protecting data in transit. If the data is not encrypted during transmission, it can be plainly read (i.e., clear text) and easily compromised. Disabling ftp is one way to mitigate this risk. Administrators should be instructed to use an alternate service for data transmission that uses encryption, such as SFTP.

Description

The "tftpd" service must be disabled as it sends all data in a clear-text form that can be easily intercepted and read. The data needs to be protected at all times during transmission, and encryption is the standard method for protecting data in transit. If the data is not encrypted during transmission, it can be plainly read (i.e., clear text) and easily compromised. Disabling ftp is one way to mitigate this risk. Administrators should be instructed to use an alternate service for data transmission that uses encryption, such as SFTP.

STIG	Date
Apple OS X 10.14 (Mojave) Security Technical Implementation Guide	2020-12-11

Details

Check Text ( C-9845r282264_chk )
To check if the tftpd service is disabled, run the following command: sudo launchctl print-disabled system \| grep tftpd If the results do not show the following, this is a finding: "com.apple.tftpd" => true

Fix Text (F-9845r282265_fix)
To disable the tftpd service, run the following command: /usr/bin/sudo /bin/launchctl disable system/com.apple.tftpd