macOS
TMA-MACOS14-5.6
Ensure the "root" Account Is Disabled
Description
The root account is a superuser account that has access privileges to perform any actions and read/write to any file on the computer. With some versions of Linux, the system administrator may commonly use the root account to perform administrative functions. Previous versions of the benchmark included a graphical check for the audit and remediation as well as a different Terminal command for the remediation. After extensive testing, it was discovered that if root was enabled it could be granted a secure token which was not removed with the previous remediation. To rectify this issue, the audit was updated to verify if root has a secure token even if the root account is not enabled. The remediation was also updated to remove root's secure token as well as an updated command to disable the root user. Enabling and using the root account puts the system at risk since any successful exploi...
How it is checked
Audit method: Shell command
out=$(/usr/bin/dscl . -read /Users/root AuthenticationAuthority 2>&1)
printf '%s\n' "$out" | /usr/bin/grep -q "No such key: AuthenticationAuthority" && echo compliant- Expected output
compliant
How it is fixed
Fix method: Guidance or infrastructure patch
Terminal Method: Run the following commands to disable the root user: % /usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/fdesetup remove -user root 2>/dev/null % /usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/dscl /Local/Default delete /Users/root AuthenticationAuthority
Properties
- Operating systems
- macos-14
- Tags
- macossonoma
- Reference
- CIS Apple macOS 14.0 Sonoma Benchmark v3.1.0 - 5.6 Ensure the "root" Account Is Disabled
Check this host
Run this on a machine you are allowed to audit. The scan is read-only.
tmaegis scan --target macos