Title

The macOS system must be configured so that the su command requires smart card authentication. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Configuring the operating system to implement organization-wide security implementation guides and security checklists ensures compliance with federal standards and establishes a common security baseline across DoD that reflects the most restrictive security posture consistent with operational requirements. Configuration settings are the set of parameters that can be changed in hardware, software, or firmware components of the system that affect the security posture and/or functionality of the system. Security-related parameters are those parameters impacting the security state of the system, including the parameters required to satisfy other security control requirements. Security-related parameters include, for example: registry settings; account, file, directory permission settings; and settings for functions, ports, protocols, services, and remote connections.

Check Content

For systems that are not utilizing smart card authentication, this is Not Applicable. To verify that the "su" command has been configured to require smart card authentication, run the following command: cat /etc/pam.d/su | grep -i pam_smartcard.so If the text that returns does not include the line, "auth sufficient pam_smartcard.so" at the TOP of the listing, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Make a backup of the PAM SU settings using the following command: cp /etc/pam.d/su /etc/pam.d/su_backup_`date "+%Y-%m-%d_%H:%M"` Replace the contents of "/etc/pam.d/su" with the following: # su: auth account password session auth sufficient pam_smartcard.so auth required pam_rootok.so auth required pam_group.so no_warn group=admin,wheel ruser root_only fail_safe account required pam_permit.so account required pam_opendirectory.so no_check_shell password required pam_opendirectory.so session required pam_launchd.so

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-252529r816487_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-252529

Group Title: SRG-OS-000480-GPOS-00227

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

Controls tied to check. These are derived from the CCIs shown above.