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Check: APPL-14-003014

Apple macOS 14 (Sonoma) STIG: APPL-14-003014 (in versions v1 r2 through v1 r1)

Title

The macOS system must remove password hints from user accounts. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

User accounts must not contain password hints. Password hints leak information about passwords that are currently in use and can lead to loss of confidentiality.

Check Content

Verify the macOS system is configured to remove password hints from user accounts with the following command: /usr/bin/dscl . -list /Users hint | /usr/bin/awk '{print $2}' | /usr/bin/wc -l | /usr/bin/xargs If the result is not "0", this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the macOS system to remove password hints from user accounts with the following command: for u in $(/usr/bin/dscl . -list /Users UniqueID | /usr/bin/awk '$2 > 500 {print $1}'); do /usr/bin/dscl . -delete /Users/$u hint done

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-259544r941254_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-259544

Group Title: SRG-OS-000079-GPOS-00047

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CCIs

CCIs tied to check.

Number	Definition
CCI-000206	The information system obscures feedback of authentication information during the authentication process to protect the information from possible exploitation/use by unauthorized individuals.

Controls

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

Number	Title
IA-6	Authenticator Feedback