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 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: HINT=$(/usr/bin/dscl . -list /Users hint | /usr/bin/awk '{ print $2 }') if [ -z "$HINT" ]; then echo "PASS" else echo "FAIL" fi If the result is not "PASS", 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-268541r1034563_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-268541

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

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

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