Detections
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AOSX-13-000605 - The macOS system must not use telnet.

Information

The 'telnet' 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 telnet is one way to mitigate this risk. Administrators should be instructed to use an alternate service for remote access sessions, non-local maintenance sessions, and diagnostic communications that uses encryption, such as SSH.

Satisfies: SRG-OS-000074-GPOS-00042, SRG-OS-000125-GPOS-00065, SRG-OS-000250-GPOS-00093, SRG-OS-000393-GPOS-00173, SRG-OS-000394-GPOS-00174

Solution

To disable the 'telnet' service, run the following command:

/usr/bin/sudo /bin/launchctl disable system/com.apple.telnetd

The system may need to be restarted for the update to take effect.

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_Apple_OS_X_10-13_V2R5_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: ACCESS CONTROL, IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION, MAINTENANCE

References: 800-53|AC-17(2), 800-53|IA-5(1)(c), 800-53|MA-4(6), 800-53|MA-4c., CAT|I, CCI|CCI-000197, CCI|CCI-000877, CCI|CCI-001453, CCI|CCI-002890, CCI|CCI-003123, Rule-ID|SV-214882r609363_rule, STIG-ID|AOSX-13-000605, STIG-Legacy|SV-96357, STIG-Legacy|V-81643, Vuln-ID|V-214882

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: 322f4097cd4dfc981f3b22fa0d75ce69680010ee3217c25f558026c5b3be9bfb