STIGhubSTIGhub
STIGsRMF ControlsCompare
STIGhub— A free STIG search and compliance tool·STIGs updated 3 days ago
Powered by Pylon·Privacy·Terms·© 2026 Beacon Cloud Solutions, Inc.
← Back to Apple macOS 12 (Monterey) Security Technical Implementation Guide

V-252529

CAT II (Medium)

The macOS system must be configured so that the su command requires smart card authentication.

Rule ID

SV-252529r991589_rule

STIG

Apple macOS 12 (Monterey) Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V1R9

CCIs

CCI-000366

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