Apple macOS 14 (Sonoma) Security Technical Implementation Guide

The Apple macOS 14 (Sonoma) Security Technical Implementation Guide (V2 R4) has 156 STIG checks. New to STIG checklists? Read What is a STIG checklist?, CKL vs CKLB, and STIG vs SCAP benchmark.

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Severity

Version

V2 · R4

CurrentPublished Wed Oct 01 2025

The macOS system must disable Location Services.

Apple macOS 14 (Sonoma) Security Technical Implementation Guide

Assessment Title

Rule Text

The macOS system must disable Location Services.

Description

Discussion Text

The information system must be configured to provide only essential capabilities. Disabling Location Services helps prevent the unauthorized connection of devices, unauthorized transfer of information, and unauthorized tunneling.

New to STIG checklists? Read What is a STIG checklist? and CKL vs CKLB.

Objective

V-259480

Rule

SV-259480r958478_rule

Severity

medium

Rule Version

APPL-14-002004

Documentable

false

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Rev 5

Assessment Procedure

Check Text

Verify the macOS system is configured to disable Location Services with the following command:

/usr/bin/sudo -u _locationd /usr/bin/osascript -l JavaScript << EOS
$.NSUserDefaults.alloc.initWithSuiteName('com.apple.locationd')\
.objectForKey('LocationServicesEnabled').js
EOS

If the result is not "false", this is a finding.

Implementation Procedure

Fix Text

Configure the macOS system to disable Location Services with the following command:

/usr/bin/defaults write /var/db/locationd/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.locationd LocationServicesEnabled -bool false; /bin/launchctl kickstart -k system/com.apple.locationd

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

STIG check 60 of 156 in the Apple macOS 14 (Sonoma) STIG checklist

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