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 authorize USB devices before allowing connection.

Apple macOS 14 (Sonoma) Security Technical Implementation Guide

Assessment Title

Rule Text

The macOS system must authorize USB devices before allowing connection.

Description

Discussion Text

USB devices connected to a Mac must be authorized.

[IMPORTANT]
====
This feature is removed if a smart card is paired or smart card attribute mapping is configured.
====

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

Objective

V-259572

Rule

SV-259572r986236_rule

Severity

medium

Rule Version

APPL-14-005090

Documentable

false

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Rev 5

Assessment Procedure

Check Text

Verify the macOS system is configured to authorize USB devices before allowing connection with the following command:

/usr/bin/osascript -l JavaScript << EOS
  function run() {
    let pref1 = ObjC.unwrap($.NSUserDefaults.alloc.initWithSuiteName('com.apple.applicationaccess')\
  .objectForKey('allowUSBRestrictedMode'))
    if ( pref1 == false ) {
      return("false")
    } else {
      return("true")
    }
  }
EOS

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

Implementation Procedure

Fix Text

Configure the macOS system to authorize USB devices before allowing connection by installing the "com.apple.applicationaccess" configuration profile.

STIG check 151 of 156 in the Apple macOS 14 (Sonoma) STIG checklist

← Previous · V-259571The macOS system must prohibit user installation of software into /users/.Next · V-259573 →The macOS system must ensure secure boot level set to full.