APPL-15-001024 The macOS system must be configured to audit all failed program execution on the system.
All changes in this version
Maps to AU-12, CM-5(1) via CCI-003938, CCI-000172
Title
The macOS system must be configured to audit all failed program execution on the system.
Control
Verify the macOS system is configured to audit all failed program execution on the system with the following command: /usr/bin/awk -F':' '/^flags/ { print $NF }' /etc/security/audit_control | /usr/bin/tr ',' '\n' | /usr/bin/grep -Ec '\-ex' If the result is not "1", this is a finding.
Discussion
The audit system must be configured to record enforcement actions of access restrictions, including failed program execute (-ex) attempts. Enforcement actions are the methods or mechanisms used to prevent unauthorized access and/or changes to configuration settings. One common and effective enforcement action method is using program execution restrictions (e.g., denying users access to execute certain processes). This configuration ensures that audit lists include events in which program execution has failed. Without auditing the enforcement of program execution, it is difficult to identify attempted attacks because no audit trail is available for forensic investigation. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000365-GPOS-00152, SRG-OS-000458-GPOS-00203, SRG-OS-000463-GPOS-00207, SRG-OS-000465-GPOS-00209
Related controls
CCI-000172, CCI-003938
Fix
Configure the macOS system to audit all failed program execution on the system with the following command: /usr/bin/grep -qE "^flags.*-ex" /etc/security/audit_control || /usr/bin/sed -i.bak '/^flags/ s/$/,-ex/' /etc/security/audit_control; /usr/sbin/audit -s