The operating system must automatically audit account modification.

From Apple OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) Workstation STIG

Associated with: CCI-001403

SV-65615r1_rule The operating system must automatically audit account modification.

Vulnerability discussion

Once an attacker establishes initial access to a system, they often attempt to create a persistent method of reestablishing access. One way to accomplish this is for the attacker to simply modify an existing account. Auditing of account modification is one method and best practice for mitigating this risk. A comprehensive account management process will ensure an audit trail which documents the modification of user accounts and, as required, notifies appropriate individuals.

Check content

In order to view the currently configured flags for the audit daemon, run the following command: sudo grep ^flags /etc/security/audit_control | sed 's/flags://' | tr "," "\n" | grep ad The account creation events are logged by way of the "ad" flag. If "ad" is not listed in the result of the check, this is a finding.

Fix text

To make sure the appropriate flags are enabled for auditing, run the following command: sudo sed -i.bak '/^flags/ s/$/,ad/' /etc/security/audit_control

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