This is not the latest version of the STIG. This is provided for archival purposes. See the latest STIG.

The macOS system must enforce session lock no more than five seconds after screen saver is started.

STIG ID: APPL-14-000003  |  SRG: SRG-OS-000028-GPOS-00009 |  Severity: medium (CAT II)  |  CCI: CCI-000056 |  Vulnerability Id: V-259420

Vulnerability Discussion

A screen saver must be enabled and the system must be configured to require a password to unlock once the screensaver has been on for a maximum of five seconds.

An unattended system with an excessive grace period is vulnerable to a malicious user.

Check

Verify the macOS system is configured to initiate a session lock within five seconds of the screen saver starting with the following command:

/usr/bin/osascript -l JavaScript << EOS
function run() {
let delay = ObjC.unwrap($.NSUserDefaults.alloc.initWithSuiteName('com.apple.screensaver')\
.objectForKey('askForPasswordDelay'))
if ( delay <= 5 ) {
return("true")
} else {
return("false")
}
}
EOS

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

Fix

Configure the macOS system to initiate a session lock within five seconds of the screen saver starting by installing the "com.apple.screensaver" configuration profile.