The macOS system must enable Authenticated Root.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-268565	APPL-15-005070	SV-268565r1034635_rule		Medium

Description

Authenticated Root must be enabled. When Authenticated Root is enabled, the macOS is booted from a signed volume that is cryptographically protected to prevent tampering with the system volume. NOTE: Authenticated Root is enabled by default on macOS systems. WARNING: If more than one partition with macOS is detected, the csrutil command will hang awaiting input.

STIG	Date
Apple macOS 15 (Sequoia) Security Technical Implementation Guide	2025-05-05

Details

Check Text (C-72595r1034633_chk)

Verify the macOS system is configured to enable authenticated root with the following command:

/usr/libexec/mdmclient QuerySecurityInfo | /usr/bin/grep -c "AuthenticatedRootVolumeEnabled = 1;"

If the result is not "1", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-72496r1034634_fix)

Configure the macOS system to enable authenticated root with the following command:

/usr/bin/csrutil authenticated-root enable

NOTE: To reenable "Authenticated Root", boot the affected system into "Recovery" mode, launch "Terminal" from the "Utilities" menu, and run the command.