macOS

General Information

Technologies must be operated and maintained in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines. More information on the proper use of the TRM can be found on the TRM Proper Use Tab/Section.

Website:	Go to site
Description:	macOS, previously OS X, is a Unix-based graphical interface operating system (OS) developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. macOS`s core is a Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) compliant Operating System (OS) built on the XNU kernel, with standard Unix utilities available from the command line interface. It is designed to run exclusively on Mac computer hardware. Note: XNU is the computer operating system kernel developed at Apple Inc. since December 1996 for use in the macOS operating system and released as free and open source software as part of the Darwin operating system. XNU is an acronym for `X is Not Unix`.
Technology/Standard Usage Requirements:	Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.
Section 508 Information:	This technology has not been assessed by the Section 508 Office. The Implementer of this technology has the responsibility to ensure the version deployed is 508-compliant. Section 508 compliance may be reviewed by the Section 508 Office and appropriate remedial action required if necessary. For additional information or assistance regarding Section 508, please contact the Section 508 Office at Section508@va.gov.
Decision:	View Decisions

Decision Source:	TRM Mgmt Group
Decision Process:	One-VA TRM v22.8
Decision Date:	08/31/2022
Aliases:	Mac OS X, OS X
Introduced By:	TRM Request
Vendor Name:	Apple

Vendor Release Information

The Vendor Release table provides the known releases for the TRM Technology, obtained from the vendor (or from the release source).

Version	Release Date	Vendor End of Life Date	Vendor Desupport Date
10.5 (Leopard)	10/26/2007
10.6 (Snow Leopard)	08/28/2009
10.7.x (Lion)	07/20/2011
10.8.x (Mntn Lion)	07/25/2012
10.9.x (Mavericks)	10/22/2013
10.10.x (Yosemite)	10/16/2014
10.11.x (El Capitan)	09/30/2015
10.12.x (Sierra)	09/20/2016
10.13.x (HighSierra)	03/29/2018
10.14.x (Mojave)	03/25/2019
10.15.x (Catalina)	10/07/2019
11.x (Big Sur)	11/12/2020
12.x (Monterey)	10/25/2021

Current Decision Matrix (08/30/2022)

Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.

The VA Decision Matrix displays the current and future VA IT position regarding different releases of a TRM entry. These decisions are based upon the best information available as of the most current date. The consumer of this information has the responsibility to consult the organizations responsible for the desktop, testing, and/or production environments to ensure that the target version of the technology will be supported. Any major.minor version that is not listed in the VA Decision Matrix is considered unapproved for use.

Legend:

White	Approved: The technology/standard has been approved for use.
Yellow	Approved w/Constraints: The technology/standard can be used within the specified constraints located below the decision matrix in the footnote[1] and on the General tab.
Gray	Unapproved: This technology or standard can be used only if a POA&M review is conducted and signed by the Authorizing Official Designated Representative (AODR) as designated by the Authorizing Official (AO) or designee and based upon a recommendation from the POA&M Compliance Enforcement, has been granted to the project team or organization that wishes to use the technology.
Orange	Divest: VA has decided to divest itself on the use of the technology/standard. As a result, all projects currently utilizing the technology/standard must plan to eliminate their use of the technology/standard. Additional information on when the entry is projected to become unapproved may be found on the Decision tab for the specific entry.
Black	Prohibited: The technology/standard is not (currently) permitted to be used under any circumstances.
Blue	Planning/Evaluation Constraint:The period of time this technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. If a customer would like to use this technology, please work with your local or Regional OI&T office and contact the appropriate evaluation office displayed in the notes below the decision matrix. The Local or Regional OI&T office should submit an inquiry to the TRM if they require further assistance or if the evaluating office is not listed in the notes below.

Release/Version Information:

VA decisions for specific versions may include a ‘.x’ wildcard, which denotes a decision that pertains to a range of multiple versions.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 7.x would cover any version of 7.(Anything) - 7.(Anything). However, a 7.4.x decision would cover any version of 7.4.(Anything), but would not cover any version of 7.5.x or 7.6.x on the TRM.

VA decisions for specific versions may include ‘+’ symbols; which denotes that the decision for the version specified also includes versions greater than what is specified but is not to exceed or affect previous decimal places.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 12.6.4+ would cover any version that is greater than 12.6.4, but would not exceed the .6 decimal ie: 12.6.401 is ok, 12.6.5 is ok, 12.6.9 is ok, however 12.7.0 or 13.0 is not.

<Past

CY2022

CY2023

CY2024

Future>

Release

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

10.7.x (Lion)

Unapproved

10.8.x (Mntn Lion)

Unapproved

10.9.x (Mavericks)

Unapproved

10.10.x (Yosemite)

Unapproved

10.11.x (El Capitan)

Unapproved

10.12.x (Sierra)

Unapproved

10.13.x (HighSierra)

Approved w/Constraints
[4, 10, 11, 12, 13]

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 11, 12, 13]

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 12, 13, 14, 15]

10.14.x (Mojave)

Approved w/Constraints
[4, 10, 11, 12, 13]

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 11, 12, 13]

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 12, 13, 14, 15]

10.15.x (Catalina)

Unapproved

11.x (Big Sur)

Approved w/Constraints
[4, 10, 11, 12, 13]

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 11, 12, 13]

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 12, 13, 14, 15]

12.x (Monterey)

Unapproved

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 11, 12, 13]

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 12, 13, 14, 15]

Decision Constraints


[1]	This Technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population.

[2]	Use of this technology is only permitted when deployed using the organization`s gold image and managed by the Mac standardization project. Due to a high number of NIST security vulnerabilities, extra vigilance should be applied to ensure supported versions of the product remain properly patched to mitigate known and future vulnerabilities.

[3]	Use of this technology is only permitted when deployed using the organization`s gold image and managed by the Mac standardization project.

[4]	Due to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) identified security vulnerabilities, extra vigilance should be applied to ensure the versions remain properly patched to mitigate known and future vulnerabilities. The local ISO can provide assistance in reviewing the NIST vulnerabilities.

[5]	Use of this technology is only permitted when deployed using the organization`s gold image and managed by the Mac standardization project. Version 10.12 currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. Contact your local CIO office if more information is needed in regards to the use of this technology.

[6]	Use of this technology is only permitted when deployed using the organization`s gold image and managed by the Mac standardization project. Version 10.12 currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. Contact your local CIO office if more information is needed in regards to the use of this technology. When establishing a password for the FileVault 2, ensure that all of the VA password requirements are met with regard to length and complexity. VA Handbook 6500 Control IA-5: Authenticator Management sets a standard of at least 8 non-blank characters. They must contain characters from three (3) of the following (4) categories: English upper case characters English lower case characters Base-10 digits Non-alphanumeric special characters Six of the characters must not occur more than once in the password. The lack of support for MFA and the reuse of OS authentication is a concern in FileVault 2. It is essential at VA to use two-factor authentication (2FA) and not duplicate OS credentials when authenticating users before system boot. Commercial add-on products must be investigated and tested for coupling with FileVault 2 to achieve MFA/2FA. Since recovery keys are essentially passwords that the system generates for the user, the user will need to find a way to secure the recovery key for later retrieval if necessary. Successful implementation of FileVault 2 relies on impeccable password protection. VA must consistently conduct awareness programs emphasizing techniques to store/escrow passwords and recovery keys. Thoroughly test centralized management and configuration third-party add-on pairings that must be used to scale FileVault 2 implementation from its intended personal use to an enterprise solution. Care must be exercised to use the latest version of FileVault 2 and not to inadvertently implement Legacy FileVault by mistake. FileVault 2 must remain patched and operated in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines.

[7]	Use of this technology is only permitted when deployed using the organization`s gold image and managed by the Mac standardization project. Version 10.13 currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. Contact your local CIO office if more information is needed in regards to the use of this technology. When establishing a password for the FileVault 2, ensure that all of the VA password requirements are met with regard to length and complexity. VA Handbook 6500 Control IA-5: Authenticator Management sets a standard of at least 8 non-blank characters. They must contain characters from three (3) of the following (4) categories: English upper case characters English lower case characters Base-10 digits Non-alphanumeric special characters Six of the characters must not occur more than once in the password. The lack of support for MFA and the reuse of OS authentication is a concern in FileVault 2. It is essential at VA to use two-factor authentication (2FA) and not duplicate OS credentials when authenticating users before system boot. Commercial add-on products must be investigated and tested for coupling with FileVault 2 to achieve MFA/2FA. Since recovery keys are essentially passwords that the system generates for the user, the user will need to find a way to secure the recovery key for later retrieval if necessary. Successful implementation of FileVault 2 relies on impeccable password protection. VA must consistently conduct awareness programs emphasizing techniques to store/escrow passwords and recovery keys. Thoroughly test centralized management and configuration third-party add-on pairings that must be used to scale FileVault 2 implementation from its intended personal use to an enterprise solution. Care must be exercised to use the latest version of FileVault 2 and not to inadvertently implement Legacy FileVault by mistake. FileVault 2 must remain patched and operated in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines.

[8]	Use of this technology is only permitted when deployed using the organization`s gold image and managed by the Mac standardization project. macOS 10.14.X Mojave is in evaluation while the baseline is developed and is only available for use as part of a pilot or production test as approved by Solution Delivery Endpoint Engineering. Per the Initial Product Review, users must abide by the following constraints: When establishing a password for the FileVault 2, ensure that all of the VA password requirements are met with regard to length and complexity. VA Handbook 6500 Control IA-5: Authenticator Management sets a standard of at least 8 non-blank characters. They must contain characters from three (3) of the following (4) categories: o English upper case characters o English lower case characters o Base-10 digits o Non-alphanumeric special characters The lack of support for MFA and the reuse of OS authentication is a concern in FileVault 2. It is essential at VA to use two-factor authentication (2FA) and not duplicate OS credentials when authenticating users before system boot. Commercial add-on products must be investigated and tested for coupling with FileVault 2 to achieve MFA/2FA. Since recovery keys are essentially passwords that the system generates for the user, the user will need to find a way to secure the recovery key for later retrieval if necessary. Successful implementation of FileVault 2 relies on impeccable password protection. VA must consistently conduct awareness programs emphasizing techniques to store/escrow passwords and recovery keys. Thoroughly test centralized management and configuration third-party add-on pairings that must be used to scale FileVault 2 implementation from its intended personal use to an enterprise solution. Care must be exercised to use the latest version of FileVault 2 and not to inadvertently implement Legacy FileVault by mistake. FileVault 2 must remain patched and operated in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines.

[9]	Use of this technology is only permitted when deployed using the organization`s gold image and managed by the Mac standardization project. Per the Initial Product Review, users must abide by the following constraints: When establishing a password for the FileVault 2, ensure that all of the VA password requirements are met with regard to length and complexity. VA Handbook 6500 Control IA-5: Authenticator Management sets a standard of at least 8 non-blank characters. They must contain characters from three (3) of the following (4) categories: o English upper case characters o English lower case characters o Base-10 digits o Non-alphanumeric special characters The lack of support for MFA and the reuse of OS authentication is a concern in FileVault 2. It is essential at VA to use two-factor authentication (2FA) and not duplicate OS credentials when authenticating users before system boot. Commercial add-on products must be investigated and tested for coupling with FileVault 2 to achieve MFA/2FA. Since recovery keys are essentially passwords that the system generates for the user, the user will need to find a way to secure the recovery key for later retrieval if necessary. Successful implementation of FileVault 2 relies on impeccable password protection. VA must consistently conduct awareness programs emphasizing techniques to store/escrow passwords and recovery keys. Thoroughly test centralized management and configuration third-party add-on pairings that must be used to scale FileVault 2 implementation from its intended personal use to an enterprise solution. Care must be exercised to use the latest version of FileVault 2 and not to inadvertently implement Legacy FileVault by mistake. FileVault 2 must remain patched and operated in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines.

[10]	Use of this technology is only permitted when deployed using the organization`s gold image and managed by the Mac standardization project.

[11]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[12]	Technology must remain patched and operated in accordance with Federal and Department security policies and guidelines in order to mitigate known and future security vulnerabilities.

[13]	This technology has received one or more VA security bulletins that provide specific guidance on vulnerability patching and mitigation. It is the responsibility of VA system owners to ensure that the appropriate mitigations are taken to address all known and future discovered vulnerabilities with this product. See the Reference tab for more information on security bulletins related to this product.

[14]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISSO (Information System Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[15]	Due to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) identified security vulnerabilities, extra vigilance should be applied to ensure the versions remain properly patched to mitigate known and future vulnerabilities. The local ISSO (Information System Security Officer) can provide assistance in reviewing the NIST vulnerabilities.

Note:

At the time of writing, version 12.5.1 is the most current version and was released 08/17/2022. Additionally, at the time of writing, version 12.x is the latest baselined version and was released 10/25/2021. The current baselined versions are 11.x, 10.13.x, 10.14.x, and 12.x.

References

The following reference(s) are associated with this entry:
Type	Name	Source	Description
Vendor Provided*	Release notes for macOS		This links to the release notes for macOS.
*NOTE: Vendor provided information is subject to the accuracy of the manufacturer.

Technology Components

Note: This list may not be complete. No component, listed or unlisted, may be used outside of the technology in which it is released. The usage decision for a component is found in the Decision and Decision Constraints.
Name	Description
FileVault	FileVault 2 is a disk encryption program that provides full disk encryption capabilities (FDE) to macOS desktop and laptop hard drives. It is used also to support Apple mobile-related products that use iOS, such as iPhones and iPads. FileVault 2 encrypts all data on hard drives to guard against unauthorized user access to sensitive data. XTS-AES-128 encryption is utilized with support for 256-bit AES keys for the macOS versions 10.9 and later. Legacy FileVault (the version prior to 2013) only supported the use of 128-bit keys.

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Domain Area	Category	Customer Guidance	Category Locked By ELT Date
Platforms and Storage Operating Systems	OS - Desktop/Laptop

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

This entry is an operating system.

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

No runtime dependencies have been identified.

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

This is a well-documented technology.
This technology provides the organization with an alternative laptop operating system thereby allowing end users viable options to enhance productivity.
This is a mature technology.

Adoption Risks

The potential of vendor lock exists when utilizing proprietary vendor technology.
The use of this technology may be susceptible to exploitation of security flaws.
The potential exists to store Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI) and/or VA Sensitive data and proper security standards must be followed in these cases.
Due to the rapid release schedule of this technology, the VA may be unable to update to the most recent patch and may require a deployment model requiring the use of specific versions.
There are known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) and VA Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) vulnerabilities. Please see https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/search for more details.
There are Threat & Assessment Analysis Portal (TAAP) bulletins associated with this technology.

Architectural Benefits

This technology has a secure configuration baseline.

Architectural Risks

Seamless integration between this technology and the enterprise infrastructure, which is largely based on compatibility with Microsoft products, cannot be guaranteed.

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