Mac OS X 10.0 Security Essentials

This report constitutes an evaluation of the out-of-the-box security of the shipping version of Mac OS X. The security features and vulnerabilities evaluated in this report form the foundation for most security aspects of the operating system and therefore should be considered essentials for anyone involved in maintaining a Mac OS X system. As of this writing, the current version of Mac OS X is 10.0.4 Build 4Q12 for most systems. This report will evaluate this particular version and build with the Web Sharing Update 1.0 installed (Apple 10, p.1). It should be noted that there is also a server version of Mac OS X shipping called Mac OS X Server 10.0, which is based on the Mac OS X core. The server version has essentially kept sync with the general version with regard to security patches, updates, and version numbers. Virtually all of what is discussed in this report will apply to the server version. The security aspects of Mac OS X 10.0.4 will be divided into apparent strengths and weaknesses and discussed in some detail. Parallels to the Windows platform and the UNIX platform will be drawn when appropriate. When possible, corresponding solutions and pitfalls will also be presented. The report will conclude with an evaluation of the overall security aspects of the operating system.