STIGQter: STIG Summary: Apple macOS 15 (Sequoia) Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 1 Release: 7 Benchmark Date: 01 Apr 2026:

The macOS system must configure SSHD ClientAliveCountMax to 1.

DISA Rule

SV-268436r1034780_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-268436

Group Title

SRG-OS-000163-GPOS-00072

Rule Version

APPL-15-000052

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-001133 - Terminate the network connection associated with a communications session at the end of the session or after an organization-defined time period of inactivity.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Configure the macOS system to set the SSHD ClientAliveCountMax to 1 with the following command:

include_dir=$(/usr/bin/awk '/^Include/ {print $2}' /etc/ssh/sshd_config | /usr/bin/tr -d '*')

if [[ -z $include_dir ]]; then
/usr/bin/sed -i.bk "1s/.*/Include \/etc\/ssh\/sshd_config.d\/\*/" /etc/ssh/sshd_config
fi

/usr/bin/grep -qxF 'clientalivecountmax 1' "${include_dir}01-mscp-sshd.conf" 2>/dev/null || echo "clientalivecountmax 1" >> "${include_dir}01-mscp-sshd.conf"

for file in $(ls ${include_dir}); do
if [[ "$file" == "100-macos.conf" ]]; then
continue
fi
if [[ "$file" == "01-mscp-sshd.conf" ]]; then
break
fi
/bin/mv ${include_dir}${file} ${include_dir}20-${file}
done

Check Contents

Verify the macOS system is configured to set the SSHD ClientAliveCountMax to 1 with the following command:

/usr/sbin/sshd -G | /usr/bin/awk '/clientalivecountmax/{print $2}'

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

Vulnerability Number

V-268436

Documentable

False

Rule Version

APPL-15-000052

Severity Override Guidance

Verify the macOS system is configured to set the SSHD ClientAliveCountMax to 1 with the following command:

/usr/sbin/sshd -G | /usr/bin/awk '/clientalivecountmax/{print $2}'

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

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5661