The following is a description of the elements, types, and attributes that compose the MacOS specific system characteristic items found in Open Vulnerability and Assessment Language (OVAL). Each item is an extension of the standard test element defined in the Core Definition Schema. Through extension, each test inherits a set of elements and attributes that are shared amongst all OVAL tests. Each test is described in detail and should provide the information necessary to understand what each element and attribute represents. This document is intended for developers and assumes some familiarity with XML. A high level description of the interaction between the different tests and their relationship to the Core Definition Schema is not outlined here.
The MacOS System Characteristics Schema was initially developed by The Center for Internet Security. Many thanks to their contributions to OVAL and the security community.
The OVAL Schema is maintained by The MITRE Corporation and developed by the public OVAL Community. For more information, including how to get involved in the project and how to submit change requests, please visit the OVAL website at http://oval.mitre.org.
This item stores sser account information (username, uid, gid, etc.).
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs username oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 The user associated with the information collected. password oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 Obfuscated (*****) or encrypted password for this user. uid oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 The numeric user id, or uid, is the third column of each user's entry in /etc/passwd. This element represents the owner of the file. gid oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 Group ID of this account. realname oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 User's real name, aka gecos field of /etc/passwd. home_dir oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 The home directory for this user account. login_shell oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 The login shell for this user account.
This item stores results from checking the contents of an authorizationdb right.
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs right_name oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 Specifies the right_name in which the item is specified. xpath oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 Specifies an Xpath expression describing the text node(s) or attribute(s) to look at. value_of oval-sc:EntityItemAnySimpleType 0 unbounded The value_of element checks the value(s) of the text node(s) or attribute(s) found. How this is used is entirely controlled by operator attributes.
This item stores results from checking the contents of the CoreStorage XML plist information.
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs uuid oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 1 1 Specifies the UUID of the volume about which the plist information was retrieved. xpath oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 Specifies an Xpath expression describing the text node(s) or attribute(s) to look at. value_of oval-sc:EntityItemAnySimpleType 0 unbounded The value_of element checks the value(s) of the text node(s) or attribute(s) found. How this is used is entirely controlled by operator attributes.
The diskutil_item holds verification information about an individual disk on a Mac OS system. Each diskutil_item contains a device, filepath, and how the actual permissions differ from the expected permissions. For more information, see diskutil(8). It extends the standard ItemType as defined in the oval-system-characteristics schema and one should refer to the ItemType description for more information.
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs device oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 The device entity is a string that represents the disk on a Mac OS system to verify. Please see diskutil(8) for instructions on how to specify the device. filepath oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 The filepath element specifies the absolute path for a file or directory on the specified device. uread macos-sc:EntityItemPermissionCompareType 0 1 Has the actual user read permission changed from the expected user read permission? uwrite macos-sc:EntityItemPermissionCompareType 0 1 Has the actual user write permission changed from the expected user write permission? uexec macos-sc:EntityItemPermissionCompareType 0 1 Has the actual user exec permission changed from the expected user exec permission? gread macos-sc:EntityItemPermissionCompareType 0 1 Has the actual group read permission changed from the expected group read permission? gwrite macos-sc:EntityItemPermissionCompareType 0 1 Has the actual group write permission changed from the expected group write permission? gexec macos-sc:EntityItemPermissionCompareType 0 1 Has the actual group exec permission changed from the expected group exec permission? oread macos-sc:EntityItemPermissionCompareType 0 1 Has the actual others read permission changed from the expected others read permission? owrite macos-sc:EntityItemPermissionCompareType 0 1 Has the actual others write permission changed from the expected others write permission? oexec macos-sc:EntityItemPermissionCompareType 0 1 Has the actual others exec permission changed from the expected others exec permission?
This item stores results from checking the settings of the Gatekeeper.
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs enabled oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 1 1 The status of Gatekeeper assessments. unlabeled oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 unbounded The path to an unsigned application folder to which Gatekeeper has granted execute permission.
| Deprecated As Of Version: 5.10 Reason: The inetlisteningserver_item has been deprecated and replaced by the inetlisteningserver510_item. The name of an application cannot be used to uniquely identify an application that is listening on the network. As a result, the inetlisteningserver510_object utilizes the protocol, local_address, and local_port entities to uniquely identify an application listening on the network. Please see the inetlisteningserver510_item for additional information. |
An inet listening server item stores the results of checking for network servers currently active on a system.
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs program_name oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 This is the name of the communicating program. local_address oval-sc:EntityItemIPAddressStringType 0 1 This is the IP address of the network interface on which the program listens. Note that the IP address can be IPv4 or IPv6. local_full_address oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 This is the IP address and network port on which the program listens, equivalent to local_address:local_port. Note that the IP address can be IPv4 or IPv6. local_port oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 This is the TCP or UDP port on which the program listens. Note that this is not a list -- if a program listens on multiple ports, or on a combination of TCP and UDP, each will have its own entry in the table data stored by this item. foreign_address oval-sc:EntityItemIPAddressStringType 0 1 This is the IP address with which the program is communicating, or with which it will communicate, in the case of a listening server. Note that the IP address can be IPv4 or IPv6. foreign_full_address oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 This is the IP address and network port to which the program is communicating or will accept communications from, equivalent to foreign_address:foreign_port. Note that the IP address can be IPv4 or IPv6. foreign_port oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 This is the TCP or UDP port to which the program communicates. In the case of a listening program accepting new connections, this is usually a *. pid oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 This is the process ID of the process. The process in question is that of the program communicating on the network. protocol oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 This is the transport-layer protocol, in lowercase: tcp or udp. user_id oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 The numeric user id, or uid, is the third column of each user's entry in /etc/passwd. It represents the owner, and thus privilege level, of the specified program.
An inet listening server item stores the results of checking for network servers currently active on a system.
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs protocol oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 This is the transport-layer protocol, in lowercase: tcp or udp. local_address oval-sc:EntityItemIPAddressStringType 0 1 This is the IP address of the network interface on which the program listens. Note that the IP address can be IPv4 or IPv6. local_port oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 This is the TCP or UDP port on which the program listens. Note that this is not a list -- if a program listens on multiple ports, or on a combination of TCP and UDP, each will have its own entry in the table data stored by this item. local_full_address oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 This is the IP address and network port on which the program listens, equivalent to local_address:local_port. Note that the IP address can be IPv4 or IPv6. program_name oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 This is the name of the communicating program. foreign_address oval-sc:EntityItemIPAddressStringType 0 1 This is the IP address with which the program is communicating, or with which it will communicate, in the case of a listening server. Note that the IP address can be IPv4 or IPv6. foreign_port oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 This is the TCP or UDP port to which the program communicates. In the case of a listening program accepting new connections, this is usually a *. foreign_full_address oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 This is the IP address and network port to which the program is communicating or will accept communications from, equivalent to foreign_address:foreign_port. Note that the IP address can be IPv4 or IPv6. pid oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 This is the process ID of the process. The process in question is that of the program communicating on the network. user_id oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 The numeric user id, or uid, is the third column of each user's entry in /etc/passwd. It represents the owner, and thus privilege level, of the specified program.
This item stores results from checking the settings of a keychain.
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs filepath oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 1 1 Specifies the filepath of the keychain. lock_on_sleep oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 0 1 Specifies the whether the keychain is configured to lock on sleep. timeout oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 The inactivity timeout (in seconds) for the keychain, or 0 if there is no timeout.
This item stores results from checking a launchd-controlled daemon/agent.
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs label oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 1 1 Specifies the name of the agent/daemon. pid oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 Specifies the process ID of the daemon (if any). status oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 Specifies the last exit code of the daemon (if any), or if $lt; 0, indicates the negative of the signal that interrupted processing. For example, a value of -15 would indicate that the job was terminated via a SIGTERM.
Output of 'nvram -p'
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs nvram_var oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 A nvram variabl. nvram_value oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 This is the value of the associated nvram variable.
The plist_item holds information about an individual property list preference key found on a system. Each plist_item contains a preference key, application identifier or filepath, type, as well as the preference key's value. It extends the standard ItemType as defined in the oval-system-characteristics schema and one should refer to the ItemType description for more information.
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs key oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 The preference key to check. app_id oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 The unique application identifier that specifies the application to use when looking up the preference key (e.g. com.apple.Safari). filepath oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 The absolute path to a plist file (e.g. ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist). instance oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 The instance of the preference key found in the plist. The first instance of a matching preference key is given the instance value of 1, the second instance of a matching preference key is given the instance value of 2, and so on. Instance values must be assigned using a depth-first approach. Note that the main purpose of this entity is to provide uniqueness for the different plist_items that result from multiple instances of a given preference key in the same plist file. type macos-sc:EntityItemPlistTypeType 0 1 The type of the preference key. value oval-sc:EntityItemAnySimpleType 0 unbounded The value of the preference key.
| Deprecated As Of Version: 5.9 Reason: Replaced by the pwpolicy59_item. The username, userpass, and directory_node entities in the pwpolicy_item were underspecified and as a result their meaning was uncertain. A new item was created to resolve this issue. See the pwpolicy59_item. Comment: This item has been deprecated and may be removed in a future version of the language. |
Output of 'pwpolicy -getpolicy'. Please see the 'pwpolicy' man page for additional information.
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs username oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 userpass oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 directory_node oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 maxChars oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 Maximum number of characters allowed in a password. maxFailedLoginAttempts oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 Maximum number of failed logins before the account is locked. minChars oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 Minimum number of characters allowed in a password. passwordCannotBeName oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 0 1 Defines if the password is allowed to be the same as the username or not. requiresAlpha oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 0 1 Defines if the password must contain an alphabetical character or not. requiresNumeric oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 0 1 Defines if the password must contain an numeric character or not.
The pwpolicy59_item holds the password policy information for a particular user specified by the target_user element. Please see the 'pwpolicy' man page for additional information.
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs target_user oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 The target_user element specifies the user whose password policy information was collected. username oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 The username element specifies the username of the authenticator. userpass oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 The userpass element specifies the password of the authenticator as specified by the username element. directory_node oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 The directory_node element specifies the directory node that the password policy information was collected from. maxChars oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 Maximum number of characters allowed in a password. maxFailedLoginAttempts oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 Maximum number of failed logins before the account is locked. minChars oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 Minimum number of characters allowed in a password. passwordCannotBeName oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 0 1 Defines if the password is allowed to be the same as the username or not. requiresAlpha oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 0 1 Defines if the password must contain an alphabetical character or not. requiresNumeric oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 0 1 Defines if the password must contain an numeric character or not. maxMinutesUntilChangePassword oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 Maximum number of minutes until the password must be changed. minMinutesUntilChangePassword oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 Minimum number of minutes between password changes. requiresMixedCase oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 0 1 Defines if the password must contain upper and lower case characters or not. requiresSymbol oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 0 1 Defines if the password must contain a symbol character or not. minutesUntilFailedLoginReset oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 Number of minutes after login has been disabled due to too many failed login attempts to wait before reenabling login. usingHistory oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 0 = user can reuse the current pass-word, 1 = user cannot reuse the current password, 2-15 = user cannot reuse the last n passwords. canModifyPasswordforSelf oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 0 1 If true, the user can change the password. usingExpirationDate oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 0 1 If true, user is required to change password on the date in expirationDateGMT usingHardExpirationDate oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 0 1 If true, user's account is disabled on the date in hardExpireDateGMT expirationDateGMT oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 Date for the password to expire, format is: mm/dd/yyyy. NOTE: The pwpolicy command returns the year as a two digit value, but OVAL uses four digit years; the pwpolicy value is converted to an OVAL compatible value. hardExpireDateGMT oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 Date for the user's account to be disabled, format is: mm/dd/yyyy. NOTE: The pwpolicy command returns the year as a two digit value, but OVAL uses four digit years; the pwpolicy value is converted to an OVAL compatible value. maxMinutesUntilDisabled oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 User's account is disabled after this interval maxMinutesOfNonUse oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 0 1 User's account is disabled if it is not accessed by this interval newPasswordRequired oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 0 1 If true, the user will be prompted for a new password at the next authentication. notGuessablePattern oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 0 1
The rlimit_item contains information about the resource limits for launchd.
A resource limit is specified as a soft (current) limit and a hard (max) limit. When a soft limit is exceeded a process may receive a signal (for example, if the cpu time or file size is exceeded), but it will be allowed to con-tinue continue tinue execution until it reaches the hard limit (or modifies its resource limit).
For any 'unlimited' resource, the entity will have the status of 'does not exist'.
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs cpu_current oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 The maximum amount of cpu time (in seconds) to be used by each process. cpu_max oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 cpu hard limit. filesize_current oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 The largest size (in bytes) file that may be created. filesize_max oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 filesize hard limit. data_current oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 The maximum size (in bytes) of the data segment for a process; this defines how far a program may extend its break with the sbrk(2) system call. data_max oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 data hard limit. stack_current oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 The maximum size (in bytes) of the stack segment for a process; this defines how far a program's stack segment may be extended. Stack extension is performed automatically by the system. stack_max oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 stack hard limit. core_current oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 The largest size (in bytes) core file that may be created. core_max oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 core hard limit. rss_current oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 The maximum size (in bytes) to which a process's resident set size may grow. This imposes a limit on the amount of physical memory to be given to a process; if memory is tight, the system will prefer to take memory from processes that are exceeding their declared resident set size. rss_max oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 rss hard limit. memlock_current oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 The maximum size (in bytes) which a process may lock into memory using the mlock(2) function. memlock_max oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 memlock hard limit. maxproc_current oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 The maximum number of simultaneous processes for this user id. maxproc_max oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 maxproc hard limit. maxfiles_current oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 The maximum number of open files for this process. maxfiles_max oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 maxfiles hard limit.
This item represents automatic software update information.
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs schedule oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 1 1 Specifies whether automatic checking is enabled (true). software_title oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 unbounded Specifies the title string for an available (not installed) software update.
This item stores results from performing an XPATH query on the XML result of a systemprofiler data type query.
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs data_type macos-sc:EntityItemDataTypeType 0 1 Specifies the data type that was used in collection. xpath oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 Specifies an Xpath expression describing the text node(s) or attribute(s) to look at. value_of oval-sc:EntityItemAnySimpleType 0 unbounded The value_of element checks the value(s) of the text node(s) or attribute(s) found. How this is used is entirely controlled by operator attributes.
This item represents system setup information.
Extends: oval-sc:ItemType
Child Elements Type MinOccurs MaxOccurs timezone oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 1 1 Specifies the name of the current time zone. usingnetworktime oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 1 1 Specifies wither the machine is using network time. networktimeserver oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 0 1 Specifies the network time server. computersleep oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 Specifies the computer sleep inactivity timer, or 0 for never. displaysleep oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 Specifies the display sleep inactivity timer, or 0 for never. harddisksleep oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 Specifies the hard disk sleep inactivity timer, or 0 for never. wakeonmodem oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 1 1 Specifies whether the computer will wake up if the modem is accessed. wakeonnetworkaccess oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 1 1 Specifies whether the computer will wake up if the network is accessed. restartfreeze oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 1 1 Specifies whether the computer will restart after freezing. restartpowerfailure oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 1 1 Specifies whether the computer will restart after a power failure. allowpowerbuttontosleepcomputer oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 1 1 Specifies whether the power button can be used to cause the computer to sleep. remotelogin oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 1 1 Specifies whether remote logins are allowed. remoteappleevents oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 0 1 Specifies whether remote Apple events are enabled. computername oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 1 1 Specifies the computer's name. localsubnetname oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 1 1 Specifies the name of the local subnet. startupdisk oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 1 1 Specifies the startup disks. waitforstartupafterpowerfailure oval-sc:EntityItemIntType 1 1 Specifies the number of seconds the computer waits to start up after a power failure. disablekeyboardwhenenclosurelockisengaged oval-sc:EntityItemBoolType 1 1 Specifies whether the keyboard is locked when the closure lock is engaged. kernelbootarchitecturesetting oval-sc:EntityItemStringType 1 1 Specifies the kernel boot architecture setting.
The EntityItemDataTypeType complex type defines the different values that are valid for the data_type entity of a system_profiler item. These values describe the system_profiler XML data to be retrieved. The empty string is also allowed as a valid value to support an empty element that is found when a variable reference is used within the index entity. Note that when using pattern matches and variables care must be taken to ensure that the regular expression and variable values align with the enumerated values. Please note that the values identified are for the data_type entity and are not valid values for the datatype attribute.
Restricts: oval-sc:EntityItemStringType
Value Description SPHardwareDataType
SPNetworkDataType
SPSoftwareDataType
SPParallelATADataType
SPAudioDataType
SPBluetoothDataType
SPDiagnosticsDataType
SPDiscBurningDataType
SPEthernetDataType
SPFibreChannelDataType
SPFireWireDataType
SPDisplaysDataType
SPHardwareRAIDDataType
SPMemoryDataType
SPPCIDataType
SPParallelSCSIDataType
SPPowerDataType
SPPrintersDataType
SPSASDataType
SPSerialATADataType
SPUSBDataType
SPAirPortDataType
SPFirewallDataType
SPNetworkLocationDataType
SPModemDataType
SPNetworkVolumeDataType
SPWWANDataType
SPApplicationsDataType
SPDeveloperToolsDataType
SPExtensionsDataType
SPFontsDataType
SPFrameworksDataType
SPLogsDataType
SPManagedClientDataType
SPPrefPaneDataType
SPStartupItemDataType
SPSyncServicesDataType
SPUniversalAccessDataType
The empty string value is permitted here to allow for detailed error reporting.
The EntityItemPermissionCompareType complex type restricts a string value to more, less, or same which specifies if an actual permission is different than the expected permission (more or less restrictive) or if the permission is the same. The empty string is also allowed to support empty elements associated with error conditions.
Restricts: oval-sc:EntityItemStringType
Value Description more
The actual permission is more restrictive than the expected permission.
less
The actual permission is less restrictive than the expected permission.
same
The actual permission is the same as the expected permission.
The empty string value is permitted here to allow for detailed error reporting.
The EntityItemPlistTypeType complex type restricts a string value to the seven values CFString, CFNumber, CFBoolean, CFDate, CFData, CFArray, and CFDictionary that specify the type of the value associated with a property list preference key. The empty string is also allowed to support empty elements associated with error conditions.
Restricts: oval-sc:EntityItemStringType
Value Description CFString
The CFString type is used to describe a preference key that has a string value. The OVAL string datatype should be used to represent CFString values.
CFNumber
The CFNumber type is used to describe a preference key that has a integer or float value. The OVAL int and float datatypes should be used, as appropriate, to represent CFNumber values.
CFBoolean
The CFBoolean type is used to describe a preference key that has a boolean value. The OVAL boolean datatype should be used to represent CFBoolean values.
CFDate
The CFDate type is used to describe a preference key that has a date value. The OVAL string datatype should be used to represent CFDate values.
CFData
The CFData type is used to describe a preference key that has a base64-encoded binary value. The OVAL string datatype should be used to represent CFData values.
CFArray
The CFArray type is used to describe a preference key that has a collection of values. This is represented as multiple value entities.
CFDictionary
The CFDictionary type is used to describe a preference key that has a collection of key-value pairs. Note that the collection of CFDictionary values is not supported. If an attempt is made to collect a CFDictionary value, an error should be reported.
The empty string value is permitted here to allow for detailed error reporting.