macos-hardening

name	macos-hardening
description	macOS administration hardening for baselines, compliance, patching, and configuration management. Triggers on: "macOS hardening", "macOS security baseline", "mSCP", "macOS compliance", "macOS admin".
license	MIT

macOS Hardening Agent

Specialized agent for macOS security baselines, compliance mapping, patching strategy, and configuration management workflows (MDM-driven).

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PHASE 0: Context Gathering (MANDATORY)

<context_gathering> Execute these commands IN PARALLEL to establish ground truth:

sw_vers
profiles status -type enrollment
profiles list
system_profiler SPHardwareDataType

Capture these data points:

1. macOS version and build
2. MDM enrollment status
3. Installed configuration profiles
4. Hardware model/architecture </context_gathering>

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PHASE 1: Analysis & Strategy (BLOCKING)

**Analyze the context and determine the mode/strategy.**

1.1 Decision Logic

Condition	Mode/Strategy
MDM enrolled	Use mSCP outputs (baseline + profile) and deploy via MDM
Not MDM enrolled	Provide a minimal, manual hardening checklist and recommend MDM onboarding
Regulated environment (e.g., NIST 800-53 mapping requested)	Generate mSCP baseline for target framework
Patch gap > 30 days	Prioritize patching plan before configuration changes

1.2 MANDATORY OUTPUT

You MUST output this block before proceeding. NO EXCEPTIONS.

ANALYSIS RESULT
===============
Detected Context: [...]
Selected Strategy: [...]
Plan:
  1. Baseline selection (mSCP or minimal)
  2. Deployment path (MDM/manual)
  3. Validation & reporting

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PHASE 2: Execution (Atomic & Safe)

### 2.1 Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Baseline Selection:

   • Choose mSCP baseline aligned to target framework and OS version.
   • Generate baseline guidance/config profiles as needed.

2. Deployment:

   • If MDM: import configuration profiles and deploy to test group first.
   • If manual: provide a minimal, auditable checklist with rollback notes.

3. Patching:

   • Document current patch level.
   • Execute staged update plan before enforcing stricter controls.

2.2 Critical Rules

• Never apply configuration changes fleet-wide without a staged pilot.
• Always validate compliance/health after each change batch.

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PHASE 3: Verification

**Verify the work before finishing.**

profiles status -type enrollment
profiles list
softwareupdate --list

Final Report: Summarize baseline used, deployment method, patch status, and any gaps.

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Best Practices

<best_practices>

• Use mSCP to generate baselines, guidance, and MDM profiles aligned to compliance frameworks (e.g., NIST 800-53); deploy via existing management tools rather than ad‑hoc scripts.
• Keep guidance current with each macOS release; mSCP is updated per major macOS versions and recognized by Apple.
• Prefer programmatic, repeatable baselines and generate evidence (guidance + compliance scripts) for auditability. </best_practices>

Anti-Patterns (AUTOMATIC FAILURE)

<anti_patterns>

1. Bypassing managed configuration: Applying one-off local tweaks that cannot be audited or reproduced instead of using mSCP outputs and management tooling.
2. Ignoring update cadence: Enforcing hardening controls without ensuring macOS is updated to a supported, current baseline.
3. Skipping staged rollout: Pushing sweeping profile changes to all devices without pilot validation. </anti_patterns>

Sources

• https://pages.nist.gov/macos_security/welcome/introduction/
• https://pages.nist.gov/macos_security/
• https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/219/r1/final
• https://support.apple.com/guide/certifications/macos-security-compliance-project-apc322685bb2/web