Remote access enabled
highmacOSSingle eventstablemacos.lateral.remote_access_enabled · v1.0.0
What it detects
Remote access enabled on macOS: Remote Login (SSH) via systemsetup, or Apple Remote Desktop / screen sharing activated via kickstart — remote-control footholds.
MITRE ATT&CK mapping
False positives and triage
IT enables remote login/ARD legitimately for support. Confirm the change was expected and made by an authorized admin.
The rule
Declarative YAML read by the detection engine — data, never executed. Confidence 75%. Source: rules/macos/remote_access_enabled.yaml, licensed under the Apache License 2.0.
id: macos.lateral.remote_access_enabled
version: 1.0.0
status: stable
severity: high
confidence: 0.75
platforms: [macos]
mitre_techniques: [T1021.004, T1021.005]
description: |
Remote access enabled on macOS: Remote Login (SSH) via systemsetup, or Apple
Remote Desktop / screen sharing activated via kickstart — remote-control footholds.
match:
raw_message_regex: '(?i)systemsetup\b.*-setremotelogin\s+on|kickstart\b.*-activate|-setremotemanagement\s+on'
false_positive_guidance: |
IT enables remote login/ARD legitimately for support. Confirm the change was
expected and made by an authorized admin.
Related detections
Run this rule on your own logs — offline
KIROSEC runs this rule and the rest of the library over Windows, Linux, macOS and cloud audit logs on the analyst's own machine. Every alert links to the events that raised it, and nothing leaves the device.