Is your Data being safe on your Mac? You might be thinking it is the safest device yet but a new security bug has been discovered by developer Lemi Orhan Ergin in macOS High Sierra that allows anyone to admin access into your Mac without entering any passcode.
Anyone can log into your Mac with the username “root” with a blank password. You don’t need to know the password to log into any Mac. But to keep it secure, here’s how to fix macOS High Sierra Security Bug that lets you Admin Access to Mac Without Password.
How to fix macOS High Sierra Security Bug
Apple has acknowledged the bug and said:
We are working on a software update to address this issue. In the meantime, setting a root password prevents unauthorized access to your Mac. To enable the Root User and set a password, please follow the instructions here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204012. If a Root User is already enabled, to ensure a blank password is not set, please follow the instructions from the ‘Change the root password’ section.
To fix the current security bug found in macOS High Sierra, you need to enable the root user on your Mac first.
How to Enable the root user on macOS High Sierra
- Choose Apple menu () from top left corner > System Preferences, then click Users & Groups.
- Click (Lock Icon), then enter an administrator name and password.
- Next click Login Options.
- Click Join & then Click Open Directory Utility.
- Click (Lock Icon) in the Directory Utility window, then enter an administrator name and password.
- From the menu bar in Directory Utility:
- Choose Edit > Enable Root User, then enter the password that you want to use for the root user.
- Or choose Edit > Disable Root User.
How to Change the root password on macOS High Sierra
- Choose Apple menu () > System Preferences, then click Users & Groups.
- Click (Lock Icon), then enter an administrator name and password.
- Now, click Login Options.
- Click Join & then Open Directory Utility.
- Click (Lock Icon) in the Directory Utility window, then enter an administrator name and password.
- From the top menu bar in Directory Utility, choose Edit > Change Root Password & Verify
After you have enabled the root password, no one can now enter into your Mac without password. Blank password will not work in this case, that means you are safe now.