Apple Mac Studio (2022, M1 Ultra)

Apple Mac Studio (2022, M1 Ultra)
Security Grade B Calculator v	Apple Mac Studio (2022, M1 Ultra) Brand: Apple (Parent: Apple Inc.) Category: Desktop computer • Model / Gen: First-generation Mac Studio (2022) Mac13,2; M1 Ultra base configuration Release Date: 2022-03-18 • Status: End of sale Classification Date: • Official Website

Security Evaluation

1. Device Security

Criterion	Value	Proof	Comment
Known hardware tampering	Rare	🔗 Proof	Apple publishes a model-specific procedure for opening the enclosure and removing or replacing SSD modules. Under the rubric's broad definition including removal of parts, Rare is a qualitative physical-modification rating, not a claim of a reported malicious Mac13,2 incident.
Known vulnerabilities	Rare	🔗 Proof	Apple's macOS Sequoia 15.4.1 advisory documents CVE-2025-31200 and CVE-2025-31201. They are historical platform vulnerabilities, not proof that the selected patched deployment remains vulnerable. Rare is a qualitative label rather than a measured vulnerability rate.
Prior attacks	Rare	🔗 Proof	Original threat research documents the RustBucket macOS campaign and payloads compiled for Apple silicon. This supports platform-level historical attacks, not a confirmed Mac Studio victim or model-specific frequency. Rare is the evaluator's qualitative mapping.
Updatability	Very common	🔗 Proof	Apple distributes macOS software and security updates for this compatible Apple-silicon Mac. Very common denotes an actively maintained update mechanism, not a guarantee that this particular machine has installed every update.
Category Score	Score: 2 / 3

2. System Security

Criterion	Value	Proof	Comment
Authentication with other systems	Partial	🔗 Proof	Managed Ethernet settings support certificate-based EAP-TLS authentication. This is a documented mutually authenticated integration when certificates are correctly validated; it does not establish mutual authentication for every service or network protocol, so the overall mapping is Partial.
Communications	Encrypted with up-to-date encryption	🔗 Proof	For the assessed TLS-protected service connections, macOS supports TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3 with modern cipher suites. This rating is limited to those configured connections; it does not claim that arbitrary apps, legacy TLS options or all network packets are encrypted.
Storage	Encrypted with up-to-date encryption	🔗 Proof	The internal data volume on the selected Apple-silicon Mac is protected by AES-XTS encryption. FileVault is enabled in the assessed deployment so boot access also requires authorized credentials or a recovery key. This is internal flash-backed SSD protection, not merely an encrypted backup.
Category Score	Score: 2 / 3

3. User Authentication

Criterion	Value	Proof	Comment
Account management	Full	🔗 Proof	macOS supports administrator, standard and sharing-only accounts; administrators can create and manage users while standard users cannot manage other users. This satisfies the rubric's lower-privilege account and credential-management requirement.
Authentication	Secure	🔗 Proof	With Full Security and FileVault enabled, local user authorization and Secure-Enclave-controlled security policy protect sensitive boot-policy changes and access to encrypted user data. Physical restoration can erase a Mac; it does not by itself disclose the previous encrypted data.
Brute-force protection	Exist	🔗 Proof	Apple documents Secure-Enclave-enforced limits and escalating delays for FileVault login on Apple-silicon Macs. The limits apply at startup and recovery; Apple explicitly notes that the same limits are not enforced after a successful login until restart.
Event logging	Partial logging	🔗 Proof	Console exposes collected system-event, error and status logs. The cited documentation does not promise a complete immutable record of every local unlock and all remote accesses, so the conservative mapping is Partial logging.
Passwords	Require change after setup with complexity requirements	🔗 Proof	In the assessed device-managed configuration, changeAtNextAuth=true forces a password reset at the next authentication, while minLength=12, requireAlphanumeric=true and minComplexChars=1 enforce complexity. These are configured macOS policies, not universal consumer defaults or merely password recommendations.
Category Score	Score: 2 / 3

Technical Specifications

Property	Details
Operating System & App	macOS Sequoia 15.8; documented managed configuration (Companion App: Not applicable — standalone computer; no mandatory companion app)
Hardware (CPU / GPU)	CPU: Apple M1 Ultra, 20-core CPU • GPU: Integrated Apple 48-core GPU (selected base configuration)
Memory & Storage	Memory: 64 GB unified memory (selected base configuration) • Storage: 1 TB internal SSD (selected base configuration)
Power, Battery & Charging	Battery: BR2032 backup battery; not an operating-power battery • Power: 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz; maximum continuous power 370 W • Charging: Not applicable — AC-powered desktop; backup battery is replaceable, not charged
Display & Camera	Display: No built-in display; external display via Thunderbolt/USB-C or HDMI • Camera: No built-in camera; external camera required for video capture
Sound & Connectivity	Sound: Built-in speaker; 3.5 mm headphone jack; HDMI multichannel audio output • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6; Bluetooth 5.0; 10Gb Ethernet; six Thunderbolt 4 ports; two USB-A ports; HDMI; SDXC
Physical (Dimensions & Mass)	Dimensions: 95 × 197 × 197 mm (height × width × depth) • Mass: 3.6 kg (M1 Ultra configuration)

Documented managed deployment, not factory-default behavior or a tested physical unit: Mac13,2 with M1 Ultra 20-core CPU/48-core GPU, 64 GB RAM and 1 TB internal SSD; macOS Sequoia 15.8, Full Security, FileVault enabled and automatic login disabled. Device-channel MDM enforces forcePIN=true, minLength=12, requireAlphanumeric=true, minComplexChars=1 and changeAtNextAuth=true. Network assessment covers modern TLS-protected services and optional managed EAP-TLS, not arbitrary third-party apps or every network packet.