Attachment 2
CISPC Agenda 12-15-2011

Advisory – Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5) End of Life

This advisory describes the end of life support for Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5) running on both the Intel and Apple-IBM-Motorola (AIM) platforms.

While there is not an official announcement from Apple outlining the discontinued support for Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5), historically Apple has stopped providing software updates for prior versions of Mac OS X other than the current and previous immediate release. In this case, Mac OS X Lion (version 10.7) and Mac OS X Snow Leopard (version 10.6) are the two supported versions from Apple.

System and Network Security has identified the lack of support for Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5) in recent security updates from Apple showing the continuing trend for discontinued support for older versions of Mac OS X without an official announcement from Apple.

Summary

With the release of Mac OS X Lion (version 10.7) Apple has begun to phase out support for Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5). This includes security updates that can help protect these systems from current and future security flaws.

As these systems will not be receiving security updates from Apple, they do not meet the Minimum Security Standards for Networked Devices (MSSND) outlined in the following policy - https://security.berkeley.edu/MinStds/AppA.min.htm.

For those systems running Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5), we have outlined recommendations below for migrating these systems to a supported version of the operating system such as Mac OS X Lion (version 10.7).

Recommendations

Platform / Recommendation
Mac OS X 10.5 running on the Intel platform / Upgrade to the latest version, Mac OS X Lion (version 10.7) as soon as possible.
Mac OS X 10.5 running on the Intel platform requiring continued support for Power PC applications / Upgrade to Mac OS X Snow Leopard (version 10.6), the last version of OS X to support Rosetta (the Power PC emulator) as soon as possible.
Note - This is not a permanent solution as support for OS X Snow Leopard (version 10.6) will likely be demised following the next release of OS X.
Mac OS X 10.5 running on the AIM Power PC platform / Replace or remove the hardware as Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5) was the last version of OS X to support the AIM Power PC platform.

For those systems that are unable to meet the recommendations listed above, individuals may submit a request for an exception to the Minimum Standards at the following link - https://security.berkeley.edu/MinStdsException.html

Exceptions will be granted for those systems that are not running public services and do not contain any restricted or notice triggering data until December 31, 2012. This extended period will allow upgrades and purchases to span budget cycles providing adequate time for remediation.

For all platforms, you should always install the latest software updates for your operating system and Apple software (QuickTime, Safari, iTunes). You can download and install these by selecting Software Update from the Apple menu.

Software Update to can also be configured to download important updates automatically notifying you when new updates are available.