Title

The operating system must employ strong authenticators in the establishment of nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic sessions. (Cat I impact)

Discussion

If maintenance tools are used by unauthorized personnel, they may accidentally or intentionally damage or compromise the system. The act of managing systems and applications includes the ability to access sensitive application information, such as system configuration details, diagnostic information, user information, and potentially sensitive application data. Some maintenance and test tools are either standalone devices with their own operating systems or are applications bundled with an operating system. Nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic activities are those activities conducted by individuals communicating through a network, either an external network (e.g., the Internet) or an internal network. Local maintenance and diagnostic activities are those activities carried out by individuals physically present at the information system or information system component and not communicating across a network connection. Typically, strong authentication requires authenticators that are resistant to replay attacks and employ multifactor authentication. Strong authenticators include, for example, PKI where certificates are stored on a token protected by a password, passphrase, or biometric.

Check Content

Verify the operating system employs strong authenticators in the establishment of nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic sessions. If it does not, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Configure the operating system to employ strong authenticators in the establishment of nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic sessions.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-203653r958510_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-203653

Group Title: SRG-OS-000125

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

Controls tied to check. These are derived from the CCIs shown above.