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Cisco IOS XE Router NDM Security Technical Implementation Guide

Overview

Version Date Finding Count (42) Downloads
3 2024-11-25 CAT I (High): 8 CAT II (Medium): 34 CAT III (Low): 0 Excel JSON XML
Stig Description
This Security Technical Implementation Guide is published as a tool to improve the security of Department of Defense (DOD) information systems. The requirements are derived from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 800-53 and related documents. Comments or proposed revisions to this document should be sent via email to the following address: disa.stig_spt@mail.mil.
Classified Public Sensitive  
I - Mission Critical Classified I - Mission Critical Public I - Mission Critical Sensitive II - Mission Critical Classified II - Mission Critical Public II - Mission Critical Sensitive III - Mission Critical Classified III - Mission Critical Public III - Mission Critical Sensitive

Findings - MAC II - Mission Critical Public

Finding ID Severity Title Description
V-220140 High The Cisco router must be running an IOS release that is currently supported by Cisco Systems. Network devices running an unsupported operating system lack current security fixes required to mitigate the risks associated with recent vulnerabilities. Running a supported release also enables operations to maintain a stable and reliable network provided by improved quality of service and security features.
V-220139 High The Cisco router must be configured to send log data to at least two syslog servers for the purpose of forwarding alerts to the administrators and the information system security officer (ISSO). The aggregation of log data kept on a syslog server can be used to detect attacks and trigger an alert to the appropriate security personnel. The stored log data can used to detect weaknesses in security that enable the network IA team to find and address these weaknesses before breaches...
V-215854 High The Cisco router must be configured to use at least two authentication servers for the purpose of authenticating users prior to granting administrative access. Centralized management of user accounts and authentication increases the administrative access to the router. This control is particularly important protection against the insider threat. With robust centralized management, audit records for administrator account access to the organization's network devices can be more readily analyzed for trends and anomalies. The alternative...
V-215845 High The Cisco router must be configured to implement cryptographic mechanisms to protect the confidentiality of remote maintenance sessions. This requires the use of secure protocols instead of their unsecured counterparts, such as SSH instead of telnet, SCP instead of FTP, and HTTPS instead of HTTP. If unsecured protocols (lacking cryptographic mechanisms) are used for sessions, the contents of those sessions will be susceptible to eavesdropping, potentially putting sensitive...
V-215844 High The Cisco router must be configured to use FIPS-validated Keyed-Hash Message Authentication Code (HMAC) to protect the integrity of remote maintenance sessions. Unapproved mechanisms that are used for authentication to the cryptographic module are not verified and therefore cannot be relied upon to provide confidentiality or integrity, and DoD data may be compromised. Nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic activities are those activities conducted by individuals communicating through a network, either an external network...
V-215833 High The Cisco router must be configured to terminate all network connections associated with device management after five minutes of inactivity. Terminating an idle session within a short time period reduces the window of opportunity for unauthorized personnel to take control of a management session enabled on the console or console port that has been left unattended. In addition, quickly terminating an idle session will also free up resources committed by...
V-215832 High The Cisco router must only store cryptographic representations of passwords. Passwords need to be protected at all times, and encryption is the standard method for protecting passwords. If passwords are not encrypted, they can be plainly read (i.e., clear text) and easily compromised. Network devices must enforce cryptographic representations of passwords when storing passwords in databases, configuration files, and log...
V-215823 High The Cisco router must be configured to prohibit the use of all unnecessary and nonsecure functions and services. Network devices are capable of providing a wide variety of functions and services. Some of the functions and services provided by default may not be necessary to support essential organizational operations. Additionally, it is sometimes convenient to provide multiple services from a single component (e.g., email and web services); however,...
V-215856 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to obtain its public key certificates from an appropriate certificate policy through an approved service provider. For user certificates, each organization obtains certificates from an approved, shared service provider, as required by OMB policy. For federal agencies operating a legacy public key infrastructure cross-certified with the Federal Bridge Certification Authority (CA) at medium assurance or higher, this CA will suffice.
V-215855 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to back up the configuration when changes occur. System-level information includes default and customized settings and security attributes, including ACLs that relate to the network device configuration, as well as software required for the execution and operation of the device. Information system backup is a critical step in ensuring system integrity and availability. If the system fails and...
V-215850 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to generate log records for privileged activities. Without generating audit records that are specific to the security and mission needs of the organization, it would be difficult to establish, correlate, and investigate the events relating to an incident or identify those responsible for one. Audit records can be generated from various components within the network device (e.g.,...
V-215849 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to generate audit records when successful/unsuccessful logon attempts occur. Without generating audit records that are specific to the security and mission needs of the organization, it would be difficult to establish, correlate, and investigate the events relating to an incident or identify those responsible for one. Audit records can be generated from various components within the network device (e.g.,...
V-215848 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to generate log records when administrator privileges are deleted. Without generating audit records that are specific to the security and mission needs of the organization, it would be difficult to establish, correlate, and investigate the events relating to an incident or identify those responsible for one. Audit records can be generated from various components within the network device (e.g.,...
V-215843 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to authenticate Network Time Protocol (NTP) sources using authentication that is cryptographically based. If Network Time Protocol is not authenticated, an attacker can introduce a rogue NTP server. This rogue server can then be used to send incorrect time information to network devices, which will make log timestamps inaccurate and affect scheduled actions. NTP authentication is used to prevent this tampering by authenticating...
V-215842 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to encrypt SNMP messages using a FIPS 140-2 approved algorithm. Without the strong encryption that is provided by the SNMP Version 3 User-based Security Model (USM), an unauthorized user can gain access to network management information that can be used to create a network outage.
V-215841 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to authenticate SNMP messages using a FIPS-validated Keyed-Hash Message Authentication Code (HMAC). Without authenticating devices, unidentified or unknown devices may be introduced, thereby facilitating malicious activity. Bidirectional authentication provides stronger safeguards to validate the identity of other devices for connections that are of greater risk. A local connection is any connection with a device communicating without the use of a network. A...
V-215838 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to synchronize its clock with the primary and secondary time sources using redundant authoritative time sources. The loss of connectivity to a particular authoritative time source will result in the loss of time synchronization (free-run mode) and increasingly inaccurate time stamps on audit events and other functions. Multiple time sources provide redundancy by including a secondary source. Time synchronization is usually a hierarchy; clients synchronize time...
V-215837 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to generate an alert for all audit failure events. It is critical for the appropriate personnel to be aware if a system is at risk of failing to process audit logs as required. Without a real-time alert, security personnel may be unaware of an impending failure of the audit capability and system operation may be adversely affected. Alerts provide...
V-215836 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to allocate audit record storage capacity in accordance with organization-defined audit record storage requirements. In order to ensure network devices have a sufficient storage capacity in which to write the audit logs, they need to be able to allocate audit record storage capacity. The task of allocating audit record storage capacity is usually performed during initial device setup if it is modifiable. The value...
V-215834 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to automatically audit account enabling actions. Once an attacker establishes initial access to a system, the attacker often attempts to create a persistent method of reestablishing access. One way to accomplish this is for the attacker to simply enable a new or disabled account. Notification of account enabling is one method for mitigating this risk. A...
V-215831 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to require that when a password is changed, the characters are changed in at least eight of the positions within the password. If the application allows the user to consecutively reuse extensive portions of passwords, this increases the chances of password compromise by increasing the window of opportunity for attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. The number of changed characters refers to the number of changes required with respect to the total...
V-215830 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one special character be used. Use of a complex password helps to increase the time and resources required to compromise the password. Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. Password complexity is one factor of several that determine how long it...
V-215829 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one numeric character be used. Use of a complex password helps to increase the time and resources required to compromise the password. Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. Password complexity is one factor of several that determine how long it...
V-215828 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one lowercase character be used. Use of a complex password helps to increase the time and resources required to compromise the password. Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. Password complexity is one factor of several that determine how long it...
V-215827 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to enforce password complexity by requiring that at least one uppercase character be used. Use of a complex passwords helps to increase the time and resources required to compromise the password. Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. Password complexity is one factor of several that determine how long it...
V-215826 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to enforce a minimum 15-character password length. Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. Password length is one factor of several that helps to determine strength and how long it takes to crack a password. The shorter the password, the lower the number...
V-215824 Medium The Cisco router must be configured with only one local account to be used as the account of last resort in the event the authentication server is unavailable. Authentication for administrative (privileged level) access to the device is required at all times. An account can be created on the device's local database for use when the authentication server is down or connectivity between the device and the authentication server is not operable. This account is referred to as...
V-215822 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to limit privileges to change the software resident within software libraries. Changes to any software components of the network device can have significant effects on the overall security of the network. Therefore, only qualified and authorized individuals should be allowed administrative access to the network device for implementing any changes or upgrades. If the network device were to enable non-authorized users...
V-215821 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to protect audit information from unauthorized deletion. Audit information includes all information (e.g., audit records, audit settings, and audit reports) needed to successfully audit information system activity. If audit data were to become compromised, then forensic analysis and discovery of the true source of potentially malicious system activity is impossible to achieve. To ensure the veracity of...
V-215820 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to protect audit information from unauthorized modification. Audit information includes all information (e.g., audit records, audit settings, and audit reports) needed to successfully audit network device activity. If audit data were to become compromised, then forensic analysis and discovery of the true source of potentially malicious system activity is impossible to achieve. To ensure the veracity of...
V-215819 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to generate audit records containing the full-text recording of privileged commands. Reconstruction of harmful events or forensic analysis is not possible if audit records do not contain enough information. Organizations consider limiting the additional audit information to only that information explicitly needed for specific audit requirements. The additional information required is dependent on the type of information (i.e., sensitivity of the...
V-215818 Medium The Cisco router must produce audit records containing information to establish where the events occurred. In order to compile an accurate risk assessment and provide forensic analysis, it is essential for security personnel to know where events occurred, such as device hardware components, device software modules, session identifiers, filenames, host names, and functionality. Associating information about where the event occurred within the network device provides...
V-215817 Medium The Cisco router must produce audit records containing information to establish when (date and time) the events occurred. It is essential for security personnel to know what is being done, what was attempted, where it was done, when it was done, and by whom it was done in order to compile an accurate risk assessment. Logging the date and time of each detected event provides a means of...
V-215815 Medium The Cisco device must be configured to audit all administrator activity. This requirement supports non-repudiation of actions taken by an administrator and is required in order to maintain the integrity of the configuration management process. All configuration changes to the network device are logged, and administrators authenticate with two-factor authentication before gaining administrative access. Together, these processes will ensure the administrators...
V-215814 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to display the Standard Mandatory DoD Notice and Consent Banner before granting access to the device. Display of the DoD-approved use notification before granting access to the network device ensures privacy and security notification verbiage used is consistent with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, standards, and guidance. System use notifications are required only for access via logon interfaces with human users.
V-215813 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to enforce the limit of three consecutive invalid logon attempts, after which time it must lock out the user account from accessing the device for 15 minutes. By limiting the number of failed logon attempts, the risk of unauthorized system access via user password guessing, otherwise known as brute-forcing, is reduced.
V-215812 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to enforce approved authorizations for controlling the flow of management information within the device based on control policies. A mechanism to detect and prevent unauthorized communication flow must be configured or provided as part of the system design. If management information flow is not enforced based on approved authorizations, the network device may become compromised. Information flow control regulates where management information is allowed to travel within a...
V-215811 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to automatically audit account removal actions. Account management, as a whole, ensures access to the network device is being controlled in a secure manner by granting access to only authorized personnel. Auditing account removal actions will support account management procedures. When device management accounts are terminated, user or service accessibility may be affected. Auditing also ensures...
V-215810 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to automatically audit account disabling actions. Account management, as a whole, ensures access to the network device is being controlled in a secure manner by granting access to only authorized personnel. Auditing account disabling actions will support account management procedures. When device management accounts are disabled, user or service accessibility may be affected. Auditing also ensures...
V-215809 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to automatically audit account modification. Since the accounts in the network device are privileged or system-level accounts, account management is vital to the security of the network device. Account management by a designated authority ensures access to the network device is being controlled in a secure manner by granting access to only authorized personnel with...
V-215808 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to automatically audit account creation. Upon gaining access to a network device, an attacker will often first attempt to create a persistent method of reestablishing access. One way to accomplish this is to create a new account. Notification of account creation helps to mitigate this risk. Auditing account creation provides the necessary reconciliation that account...
V-215807 Medium The Cisco router must be configured to limit the number of concurrent management sessions to an organization-defined number. Device management includes the ability to control the number of administrators and management sessions that manage a device. Limiting the number of allowed administrators and sessions per administrator based on account type, role, or access type is helpful in limiting risks related to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. This requirement addresses concurrent...