The operating system must synchronize system clocks within and between systems or system components.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-263661	SRG-OS-000785-GPOS-00250	SV-263661r982567_rule		Medium

Description
Time synchronization of system clocks is essential for the correct execution of many system services, including identification and authentication processes that involve certificates and time-of-day restrictions as part of access control. Denial of service or failure to deny expired credentials may result without properly synchronized clocks within and between systems and system components. Time is commonly expressed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), a modern continuation of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), or local time with an offset from UTC. The granularity of time measurements refers to the degree of synchronization between system clocks and reference clocks, such as clocks synchronizing within hundreds of milliseconds or tens of milliseconds. Organizations may define different time granularities for system components. Time service can be critical to other security capabilities—such as access control and identification and authentication—depending on the nature of the mechanisms used to support the capabilities.

Description

Time synchronization of system clocks is essential for the correct execution of many system services, including identification and authentication processes that involve certificates and time-of-day restrictions as part of access control. Denial of service or failure to deny expired credentials may result without properly synchronized clocks within and between systems and system components. Time is commonly expressed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), a modern continuation of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), or local time with an offset from UTC. The granularity of time measurements refers to the degree of synchronization between system clocks and reference clocks, such as clocks synchronizing within hundreds of milliseconds or tens of milliseconds. Organizations may define different time granularities for system components. Time service can be critical to other security capabilities—such as access control and identification and authentication—depending on the nature of the mechanisms used to support the capabilities.

STIG	Date
General Purpose Operating System Security Requirements Guide	2024-07-02

Details

Check Text ( C-67574r982566_chk )
Verify the operating system is configured to synchronize system clocks within and between systems or system components. If the operating system is not configured to synchronize system clocks within and between systems or system components, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-67482r982252_fix)
Configure the operating system to synchronize system clocks within and between systems or system components.