The number of ACF2 users granted the special privilege OPERATOR must be kept to a strictly controlled minimum.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-223424	ACF2-ES-000030	SV-223424r533198_rule		Medium

Description
To mitigate the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information by entities that have been issued certificates by DoD-approved PKIs, all DoD systems (e.g., web servers and web portals) must be properly configured to incorporate access control methods that do not rely solely on the possession of a certificate for access. Successful authentication must not automatically give an entity access to an asset or security boundary. Authorization procedures and controls must be implemented to ensure each authenticated entity also has a validated and current authorization. Authorization is the process of determining whether an entity, once authenticated, is permitted to access a specific asset. Information systems use access control policies and enforcement mechanisms to implement this requirement. Access control policies include: identity-based policies, role-based policies, and attribute-based policies. Access enforcement mechanisms include: access control lists, access control matrices, and cryptography. These policies and mechanisms must be employed by the application to control access between users (or processes acting on behalf of users) and objects (e.g., devices, files, records, processes, programs, and domains) in the information system.

Description

To mitigate the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information by entities that have been issued certificates by DoD-approved PKIs, all DoD systems (e.g., web servers and web portals) must be properly configured to incorporate access control methods that do not rely solely on the possession of a certificate for access. Successful authentication must not automatically give an entity access to an asset or security boundary. Authorization procedures and controls must be implemented to ensure each authenticated entity also has a validated and current authorization. Authorization is the process of determining whether an entity, once authenticated, is permitted to access a specific asset. Information systems use access control policies and enforcement mechanisms to implement this requirement. Access control policies include: identity-based policies, role-based policies, and attribute-based policies. Access enforcement mechanisms include: access control lists, access control matrices, and cryptography. These policies and mechanisms must be employed by the application to control access between users (or processes acting on behalf of users) and objects (e.g., devices, files, records, processes, programs, and domains) in the information system.

STIG	Date
IBM z/OS ACF2 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2021-07-06

Details

Check Text ( C-25097r500402_chk )
From the ISPF Command enter: ACF SET LID SET VERBOSE LIST IF(OPERATOR) If the number of users granted the special privilege PPGM is strictly controlled and limited to systems programmer and operations personnel, this not a finding. If the number of users granted the special privilege PPGM is not strictly controlled and limited to systems programmer and operations personnel, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-25085r500403_fix)
Ensure that access to the special privilege "OPERATOR" is kept to a minimum and limited to systems programmer, security manager and operations personnel.