| Finding ID |
Severity |
Title |
Description |
|
V-266977
|
High |
AOS must be configured to send log data to at least two central log 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 be used to detect weaknesses in security that enable the network Information Assurance team to find and address these weaknesses... |
|
V-266970
|
High |
AOS must be configured to use at least two authentication servers for the purpose of authenticating users prior to granting administrative access. |
Centralized management of authentication settings increases the security of remote and nonlocal access methods. 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-266941
|
High |
AOS must terminate all network connections associated with a device management session at the end of the session, or the session must be terminated after five minutes of inactivity except to fulfill documented and validated mission requirements. |
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. Quickly terminating an idle session will also free up resources committed by the managed... |
|
V-266940
|
High |
AOS must use FIPS 140-2/140-3 approved algorithms for authentication to a cryptographic module. |
Unapproved mechanisms that are used for authentication to the cryptographic module are not validated and therefore cannot be relied on to provide confidentiality or integrity, and DOD data may be compromised.
Network devices using encryption are required to use FIPS-compliant mechanisms for authenticating to cryptographic modules.
FIPS 140-2/140-3 is the... |
|
V-266938
|
High |
AOS must be configured to use DOD-approved Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) responders or Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs) to validate certificates used for public key infrastructure (PKI)-based authentication. |
Once issued by a DOD certificate authority (CA), PKI certificates are typically valid for three years or less within the DOD. However, there are many reasons a certificate may become invalid before the prescribed expiration date. For example, an employee may leave or be terminated and still possess the smartcard... |
|
V-266937
|
High |
AOS must transmit only encrypted 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 can accomplish this by making direct function calls to encryption modules or by leveraging operating... |
|
V-266929
|
High |
AOS must be configured to use DOD public key infrastructure (PKI) as multifactor authentication (MFA) for interactive logins. |
MFA is when two or more factors are used to confirm the identity of an individual who is requesting access to digital information resources. Valid factors include something the individual knows (e.g., username and password), something the individual has (e.g., a smart card or token), or something the individual is... |
|
V-266928
|
High |
AOS must be configured to prohibit the use of all unnecessary and/or nonsecure functions, ports, protocols, and/or services. |
To prevent unauthorized connection of devices, unauthorized transfer of information, or unauthorized tunneling (i.e., embedding of data types within data types), organizations must disable unused or unnecessary physical and logical ports/protocols on information systems.
Network devices are capable of providing a wide variety of functions and services. Some of the... |
|
V-266909
|
High |
AOS must be configured to assign appropriate user roles or access levels to authenticated users. |
Successful identification and authentication must not automatically give an entity full access to a network device or security domain. The lack of authorization-based access control could result in the immediate compromise and unauthorized access to sensitive information. All DOD systems must be properly configured to incorporate access control methods that... |
|
V-266976
|
Medium |
AOS must authenticate Network Time Protocol (NTP) sources using authentication that is cryptographically based. |
If NTP 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 the time... |
|
V-266975
|
Medium |
AOS 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 the... |
|
V-266973
|
Medium |
AOS must 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 Office of Management and Budget policy. For federal agencies operating a legacy public key infrastructure cross-certified with the Federal Bridge Certification Authority at medium assurance or higher, this certificate authority will suffice. |
|
V-266972
|
Medium |
AOS must support organizational requirements to conduct backups of information system documentation, including security-related documentation, when changes occur or weekly, whichever is sooner. |
Information system backup is a critical step in maintaining data assurance and availability. Information system and security-related documentation contains information pertaining to system configuration and security settings. If this information were not backed up, and a system failure were to occur, the security settings would be difficult to reconfigure quickly... |
|
V-266971
|
Medium |
AOS must be configured to conduct backups of system-level information contained in the information system when changes occur. |
System-level information includes default and customized settings and security attributes, including Access Control Lists (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... |
|
V-266968
|
Medium |
AOS must generate log records for a locally developed list of auditable events. |
Auditing and logging are key components of any security architecture. Logging the actions of specific events provides a means to investigate an attack, recognize resource utilization or capacity thresholds, or identify an improperly configured network device. If auditing is not comprehensive, it will not be useful for intrusion monitoring, security... |
|
V-266967
|
Medium |
AOS must 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-266966
|
Medium |
AOS must off-load audit records onto a different system or media than the system being audited. |
Information stored in one location is vulnerable to accidental or incidental deletion or alteration.
Off-loading is a common process in information systems with limited audit storage capacity. |
|
V-266961
|
Medium |
AOS must be configured to protect against known types of denial-of-service (DoS) attacks by employing organization-defined security safeguards. |
DoS is a condition when a resource is not available for legitimate users. When this occurs, the organization either cannot accomplish its mission or must operate at degraded capacity.
This requirement addresses the configuration of network devices to mitigate the impact of DoS attacks that have occurred or are ongoing... |
|
V-266959
|
Medium |
AOS must prohibit the use of cached authenticators after an organization-defined time period. |
Some authentication implementations can be configured to use cached authenticators.
If cached authentication information is out of date, the validity of the authentication information may be questionable.
The organization-defined time period should be established for each device depending on the nature of the device; for example, a device with just... |
|
V-266958
|
Medium |
AOS 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-266954
|
Medium |
AOS must record time stamps for audit records that can be mapped to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). |
Alerts provide organizations with urgent messages. Real-time alerts provide these messages immediately (i.e., the time from event detection to alert occurs in seconds or less). |
|
V-266953
|
Medium |
AOS must be configured to synchronize internal information system clocks 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-266952
|
Medium |
AOS must generate an immediate real-time alert of all audit failure events requiring real-time alerts. |
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. |
|
V-266950
|
Medium |
AOS must audit the execution of privileged functions. |
Misuse of privileged functions, either intentionally or unintentionally by authorized users, or by unauthorized external entities that have compromised information system accounts, is a serious and ongoing concern and can have significant adverse impacts on organizations. Auditing the use of privileged functions is one way to detect such misuse and... |
|
V-266948
|
Medium |
AOS must enforce role-based access control policies over defined subjects and objects. |
Organizations can create specific roles based on job functions and the authorizations (i.e., privileges) to perform needed operations on organizational information systems associated with the organization-defined roles. When administrators are assigned to the organizational roles, they inherit the authorizations or privileges defined for those roles.
RBAC simplifies privilege administration for... |
|
V-266935
|
Medium |
AOS must 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-266934
|
Medium |
AOS must 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-266933
|
Medium |
AOS must 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-266932
|
Medium |
AOS must 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-266931
|
Medium |
AOS must 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-266930
|
Medium |
AOS must implement replay-resistant authentication mechanisms for network access to privileged accounts. |
A replay attack may enable an unauthorized user to gain access to the application. Authentication sessions between the authenticator and the application validating the user credentials must not be vulnerable to a replay attack.
An authentication process resists replay attacks if it is impractical to achieve a successful authentication by... |
|
V-266913
|
Medium |
AOS must retain the Standard Mandatory DOD Notice and Consent Banner on the screen until the administrator acknowledges the usage conditions and takes explicit actions to log on for further access. |
The banner must be acknowledged by the administrator prior to the device allowing the administrator access to the network device. This provides assurance that the administrator has seen the message and accepted the conditions for access. If the consent banner is not acknowledged by the administrator, DOD will not be... |
|
V-266912
|
Medium |
AOS must 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-266911
|
Medium |
AOS must be configured to enforce the limit of three consecutive invalid login attempts, after which time it must block any login attempt for 15 minutes. |
By limiting the number of failed login attempts, the risk of unauthorized system access via user password guessing, otherwise known as brute-forcing, is reduced. |
|
V-266910
|
Medium |
AOS must enforce approved authorizations for controlling the flow of management information within the network device based on information flow 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-266908
|
Medium |
AOS must 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-266903
|
Medium |
AOS must limit the number of concurrent sessions to a maximum of three for each administrator account and/or administrator account type. |
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... |
