AC-17(10)_authenticate-remote-commands

AC-17(10) Authenticate Remote Commands

Enhancement of: AC-17

High-Level Description

Family: Access Control (AC) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

Authenticating remote commands protects against unauthorized commands and the replay of authorized commands. The ability to authenticate remote commands is important for remote systems for which loss, malfunction, misdirection, or exploitation would have immediate or serious consequences, such as injury, death, property damage, loss of high value assets, failure of mission or business functions, or compromise of classified or controlled unclassified information. Authentication mechanisms for remote commands ensure that systems accept and execute commands in the order intended, execute only authorized commands, and reject unauthorized commands. Cryptographic mechanisms can be used, for example, to authenticate remote commands.

What to Check

• Verify AC-17(10) Authenticate Remote Commands is documented in SSP
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for AC-17(10)
• Verify enhancement builds upon base control AC-17

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for AC-17(10) implementation details. Verify the organization has documented how this control is satisfied.

Step 2: Validate Implementation

# For cloud environments, use cloud-audit-mcp tools
# For on-premises, review system configurations directly

# Example: Check if account management policies exist
grep -r "account.management\|access.control" /etc/security/ 2>/dev/null

Step 3: Test Operating Effectiveness

Verify the control is actively functioning, not just documented. Check logs, configurations, and operational evidence.

Tools

Remediation Guide

Control Statement

Implement [organization-defined] to authenticate [organization-defined].

Implementation Guidance

Authenticating remote commands protects against unauthorized commands and the replay of authorized commands. The ability to authenticate remote commands is important for remote systems for which loss, malfunction, misdirection, or exploitation would have immediate or serious consequences, such as injury, death, property damage, loss of high value assets, failure of mission or business functions, or compromise of classified or controlled unclassified information. Authentication mechanisms for remote commands ensure that systems accept and execute commands in the order intended, execute only authorized commands, and reject unauthorized commands. Cryptographic mechanisms can be used, for example, to authenticate remote commands.

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - AC-17(10)
• NIST SP 800-53A Rev 5 (Assessment Procedures)
• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 Full Catalog

Checklist

• Control documented in SSP
• Implementation evidence collected
• Operating effectiveness validated
• Continuous monitoring in place
• Related controls (SC-12, SC-13, SC-23) reviewed