AC-6(6)_privileged-access-by-non-organizational-users

AC-6(6) Privileged Access by Non-organizational Users

Enhancement of: AC-6

High-Level Description

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

An organizational user is an employee or an individual considered by the organization to have the equivalent status of an employee. Organizational users include contractors, guest researchers, or individuals detailed from other organizations. A non-organizational user is a user who is not an organizational user. Policies and procedures for granting equivalent status of employees to individuals include a need-to-know, citizenship, and the relationship to the organization.

What to Check

• Verify AC-6(6) Privileged Access by Non-organizational Users is documented in SSP
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for AC-6(6)
• Verify enhancement builds upon base control AC-6

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for AC-6(6) 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

Prohibit privileged access to the system by non-organizational users.

Implementation Guidance

An organizational user is an employee or an individual considered by the organization to have the equivalent status of an employee. Organizational users include contractors, guest researchers, or individuals detailed from other organizations. A non-organizational user is a user who is not an organizational user. Policies and procedures for granting equivalent status of employees to individuals include a need-to-know, citizenship, and the relationship to the organization.

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - AC-6(6)
• 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 (AC-18, AC-19, IA-2, IA-8) reviewed