CA-3(6)_transfer-authorizations

CA-3(6) Transfer Authorizations

Enhancement of: CA-3

High-Level Description

Family: Assessment, Authorization, and Monitoring (CA) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

To prevent unauthorized individuals and systems from making information transfers to protected systems, the protected system verifies—via independent means— whether the individual or system attempting to transfer information is authorized to do so. Verification of the authorization to transfer information also applies to control plane traffic (e.g., routing and DNS) and services (e.g., authenticated SMTP relays).

What to Check

• Verify CA-3(6) Transfer Authorizations is documented in SSP
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for CA-3(6)
• Verify enhancement builds upon base control CA-3

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for CA-3(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

Verify that individuals or systems transferring data between interconnecting systems have the requisite authorizations (i.e., write permissions or privileges) prior to accepting such data.

Implementation Guidance

To prevent unauthorized individuals and systems from making information transfers to protected systems, the protected system verifies—via independent means— whether the individual or system attempting to transfer information is authorized to do so. Verification of the authorization to transfer information also applies to control plane traffic (e.g., routing and DNS) and services (e.g., authenticated SMTP relays).

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - CA-3(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-2, AC-3, AC-4) reviewed