IA-5(9)_federated-credential-management

IA-5(9) Federated Credential Management

Enhancement of: IA-5

High-Level Description

Family: Identification and Authentication (IA) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

Federation provides organizations with the capability to authenticate individuals and devices when conducting cross-organization activities involving the processing, storage, or transmission of information. Using a specific list of approved external organizations for authentication helps to ensure that those organizations are vetted and trusted.

What to Check

• Verify IA-5(9) Federated Credential Management is documented in SSP
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for IA-5(9)
• Verify enhancement builds upon base control IA-5

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for IA-5(9) 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

Use the following external organizations to federate credentials: [organization-defined].

Implementation Guidance

Federation provides organizations with the capability to authenticate individuals and devices when conducting cross-organization activities involving the processing, storage, or transmission of information. Using a specific list of approved external organizations for authentication helps to ensure that those organizations are vetted and trusted.

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - IA-5(9)
• 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 (AU-7, AU-16) reviewed