SA-15(7)_automated-vulnerability-analysis

SA-15(7) Automated Vulnerability Analysis

Enhancement of: SA-15

High-Level Description

Family: System and Services Acquisition (SA) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

Automated tools can be more effective at analyzing exploitable weaknesses or deficiencies in large and complex systems, prioritizing vulnerabilities by severity, and providing recommendations for risk mitigations.

What to Check

• Verify SA-15(7) Automated Vulnerability Analysis is documented in SSP
• Validate all 4 control requirements are implemented
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for SA-15(7)
• Verify enhancement builds upon base control SA-15

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for SA-15(7) 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

Require the developer of the system, system component, or system service [organization-defined] to: Perform an automated vulnerability analysis using [organization-defined]; Determine the exploitation potential for discovered vulnerabilities; Determine potential risk mitigations for delivered vulnerabilities; and Deliver the outputs of the tools and results of the analysis to [organization-defined].

Implementation Guidance

Automated tools can be more effective at analyzing exploitable weaknesses or deficiencies in large and complex systems, prioritizing vulnerabilities by severity, and providing recommendations for risk mitigations.

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - SA-15(7)
• 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 (RA-5, SA-11) reviewed