SC-51_hardware-based-protection

SC-51 Hardware-based Protection

High-Level Description

Family: System and Communications Protection (SC) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

None.

What to Check

• Verify SC-51 Hardware-based Protection is documented in SSP
• Validate all 2 control requirements are implemented
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for SC-51

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for SC-51 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

Employ hardware-based, write-protect for [organization-defined] ; and Implement specific procedures for [organization-defined] to manually disable hardware write-protect for firmware modifications and re-enable the write-protect prior to returning to operational mode.

Implementation Guidance

None.

Risk Assessment

CWE Categories

References

• NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 - SC-51
• 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 (none) reviewed