03.04.02E — Automated Unauthorized Component Detection

Official NIST requirement content

Security requirement

a.Detect the presence of unauthorized or misconfigured system components using [Organization-defined: automated mechanisms].
b.Take the following actions when unauthorized or misconfigured components are detected: [Organization-defined: SELECTED PARAMETER VALUE(S)] .

Official NIST discussion

Discussion

Monitoring for unauthorized or misconfigured components may be accomplished on an ongoing basis or by the periodic scanning of systems for that purpose. Automated mechanisms may also be used to prevent the connection of unauthorized or misconfigured system components. Automated mechanisms can be implemented in systems or in separate system components. When acquiring and implementing automated mechanisms, organizations consider whether such mechanisms depend on the ability of the system component to support an agent or supplicant in order to be detected since some types of components do not have or cannot support agents (e.g., IoT devices, sensors). Isolation can be achieved, for example, by placing unauthorized system components in separate domains or subnets or quarantining such components. This type of component isolation is commonly referred to as "sandboxing." This requirement enhances SP 800-171 requirement 03.04.10.

Official organization-defined parameters

Tailoring decisions required

Resolve these values through the governing organization’s approved tailoring and risk-management process before declaring the requirement implemented.

automated mechanismsorganization-defined automated mechanismsautomated mechanisms used to detect the presence of unauthorized or misconfigured system components are defined.

SELECTED PARAMETER VALUE(S)

personnel or rolesorganization-defined personnel or rolespersonnel or roles to be notified when unauthorized or misconfigured system components are detected are defined (if selected).

Official protection strategy classifications

Protection strategies supported

These classifications are carried from the official SP 800-172 OSCAL record and help explain the enhanced requirement’s defensive purpose.

PS-DLODamage-Limiting Operations

PS-PRAPenetration-Resistant Architecture

Bare Metal Cyber interpretation

Implementation perspective

Treat Automated Unauthorized Component Detection as an enhanced CUI protection outcome for elevated threat conditions that must be reflected in the system boundary, documented implementation, operational behavior, and assessment evidence. Pay particular attention to approved baselines, secure configuration, change control, inventories, and drift management within the CUI boundary.

Confirm the federal agency selected this enhanced requirement for the critical program or high-value asset and identify the CUI system components, services, users, and external connections in scope.
Resolve every organization-defined parameter through an approved governance and tailoring process.
Map each clause of the requirement to an accountable owner, implementation mechanism, and evidence source.
Verify that inherited and shared implementations are supported by current provider evidence and responsibility boundaries.
Collect evidence during normal operation and review changes, exceptions, and deficiencies on a risk-based cadence.

Questions to ask

Which critical-program or high-value-asset CUI, data flows, users, and services are protected by this enhanced requirement?
Which portions are implemented locally, inherited, shared, or not applicable, and what evidence supports that determination?
Do the system security plan, deployed configuration, operating process, and assessment evidence tell the same story?
What change, incident, or threshold should trigger reassessment?

Evidence and validation

approved baseline configurations
change tickets and approvals
configuration scan and drift reports
software and hardware inventories

Common failure patterns

baselines documented but not enforced
emergency changes never reconciled
cloud or ephemeral assets missing from inventory
security impact analysis performed after deployment

Official NIST SP 800-172A content

Assessment objectives and methods

Assessment objectives (2)

a.
the presence of unauthorized or misconfigured system components is detected using [Organization-defined: automated mechanisms].
b.
one or more of the following actions is/are taken when unauthorized or misconfigured system components are detected: [Organization-defined: SELECTED PARAMETER VALUE(S)].

Examine

Configuration management policy
procedures addressing system component inventory and configuration settings
configuration management plan
system configuration settings and associated documentation
system component inventory
system design documentation
change control records
common secure configuration checklists
alerts or notifications of unauthorized components within the system
system monitoring records
system maintenance records
system audit records
system security plan
other relevant documents or records

Interview

Personnel with component inventory and security configuration management responsibilities
personnel with responsibilities for managing automated mechanisms implementing unauthorized system component detection
personnel with information security responsibilities
system/network administrators
system developers

Test

Processes for the detection of unauthorized or misconfigured system components
automated processes for taking action when unauthorized or misconfigured system components are detected
automated mechanisms supporting and/or implementing the detection of unauthorized or misconfigured system components
automated mechanisms supporting and/or implementing actions taken when unauthorized or misconfigured system components are detected

Official source-control relationships

Source NIST SP 800-53 controls

These controls are referenced by the official SP 800-172 Rev. 3 OSCAL record. Open the corresponding control pages for complete control text, enhancements, D3FEND mappings, and related learning.

Source controlCM-6(1)Open SP 800-53 control →Source controlCM-6(2)Open SP 800-53 control →Source controlCM-8(3)Open SP 800-53 control →

Source record

Authoritative sources

Bare Metal Cyber is an independent educational publisher and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NIST. The official publications, the responsible federal agency, and the governing contract or agreement determine applicability, tailoring, assessment depth, and required implementation.