Security requirement
Conduct penetration testing [Organization-defined: frequency] on [Organization-defined: systems or system components].
Discussion
Penetration testing is a specialized type of assessment conducted on systems or system components to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by adversaries. It is conducted by penetration testing agents and teams with particular skills and experience that include technical expertise in network, operating system, and application-level security. Penetration testing can be used to validate vulnerabilities or to determine a system’s penetration resistance to adversaries within specified constraints, such as time, resources, and skills. It can be conducted internally or externally on the hardware, software, or firmware components of a system and can exercise both physical and technical controls. A standard method for conducting penetration testing includes pretest analysis based on full knowledge of the system, pretest identification of potential vulnerabilities based on the pretest analysis, and testing designed to determine the exploitability of vulnerabilities. All parties agree to the specified rules of engagement before the commencement of penetration testing. Organizations may also supplement penetration testing with red team exercises. Red teams attempt to duplicate the actions of adversaries in carrying out attacks against organizations and provide an in-depth analysis of security-related weaknesses or deficiencies. Organizations correlate the rules of engagement for penetration tests and red teaming exercises (if used) with the tools, techniques, and procedures that they anticipate adversaries may employ. This requirement does not enhance a specific requirement in SP 800-171 but can be used to strengthen the protection of CUI associated with critical programs or high value assets.
Tailoring decisions required
Resolve these values through the governing organization’s approved tailoring and risk-management process before declaring the requirement implemented.
Protection strategies supported
These classifications are carried from the official SP 800-172 OSCAL record and help explain the enhanced requirement’s defensive purpose.
Implementation perspective
Treat Penetration Testing 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 assessment planning, evidence quality, remediation, continuous monitoring, and system security plan accuracy.
- 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
- assessment plans and reports
- plans of action and milestones
- system security plans
- continuous monitoring results
Common failure patterns
- requirement status based only on owner assertion
- findings closed without evidence
- scope missing inherited services
- monitoring data disconnected from risk decisions
Assessment objectives and methods
Assessment objectives (1)
penetration testing is conducted [Organization-defined: frequency] on [Organization-defined: systems or system components].
Examine
- Assessment and monitoring policy
- procedures addressing penetration testing
- assessment plan
- system security plan
- penetration test rules of engagement
- penetration test report
- assessment report
- assessment evidence
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Personnel with assessment responsibilities
- personnel with information security responsibilities
- system/network administrators
Test
- Mechanisms supporting penetration testing
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.
Authoritative sources
- NIST SP 800-172 Revision 3 official publication ↗
- NIST SP 800-172A Revision 3 official publication ↗
- NIST OSCAL Content release used for this import ↗
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.