Control statement
- a.Develop a plan of action and milestones for the system to document the planned remediation actions of the organization to correct weaknesses or deficiencies noted during the assessment of the controls and to reduce or eliminate known vulnerabilities in the system; and
- b.Update existing plan of action and milestones [Organization-defined: frequency] based on the findings from control assessments, independent audits or reviews, and continuous monitoring activities.
Discussion
Plans of action and milestones are useful for any type of organization to track planned remedial actions. Plans of action and milestones are required in authorization packages and subject to federal reporting requirements established by OMB.
Organization-defined parameters
These values must be resolved through the organization’s tailoring and governance process. Bracketed parameter references in the control text identify where a decision is required.
From control text to operational evidence
Use Plan of Action and Milestones as a testable risk decision. Translate the official statement into accountable people, repeatable processes, configured technology, and evidence that demonstrates the outcome over time. In this family, pay particular attention to assessment independence, authorization evidence, remediation, and continuous monitoring.
Implementation workflow
- Define the control boundary, responsible owner, inherited portions, and systems or processes in scope.
- Resolve each organization-defined parameter before declaring the control implemented.
- Document how the implementation satisfies every clause of the official control statement.
- Collect evidence as a normal byproduct of operation rather than only before an assessment.
- Review exceptions, changes, and monitoring results on a risk-based cadence.
Evidence examples
- assessment plans and reports
- plans of action and milestones
- authorization decisions and risk acceptances
- continuous monitoring results
Common failure patterns
- control status based only on owner assertion
- findings closed without evidence
- assessment scope that misses inherited services
- monitoring data disconnected from authorization decisions
Questions practitioners should ask
- What risk decision is this control intended to support in this system?
- Which parts are implemented locally, inherited, shared, or not applicable—and what evidence supports that decision?
- Do the documented narrative, deployed configuration, operating process, and collected evidence agree?
- What event or threshold requires the implementation to be reviewed or changed?
Assessment objectives and methods
Show the assessment objective
- CA-05a.a plan of action and milestones for the system is developed to document the planned remediation actions of the organization to correct weaknesses or deficiencies noted during the assessment of the controls and to reduce or eliminate known vulnerabilities in the system;
- CA-05b.existing plan of action and milestones are updated [Organization-defined: frequency] based on the findings from control assessments, independent audits or reviews, and continuous monitoring activities.
Examine
- Assessment, authorization, and monitoring policy
- procedures addressing plan of action and milestones
- control assessment plan
- control assessment report
- control assessment evidence
- plan of action and milestones
- system security plan
- privacy plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with plan of action and milestones development and implementation responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security and privacy responsibilities
Test
- Mechanisms for developing, implementing, and maintaining plan of action and milestones
Related controls
These relationships come from the official OSCAL catalog. They indicate useful dependencies or context, not automatic inheritance or equivalence.
Control enhancements
Enhancements add specificity, strength, or scope to the base control. Baseline badges show explicit selections in the official SP 800-53B OSCAL profiles.
CA-5(1) — Automation Support for Accuracy and Currency
Ensure the accuracy, currency, and availability of the plan of action and milestones for the system using [Organization-defined: automated mechanisms].
Official discussion
Using automated tools helps maintain the accuracy, currency, and availability of the plan of action and milestones and facilitates the coordination and sharing of security and privacy information throughout the organization. Such coordination and information sharing help to identify systemic weaknesses or deficiencies in organizational systems and ensure that appropriate resources are directed at the most critical system vulnerabilities in a timely manner.
Organization-defined parameters (1)
Assessment objectives and methods
[Organization-defined: automated mechanisms] are used to ensure the accuracy, currency, and availability of the plan of action and milestones for the system.
Examine
- Assessment, authorization, and monitoring policy
- procedures addressing plan of action and milestones
- system design documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- system audit records
- plan of action and milestones
- system security plan
- privacy plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with plan of action and milestones development and implementation responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security and privacy responsibilities
Test
- Automated mechanisms for developing, implementing, and maintaining a plan of action and milestones
Authoritative sources
Bare Metal Cyber is an independent educational publisher and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NIST. Official control requirements and interpretations remain with NIST and the responsible authorizing organization.