Control statement
Provide for the recovery and reconstitution of the system to a known state within [Organization-defined: organization-defined time period consistent with recovery time and recovery point objectives] after a disruption, compromise, or failure.
Discussion
Recovery is executing contingency plan activities to restore organizational mission and business functions. Reconstitution takes place following recovery and includes activities for returning systems to fully operational states. Recovery and reconstitution operations reflect mission and business priorities; recovery point, recovery time, and reconstitution objectives; and organizational metrics consistent with contingency plan requirements. Reconstitution includes the deactivation of interim system capabilities that may have been needed during recovery operations. Reconstitution also includes assessments of fully restored system capabilities, reestablishment of continuous monitoring activities, system reauthorization (if required), and activities to prepare the system and organization for future disruptions, breaches, compromises, or failures. Recovery and reconstitution capabilities can include automated mechanisms and manual procedures. Organizations establish recovery time and recovery point objectives as part of contingency planning.
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 System Recovery and Reconstitution 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 resilient operations, recovery priorities, alternate capabilities, and tested restoration.
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
- contingency and recovery plans
- backup success and restoration-test records
- exercise after-action reports
- alternate processing or communications agreements
Common failure patterns
- backups never restored in testing
- recovery priorities not tied to mission impact
- plans dependent on unavailable people or facilities
- exercise findings not tracked to closure
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
- CP-10[01]the recovery of the system to a known state is provided within [Organization-defined: time period] after a disruption, compromise, or failure;
- CP-10[02]a reconstitution of the system to a known state is provided within [Organization-defined: time period] after a disruption, compromise, or failure.
Examine
- Contingency planning policy
- procedures addressing system backup
- contingency plan
- system backup test results
- contingency plan test results
- contingency plan test documentation
- redundant secondary system for system backups
- location(s) of redundant secondary backup system(s)
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with contingency planning, recovery, and/or reconstitution responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Organizational processes implementing system recovery and reconstitution operations
- mechanisms supporting and/or implementing system recovery and reconstitution operations
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.
CP-10(1) — Contingency Plan Testing
This enhancement is marked withdrawn in the official OSCAL catalog. Related-control metadata below may identify where its intent was incorporated.
CP-10(2) — Transaction Recovery
Implement transaction recovery for systems that are transaction-based.
Official discussion
Transaction-based systems include database management systems and transaction processing systems. Mechanisms supporting transaction recovery include transaction rollback and transaction journaling.
Assessment objectives and methods
transaction recovery is implemented for systems that are transaction-based.
Examine
- Contingency planning policy
- procedures addressing system recovery and reconstitution
- contingency plan
- system design documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- contingency plan test documentation
- contingency plan test results
- system transaction recovery records
- system audit records
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with responsibility for transaction recovery
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Mechanisms supporting and/or implementing transaction recovery capability
CP-10(3) — Compensating Security Controls
Addressed through tailoring.
CP-10(4) — Restore Within Time Period
Provide the capability to restore system components within [Organization-defined: restoration time periods] from configuration-controlled and integrity-protected information representing a known, operational state for the components.
Official discussion
Restoration of system components includes reimaging, which restores the components to known, operational states.
Organization-defined parameters (1)
Assessment objectives and methods
the capability to restore system components within [Organization-defined: restoration time periods] from configuration-controlled and integrity-protected information representing a known, operational state for the components is provided.
Examine
- Contingency planning policy
- procedures addressing system recovery and reconstitution
- contingency plan
- system design documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- contingency plan test documentation
- contingency plan test results
- evidence of system recovery and reconstitution operations
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with system recovery and reconstitution responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Mechanisms supporting and/or implementing the recovery/reconstitution of system information
Related controls
CP-10(5) — Failover Capability
This enhancement is marked withdrawn in the official OSCAL catalog. Related-control metadata below may identify where its intent was incorporated.
CP-10(6) — Component Protection
Protect system components used for recovery and reconstitution.
Official discussion
Protection of system recovery and reconstitution components (i.e., hardware, firmware, and software) includes physical and technical controls. Backup and restoration components used for recovery and reconstitution include router tables, compilers, and other system software.
Assessment objectives and methods
system components used for recovery and reconstitution are protected.
Examine
- Contingency planning policy
- procedures addressing system recovery and reconstitution
- contingency plan
- system design documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- logical access credentials
- physical access credentials
- logical access authorization records
- physical access authorization records
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with system recovery and reconstitution responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Organizational processes for protecting backup and restoration of hardware, firmware, and software
- mechanisms supporting and/or implementing protection of backups and restoration of hardware, firmware, and software
Related controls
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.