Control statement
- a.Establish a process for maintenance personnel authorization and maintain a list of authorized maintenance organizations or personnel;
- b.Verify that non-escorted personnel performing maintenance on the system possess the required access authorizations; and
- c.Designate organizational personnel with required access authorizations and technical competence to supervise the maintenance activities of personnel who do not possess the required access authorizations.
Discussion
Maintenance personnel refers to individuals who perform hardware or software maintenance on organizational systems, while [PE-2](#pe-2) addresses physical access for individuals whose maintenance duties place them within the physical protection perimeter of the systems. Technical competence of supervising individuals relates to the maintenance performed on the systems, while having required access authorizations refers to maintenance on and near the systems. Individuals not previously identified as authorized maintenance personnel—such as information technology manufacturers, vendors, systems integrators, and consultants—may require privileged access to organizational systems, such as when they are required to conduct maintenance activities with little or no notice. Based on organizational assessments of risk, organizations may issue temporary credentials to these individuals. Temporary credentials may be for one-time use or for very limited time periods.
From control text to operational evidence
Use Maintenance Personnel 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 controlled maintenance, trusted tools, authorized personnel, and monitored support access.
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
- maintenance schedules and tickets
- tool approval records
- remote maintenance session logs
- maintenance personnel authorization
Common failure patterns
- vendor access left enabled permanently
- unapproved diagnostic tools introduced
- maintenance bypasses normal change control
- remote sessions not monitored or terminated
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
- MA-05a.
- MA-05a.[01]a process for maintenance personnel authorization is established;
- MA-05a.[02]a list of authorized maintenance organizations or personnel is maintained;
- MA-05b.non-escorted personnel performing maintenance on the system possess the required access authorizations;
- MA-05c.organizational personnel with required access authorizations and technical competence is/are designated to supervise the maintenance activities of personnel who do not possess the required access authorizations.
Examine
- Maintenance policy
- procedures addressing maintenance personnel
- service provider contracts
- service-level agreements
- list of authorized personnel
- maintenance records
- access control records
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with system maintenance responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Organizational processes for authorizing and managing maintenance personnel
- mechanisms supporting and/or implementing authorization of maintenance personnel
Related controls
These relationships come from the official OSCAL catalog. They indicate useful dependencies or context, not automatic inheritance or equivalence.
Related NIST SP 800-171 requirements
These Rev. 3 requirements cite this base control or one of its enhancements as a source. The relationship does not by itself determine contractual applicability or complete implementation.
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.
MA-5(1) — Individuals Without Appropriate Access
- (a)Implement procedures for the use of maintenance personnel that lack appropriate security clearances or are not U.S. citizens, that include the following requirements:
- (1)Maintenance personnel who do not have needed access authorizations, clearances, or formal access approvals are escorted and supervised during the performance of maintenance and diagnostic activities on the system by approved organizational personnel who are fully cleared, have appropriate access authorizations, and are technically qualified; and
- (2)Prior to initiating maintenance or diagnostic activities by personnel who do not have needed access authorizations, clearances or formal access approvals, all volatile information storage components within the system are sanitized and all nonvolatile storage media are removed or physically disconnected from the system and secured; and
- (b)Develop and implement [Organization-defined: alternate controls] in the event a system component cannot be sanitized, removed, or disconnected from the system.
Official discussion
Procedures for individuals who lack appropriate security clearances or who are not U.S. citizens are intended to deny visual and electronic access to classified or controlled unclassified information contained on organizational systems. Procedures for the use of maintenance personnel can be documented in security plans for the systems.
Organization-defined parameters (1)
Assessment objectives and methods
- MA-05(01)(a)
- MA-05(01)(a)(01)procedures for the use of maintenance personnel who lack appropriate security clearances or are not U.S. citizens are implemented and include approved organizational personnel who are fully cleared, have appropriate access authorizations, and are technically qualified escorting and supervising maintenance personnel without the needed access authorization during the performance of maintenance and diagnostic activities;
- MA-05(01)(a)(02)procedures for the use of maintenance personnel who lack appropriate security clearances or are not U.S. citizens are implemented and include all volatile information storage components within the system being sanitized and all non-volatile storage media being removed or physically disconnected from the system and secured prior to initiating maintenance or diagnostic activities;
- MA-05(01)(b)[Organization-defined: alternate controls] are developed and implemented in the event that a system cannot be sanitized, removed, or disconnected from the system.
Examine
- Maintenance policy
- procedures addressing maintenance personnel
- system media protection policy
- physical and environmental protection policy
- list of maintenance personnel requiring escort/supervision
- maintenance records
- access control records
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with system maintenance responsibilities
- organizational personnel with personnel security responsibilities
- organizational personnel with physical access control responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
- organizational personnel responsible for media sanitization
- system/network administrators
Test
- Organizational processes for managing maintenance personnel without appropriate access
- mechanisms supporting and/or implementing alternative security safeguards
- mechanisms supporting and/or implementing information storage component sanitization
Related controls
MA-5(2) — Security Clearances for Classified Systems
Verify that personnel performing maintenance and diagnostic activities on a system processing, storing, or transmitting classified information possess security clearances and formal access approvals for at least the highest classification level and for compartments of information on the system.
Official discussion
Personnel who conduct maintenance on organizational systems may be exposed to classified information during the course of their maintenance activities. To mitigate the inherent risk of such exposure, organizations use maintenance personnel that are cleared (i.e., possess security clearances) to the classification level of the information stored on the system.
Assessment objectives and methods
- MA-05(02)[01]personnel performing maintenance and diagnostic activities on a system processing, storing, or transmitting classified information possess security clearances for at least the highest classification level and for compartments of information on the system;
- MA-05(02)[02]personnel performing maintenance and diagnostic activities on a system processing, storing, or transmitting classified information possess formal access approvals for at least the highest classification level and for compartments of information on the system.
Examine
- Maintenance policy
- procedures addressing maintenance personnel
- personnel records
- maintenance records
- access control records
- access credentials
- access authorizations
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with system maintenance responsibilities
- organizational personnel with personnel security responsibilities
- organizational personnel with physical access control responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Organizational processes for managing security clearances for maintenance personnel
Related controls
MA-5(3) — Citizenship Requirements for Classified Systems
Verify that personnel performing maintenance and diagnostic activities on a system processing, storing, or transmitting classified information are U.S. citizens.
Official discussion
Personnel who conduct maintenance on organizational systems may be exposed to classified information during the course of their maintenance activities. If access to classified information on organizational systems is restricted to U.S. citizens, the same restriction is applied to personnel performing maintenance on those systems.
Assessment objectives and methods
personnel performing maintenance and diagnostic activities on a system processing, storing, or transmitting classified information are U.S. citizens.
Examine
- Maintenance policy
- procedures addressing maintenance personnel
- personnel records
- maintenance records
- access control records
- access credentials
- access authorizations
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with system maintenance responsibilities
- organizational personnel with personnel security responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Related controls
MA-5(4) — Foreign Nationals
Ensure that:
- (a)Foreign nationals with appropriate security clearances are used to conduct maintenance and diagnostic activities on classified systems only when the systems are jointly owned and operated by the United States and foreign allied governments, or owned and operated solely by foreign allied governments; and
- (b)Approvals, consents, and detailed operational conditions regarding the use of foreign nationals to conduct maintenance and diagnostic activities on classified systems are fully documented within Memoranda of Agreements.
Official discussion
Personnel who conduct maintenance and diagnostic activities on organizational systems may be exposed to classified information. If non-U.S. citizens are permitted to perform maintenance and diagnostics activities on classified systems, then additional vetting is required to ensure agreements and restrictions are not being violated.
Assessment objectives and methods
- MA-05(04)(a)foreign nationals with appropriate security clearances are used to conduct maintenance and diagnostic activities on classified systems only when the systems are jointly owned and operated by the United States and foreign allied governments or owned and operated solely by foreign allied governments;
- MA-05(04)(b)
- MA-05(04)(b)[01]approvals regarding the use of foreign nationals to conduct maintenance and diagnostic activities on classified systems are fully documented within Memoranda of Agreements;
- MA-05(04)(b)[02]consents regarding the use of foreign nationals to conduct maintenance and diagnostic activities on classified systems are fully documented within Memoranda of Agreements;
- MA-05(04)(b)[03]detailed operational conditions regarding the use of foreign nationals to conduct maintenance and diagnostic activities on classified systems are fully documented within Memoranda of Agreements.
Examine
- Maintenance policy
- procedures addressing maintenance personnel
- system media protection policy
- access control policy and procedures
- physical and environmental protection policy and procedures
- memorandum of agreement
- maintenance records
- access control records
- access credentials
- access authorizations
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with system maintenance responsibilities, organizational personnel with personnel security responsibilities
- organizational personnel managing memoranda of agreements
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Test
- Organizational processes for managing foreign national maintenance personnel
Related controls
MA-5(5) — Non-system Maintenance
Ensure that non-escorted personnel performing maintenance activities not directly associated with the system but in the physical proximity of the system, have required access authorizations.
Official discussion
Personnel who perform maintenance activities in other capacities not directly related to the system include physical plant personnel and custodial personnel.
Assessment objectives and methods
non-escorted personnel performing maintenance activities not directly associated with the system but in the physical proximity of the system have required access authorizations.
Examine
- Maintenance policy
- procedures addressing maintenance personnel
- system media protection policy
- access control policy and procedures
- physical and environmental protection policy and procedures
- maintenance records
- access control records
- access authorizations
- system security plan
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- Organizational personnel with system maintenance responsibilities
- organizational personnel with personnel security responsibilities
- organizational personnel with physical access control responsibilities
- organizational personnel with information security responsibilities
Authoritative sources
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