Overview
  1. 03.01: Access Control
  2. 03.02: Awareness and Training
  3. 03.03: Audit and Accountability
  4. 03.04: Configuration Management
  5. 03.05: Identification and Authentication
  6. 03.06: Incident Response
  7. 03.07: Maintenance
  8. 03.08: Media Protection
  9. 03.09: Personnel Security
  10. 03.10: Physical Protection
  11. 03.11: Risk Assessment
  12. 03.12: Security Assessment
  13. 03.13: System and Communications Protection
  14. 03.14: System and Information Integrity

Security Requirements for 03.05.10 Cryptographically-Protected Passwords

Cryptographically-protected passwords use salted one-way cryptographic hashes of passwords. See [NIST CRYPTO].

Assessment GuidanceExamine 0/10

How an assessor determines this requirement is met. Source: CMMC Assessment Guide – Level 2, Version 2.13 (NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2).

Discussion

All passwords must be cryptographically protected using a one-way function for storage and transmission. This type of protection changes passwords into another form, or a hashed password. A one-way transformation makes it theoretically impossible to turn the hashed

password back into the original password, but inadequate complexity (IA.L2-3.5.7) may still facilitate offline cracking of hashes.

Examples

  1. Example 1

    You are responsible for managing passwords for your organization. You protect all passwords with a one-way transformation, or hashing, before storing them. Passwords are never transmitted across a network unencrypted [a, b].

Assessment Methods

Examine
The process of reviewing, inspecting, observing, studying, or analyzing assessment objects (e.g., policies, procedures, plans, system designs, mechanisms) to facilitate understanding, achieve clarification, or obtain evidence.Example: An assessor reads the access control policy and inspects system configuration settings to confirm they match.

Not all of the evidence listed is required to meet this requirement — check the items your organization has collected.

Interview
The process of holding discussions with individuals or groups within an organization to facilitate understanding, achieve clarification, or identify the location of evidence.Example: An assessor asks a system administrator to describe how user accounts are approved, reviewed, and disabled.
  • Personnel with authenticator management responsibilities
  • Personnel with information security responsibilities
  • System or network administrators
Test
The process of exercising assessment objects (e.g., activities, mechanisms) under specified conditions to compare actual behavior with expected behavior.Example: An assessor attempts to sign in with a disabled account to confirm that access is denied.
  • Mechanisms supporting or implementing authenticator management capability

Potential Assessment Considerations

  • Are passwords prevented from being stored in reversible encryption form in any company systems [a]?
  • Are passwords stored as one-way hashes constructed from passwords [a]?

Key References

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 3.5.10

Evidence

  1. 03.05.10.a

    Passwords are cryptographically protected in storage

  1. 03.05.10.b

    Passwords are cryptographically protected in transit