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SA-11(6) SA · System and Services Acquisition

Attack Surface Reviews

LOW MODERATE HIGH
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Requirements NIST SOURCE

Require the developer of the system, system component, or system service to perform attack surface reviews.

Discussion (NIST Supplemental Guidance)

Attack surfaces of systems and system components are exposed areas that make those systems more vulnerable to attacks. Attack surfaces include any accessible areas where weaknesses or deficiencies in the hardware, software, and firmware components provide opportunities for adversaries to exploit vulnerabilities. Attack surface reviews ensure that developers analyze the design and implementation changes to systems and mitigate attack vectors generated as a result of the changes. The correction of identified flaws includes deprecation of unsafe functions.

Implementation Guidance

Engineering Interpretation

Original engineering commentary written for this explorer — not NIST source text and not authoritative guidance.

No engineering interpretation has been authored for SA-11(6) yet. This section is architected to receive it — see the Requirements and Assessment sections above for the authoritative NIST source content in the meantime.

Assessment

NIST SP 800-53A REV 5.2.0

Assessment Objectives

  1. the developer of the system, system component, or system service is required to perform attack surface reviews.

Examine

[SELECT FROM: System and services acquisition policy; procedures addressing system developer security testing; solicitation documentation; acquisition documentation; service level agreements; acquisition contracts for the system, system component, or system service; system developer security testing and evaluation plans; system developer security testing and evaluation results; records of attack surface reviews; system security plan; other relevant documents or records].

Interview

[SELECT FROM: Organizational personnel with system and service acquisition responsibilities; organizational personnel with information security responsibilities; organizational personnel with developer security testing responsibilities; organizational personnel with configuration management responsibilities; system developers].

Test

[SELECT FROM: Organizational processes for monitoring developer security testing and evaluation; mechanisms supporting and/or implementing the monitoring of developer security testing and evaluation].

Overlays

Showing the OT/ICS overlay for the parent control SA-11 — see the SA-11(6) entries within each baseline below.

OT/ICS Overlay SP 800-82r3

NIST SP 800-82r3 Appendix F, Table 22. Blank baseline means the control/control enhancement is not selected in that initial OT baseline.

LOW

Not applicable at this tier.

MODERATE

  • Base control: Included (matches standard baseline)

HIGH

  • Base control: Included (matches standard baseline)

STIGs & CCIs

No STIG checks or CCI mappings are currently loaded for SA-11(6). This section is architected to display, per product: STIG ID, Finding ID, Severity, Title, Description, Check, Fix, CCI, and NIST control mapping — but nothing is populated here until a real DISA STIG/CCI dataset is ingested.

Learn more about STIG/CCI integration →

Evidence

Potential Evidence — Derived

Categorized from the SP 800-53A "Examine"/"Test" artifact list above by keyword — not an authoritative NIST evidence list.

Policy

  • System and services acquisition policy
  • system security plan

Testing

  • Organizational processes for monitoring developer security testing and evaluation
  • mechanisms supporting and/or implementing the monitoring of developer security testing and evaluation

Other Records

  • procedures addressing system developer security testing
  • solicitation documentation
  • acquisition documentation
  • service level agreements
  • acquisition contracts for the system, system component, or system service
  • system developer security testing and evaluation plans
  • system developer security testing and evaluation results
  • records of attack surface reviews
  • other relevant documents or records