Secure Defaults
LOW MODERATE HIGHRequirements NIST SOURCE
Implement the security design principle of secure defaults in [systems or system components].
Discussion (NIST Supplemental Guidance)
The principle of secure defaults states that the default configuration of a system (including its constituent subsystems, components, and mechanisms) reflects a restrictive and conservative enforcement of security policy. The principle of secure defaults applies to the initial (i.e., default) configuration of a system as well as to the security engineering and design of access control and other security functions that follow a "deny unless explicitly authorized" strategy. The initial configuration aspect of this principle requires that any "as shipped" configuration of a system, subsystem, or system component does not aid in the violation of the security policy and can prevent the system from operating in the default configuration for those cases where the security policy itself requires configuration by the operational user. Restrictive defaults mean that the system will operate "as-shipped" with adequate self-protection and be able to prevent security breaches before the intended security policy and system configuration is established. In cases where the protection provided by the "as-shipped" product is inadequate, stakeholders assess the risk of using it prior to establishing a secure initial state. Adherence to the principle of secure defaults guarantees that a system is established in a secure state upon successfully completing initialization. In situations where the system fails to complete initialization, either it will perform a requested operation using secure defaults or it will not perform the operation. Refer to the principles of continuous protection and secure failure and recovery that parallel this principle to provide the ability to detect and recover from failure. The security engineering approach to this principle states that security mechanisms deny requests unless the request is found to be well-formed and consistent with the security policy. The insecure alternative is to allow a request unless it is shown to be inconsistent with the policy. In a large system, the conditions that are satisfied to grant a request that is denied by default are often far more compact and complete than those that would need to be checked in order to deny a request that is granted by default.
Implementation Guidance
Original engineering commentary written for this explorer — not NIST source text and not authoritative guidance.
No engineering interpretation has been authored for SA-8(23) 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
Assessment Objectives
- systems or system components that implement the security design principle of secure defaults are defined;
- <SA-08(23)_ODP systems or system components> implement the security design principle of secure defaults.
Examine
[SELECT FROM: System and services acquisition policy; configuration management policy; procedures addressing the security design principle of secure defaults used in the specification, design, development, implementation, and modification of the system; system design documentation; procedures addressing the baseline configuration of the system; configuration management plan; system architecture and configuration documentation; system configuration settings and associated documentation; security and privacy requirements and specifications for the system; system security and privacy architecture; procedures addressing system documentation; system documentation; system security plan; other relevant documents or records].
Interview
[SELECT FROM: Organizational personnel with the responsibility for determining system security and privacy requirements; organizational personnel with system specification, design, development, implementation, and modification responsibilities; system developers; organizational personnel with information security responsibilities].
Test
[SELECT FROM: Organizational processes for applying the security design principle of secure defaults in system specification, design, development, implementation, and modification; mechanisms supporting the application of the security design principle of secure defaults in system specification, design, development, implementation, and modification; organizational processes for managing baseline configurations; mechanisms supporting configuration control of the baseline configuration].
Overlays
STIGs & CCIs
No STIG checks or CCI mappings are currently loaded for SA-8(23). 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
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
Configuration
- configuration management policy
- system design documentation
- procedures addressing the baseline configuration of the system
- configuration management plan
- system architecture and configuration documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- system security and privacy architecture
Testing
- Organizational processes for applying the security design principle of secure defaults in system specification, design, development, implementation, and modification
- mechanisms supporting the application of the security design principle of secure defaults in system specification, design, development, implementation, and modification
- organizational processes for managing baseline configurations
- mechanisms supporting configuration control of the baseline configuration
Other Records
- procedures addressing the security design principle of secure defaults used in the specification, design, development, implementation, and modification of the system
- security and privacy requirements and specifications for the system
- procedures addressing system documentation
- system documentation
- other relevant documents or records