Automated Patch Management Tools
LOW MODERATE HIGHRequirements NIST SOURCE
Employ automated patch management tools to facilitate flaw remediation to the following system components: [components].
Discussion (NIST Supplemental Guidance)
Using automated tools to support patch management helps to ensure the timeliness and completeness of system patching operations.
Implementation Guidance
Original engineering commentary written for this explorer — not NIST source text and not authoritative guidance.
No engineering interpretation has been authored for SI-2(4) 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
- the system components requiring automated patch management tools to facilitate flaw remediation are defined;
- automated patch management tools are employed to facilitate flaw remediation to <SI-02(04)_ODP components>.
Examine
[SELECT FROM: System and information integrity policy; system and information integrity procedures; procedures addressing flaw remediation; mechanisms supporting flaw remediation and automatic software/firmware updates; system design documentation; system configuration settings and associated documentation; list of system flaws; records of recent security-relevant software and firmware updates that are automatically installed to system components; system audit records; system security plan; other relevant documents or records].
Interview
[SELECT FROM: System/network administrators; organizational personnel with information security responsibilities; organizational personnel installing, configuring, and/or maintaining the system; organizational personnel responsible for flaw remediation].
Test
[SELECT FROM: Automated patch management tools; mechanisms implementing automatic software/firmware updates; mechanisms facilitating flaw remediation to system components].
Overlays
STIGs & CCIs
No STIG checks or CCI mappings are currently loaded for SI-2(4). 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 information integrity policy
- system security plan
Configuration
- system design documentation
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
Testing
- Automated patch management tools
- mechanisms implementing automatic software/firmware updates
- mechanisms facilitating flaw remediation to system components
Other Records
- system and information integrity procedures
- procedures addressing flaw remediation
- mechanisms supporting flaw remediation and automatic software/firmware updates
- list of system flaws
- records of recent security-relevant software and firmware updates that are automatically installed to system components
- system audit records
- other relevant documents or records