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XCCDF
Arista MLS EOS 4.2x NDM Security Technical Implementation Guide
Arista MLS EOS 4.2x NDM Security Technical Implementation Guide
An XCCDF Benchmark
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21 rules organized in 21 groups
SRG-APP-000038-NDM-000213
1 Rule
The Arista network device must enforce approved authorizations for controlling the flow of management information within the network device based on information flow control policies.
Medium Severity
A mechanism to detect and prevent unauthorized communication flow must be configured or provided as part of the system design. If management information flow is not enforced based on approved authorizations, the network device may become compromised. Information flow control regulates where management information is allowed to travel within a network device. The flow of all management information must be monitored and controlled so it does not introduce any unacceptable risk to the network device or data. Application-specific examples of enforcement occur in systems that employ rule sets or establish configuration settings that restrict information system services or message-filtering capability based on message content (e.g., implementing key word searches or using document characteristics). Applications providing information flow control must be able to enforce approved authorizations for controlling the flow of management information within the system in accordance with applicable policy.
SRG-APP-000065-NDM-000214
1 Rule
The Arista network device must be configured to enforce the limit of three consecutive invalid logon attempts, after which time it must block any login attempt for 15 minutes.
Medium Severity
By limiting the number of failed login attempts, the risk of unauthorized system access via user password guessing, otherwise known as brute-forcing, is reduced.
SRG-APP-000068-NDM-000215
1 Rule
The Arista network device must display the Standard Mandatory DOD Notice and Consent Banner before granting access to the device.
Medium Severity
Display of the DOD-approved use notification before granting access to the network device ensures privacy and security notification verbiage used is consistent with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, standards, and guidance. System use notifications are required only for access via logon interfaces with human users. Satisfies: SRG-APP-000068-NDM-000215, SRG-APP-000069-NDM-000216
SRG-APP-000026-NDM-000208
1 Rule
The Arista network device must be configured to audit all administrator activity.
Medium Severity
This requirement supports non-repudiation of actions taken by an administrator and is required in order to maintain the integrity of the configuration management process. All configuration changes to the network device are logged, and administrators authenticate with two-factor authentication before gaining administrative access. Together, these processes will ensure the administrators can be held accountable for the configuration changes they implement. Satisfies: SRG-APP-000026-NDM-000208, SRG-APP-000027-NDM-000209, SRG-APP-000028-NDM-000210, SRG-APP-000029-NDM-000211, SRG-APP-000080-NDM-000220, SRG-APP-000091-NDM-000223, SRG-APP-000101-NDM-000231, SRG-APP-000319-NDM-000283, SRG-APP-000343-NDM-000289, SRG-APP-000495-NDM-000318, SRG-APP-000499-NDM-000319, SRG-APP-000503-NDM-000320, SRG-APP-000504-NDM-000321, SRG-APP-000506-NDM-000323
SRG-APP-000142-NDM-000245
1 Rule
The Arista network device must be configured to prohibit the use of all unnecessary and/or nonsecure functions, ports, protocols, and/or services.
High Severity
To prevent unauthorized connection of devices, unauthorized transfer of information, or unauthorized tunneling (i.e., embedding of data types within data types), organizations must disable unused or unnecessary physical and logical ports/protocols on information systems. Network devices are capable of providing a wide variety of functions and services. Some of the functions and services provided by default may not be necessary to support essential organizational operations. Additionally, it is sometimes convenient to provide multiple services from a single component (e.g., email and web services); however, doing so increases risk over limiting the services provided by any one component. To support the requirements and principles of least functionality, the network device must support the organizational requirements providing only essential capabilities and limiting the use of ports, protocols, and/or services to only those required, authorized, and approved. Some network devices have capabilities enabled by default; if these capabilities are not necessary, they must be disabled. If a particular capability is used, then it must be documented and approved.
SRG-APP-000148-NDM-000346
1 Rule
The Arista network device must be configured with only one local account to be used as the account of last resort in the event the authentication server is unavailable.
Medium Severity
Authentication for administrative (privileged level) access to the device is required at all times. An account can be created on the device's local database for use when the authentication server is down or connectivity between the device and the authentication server is not operable. This account is referred to as the account of last resort since it is intended to be used as a last resort and when immediate administrative access is absolutely necessary. The account of last resort logon credentials must be stored in a sealed envelope and kept in a safe. The safe must be periodically audited to verify the envelope remains sealed. The signature of the auditor and the date of the audit should be added to the envelope as a record. Administrators should secure the credentials and disable the root account (if possible) when not needed for system administration functions.
SRG-APP-000164-NDM-000252
1 Rule
The Arista network device must enforce a minimum 15-character password length.
Medium Severity
Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. Password length is one factor of several that helps to determine strength and how long it takes to crack a password. The shorter the password, the lower the number of possible combinations that need to be tested before the password is compromised. Use of more characters in a password helps to exponentially increase the time and/or resources required to compromise the password.
SRG-APP-000179-NDM-000265
1 Rule
The Arista network device must use FIPS 140-2 approved algorithms for authentication to a cryptographic module.
High Severity
Unapproved mechanisms used for authentication to the cryptographic module are not validated and therefore cannot be relied upon to provide confidentiality or integrity, and DOD data may be compromised. Network devices utilizing encryption are required to use FIPS-compliant mechanisms for authenticating to cryptographic modules. FIPS 140-2 is the current standard for validating that mechanisms used to access cryptographic modules utilize authentication that meets DOD requirements. However, authentication algorithms must configure security processes to use only FIPS-approved and NIST-recommended authentication algorithms.
SRG-APP-000190-NDM-000267
1 Rule
The Arista network device must terminate all network connections associated with a device management session at the end of the session, or the session must be terminated after 10 minutes of inactivity except to fulfill documented and validated mission requirements.
High Severity
Terminating an idle session within a short time period reduces the window of opportunity for unauthorized personnel to take control of a management session enabled on the console or console port that has been left unattended. In addition, quickly terminating an idle session will also free up resources committed by the managed network element. Terminating network connections associated with communications sessions includes, for example, de-allocating associated TCP/IP address/port pairs at the operating system level, or de-allocating networking assignments at the application level if multiple application sessions are using a single, operating system-level network connection. This does not mean that the device terminates all sessions or network access; it only ends the inactive session and releases the resources associated with that session. Satisfies: SRG-APP-000190-NDM-000267, SRG-APP-000186-NDM-000266
SRG-APP-000329-NDM-000287
1 Rule
If the Arista network device uses role-based access control, the network device must enforce organization-defined role-based access control policies over defined subjects and objects.
Medium Severity
Organizations can create specific roles based on job functions and the authorizations (i.e., privileges) to perform needed operations on organizational information systems associated with the organization-defined roles. When administrators are assigned to the organizational roles, they inherit the authorizations or privileges defined for those roles. Role-based access control (RBAC) simplifies privilege administration for organizations because privileges are not assigned directly to every administrator (which can be a significant number of individuals for mid- to large-size organizations) but are instead acquired through role assignments. RBAC can be implemented either as a mandatory or discretionary form of access control. The RBAC policies and the subjects and objects are defined uniquely for each network device, so they cannot be specified in the requirement. Satisfies: SRG-APP-000329-NDM-000287, SRG-APP-000380-NDM-000304
SRG-APP-000373-NDM-000298
1 Rule
The Arista network device must be configured to synchronize internal system clocks using redundant authenticated time sources.
Medium Severity
The loss of connectivity to a particular authoritative time source will result in the loss of time synchronization (free-run mode) and increasingly inaccurate time stamps on audit events and other functions. Multiple time sources provide redundancy by including a secondary source. Time synchronization is usually a hierarchy; clients synchronize time to a local source while that source synchronizes its time to a more accurate source. The network device must utilize an authoritative time server and/or be configured to use redundant authoritative time sources. This requirement is related to the comparison done in CCI-001891. DOD-approved solutions consist of a combination of a primary and secondary time source using a combination or multiple instances of the following: a time server designated for the appropriate DOD network (NIPRNet/SIPRNet); United States Naval Observatory (USNO) time servers; and/or the Global Positioning System (GPS). The secondary time source must be located in a different geographic region than the primary time source. Satisfies: SRG-APP-000373-NDM-000298, SRG-APP-000374-NDM-000299, SRG-APP-000375-NDM-000300, SRG-APP-000395-NDM-000347
SRG-APP-000395-NDM-000310
1 Rule
The Arista network device must be configured to authenticate SNMP messages using a FIPS-validated Keyed-Hash Message Authentication Code (HMAC).
Medium Severity
Without authenticating devices, unidentified or unknown devices may be introduced, thereby facilitating malicious activity. Bidirectional authentication provides stronger safeguards to validate the identity of other devices for connections that are of greater risk. A local connection is any connection with a device communicating without the use of a network. A network connection is any connection with a device that communicates through a network (e.g., local area or wide area network, internet). A remote connection is any connection with a device communicating through an external network (e.g., the internet). Because of the challenges of applying this requirement on a large scale, organizations are encouraged to only apply the requirement to those limited number (and type) of devices that truly need to support this capability.
SRG-APP-000411-NDM-000330
1 Rule
The Arista network devices must use FIPS-validated Keyed-Hash Message Authentication Code (HMAC) to protect the integrity of remote maintenance sessions.
High Severity
Unapproved mechanisms used for authentication to the cryptographic module are not verified and therefore cannot be relied upon to provide confidentiality or integrity, and DOD data may be compromised. Nonlocal maintenance and diagnostic activities are those activities conducted by individuals communicating through a network, either an external network (e.g., the internet) or an internal network. Currently, HMAC is the only FIPS-approved algorithm for generating and verifying message/data authentication codes in accordance with FIPS 198-1. Products that are FIPS 140-2 validated will have an HMAC that meets specification; however, the option must be configured for use as the only message authentication code used for authentication to cryptographic modules. Separate requirements for configuring applications and protocols used by each application (e.g., SNMPv3, SSHv2, NTP, HTTPS, and other protocols and applications that require server/client authentication) are required to implement this requirement. Where SSH is used, the SSHv2 protocol suite is required because it includes Layer 7 protocols such as SCP and SFTP, which can be used for secure file transfers. Satisfies: SRG-APP-000411-NDM-000330, SRG-APP-000156-NDM-000250
SRG-APP-000412-NDM-000331
1 Rule
The Arista network device must be configured to implement cryptographic mechanisms using a FIPS 140-2 approved algorithm to protect the confidentiality of remote maintenance sessions.
High Severity
This requires the use of secure protocols instead of their unsecured counterparts, such as SSH instead of telnet, SCP instead of FTP, and HTTPS instead of HTTP. If unsecured protocols (lacking cryptographic mechanisms) are used for sessions, the contents of those sessions will be susceptible to eavesdropping, potentially putting sensitive data (including administrator passwords) at risk of compromise and potentially allowing hijacking of maintenance sessions.
SRG-APP-000095-NDM-000225
1 Rule
The Arista network device must be configured to capture all DOD auditable events.
Medium Severity
Auditing and logging are key components of any security architecture. Logging the actions of specific events provides a means to investigate an attack; to recognize resource utilization or capacity thresholds; or to identify an improperly configured network device. If auditing is not comprehensive, it will not be useful for intrusion monitoring, security investigations, and forensic analysis. Satisfies: SRG-APP-000095-NDM-000225, SRG-APP-000096-NDM-000226, SRG-APP-000097-NDM-000227, SRG-APP-000098-NDM-000228, SRG-APP-000099-NDM-000229, SRG-APP-000100-NDM-000230, SRG-APP-000516-NDM-000334, SRG-APP-000357-NDM-000293, SRG-APP-000360-NDM-000295, SRG-APP-000505-NDM-000322
SRG-APP-000516-NDM-000336
1 Rule
The network device must be configured to use an authentication server to authenticate users prior to granting administrative access.
High Severity
Centralized management of authentication settings increases the security of remote and nonlocal access methods. This control is particularly important protection against the insider threat. With robust centralized management, audit records for administrator account access to the organization's network devices can be more readily analyzed for trends and anomalies. The alternative method of defining administrator accounts on each device exposes the device configuration to remote access authentication attacks and system administrators with multiple authenticators for each network device.
SRG-APP-000516-NDM-000340
1 Rule
The network device must be configured to conduct backups of system level information contained in the information system when changes occur.
Medium Severity
System-level information includes default and customized settings and security attributes, including ACLs that relate to the network device configuration, as well as software required for the execution and operation of the device. Information system backup is a critical step in ensuring system integrity and availability. If the system fails and there is no backup of the system-level information, a denial of service condition is possible for all who utilize this critical network component. This control requires the network device to support the organizational central backup process for system-level information associated with the network device. This function may be provided by the network device itself; however, the preferred best practice is a centralized backup rather than each network device performing discrete backups.
SRG-APP-000516-NDM-000344
1 Rule
The Arista network device must obtain its public key certificates from an appropriate certificate policy through an approved service provider.
Medium Severity
For user certificates, each organization obtains certificates from an approved, shared service provider, as required by OMB policy. For federal agencies operating a legacy public key infrastructure cross-certified with the Federal Bridge Certification Authority at medium assurance or higher, this Certification Authority will suffice.
SRG-APP-000516-NDM-000350
1 Rule
The Arista network Arista device must be configured to send log data to a central log server for the purpose of forwarding alerts to the administrators and the ISSO.
High Severity
The aggregation of log data kept on a syslog server can be used to detect attacks and trigger an alert to the appropriate security personnel. The stored log data can used to detect weaknesses in security that enable the network IA team to find and address these weaknesses before breaches can occur. Reviewing these logs, whether before or after a security breach, are important in showing whether someone is an internal employee or an outside threat. Satisfies: SRG-APP-000516-NDM-000350, SRG-APP-000119-NDM-000236, SRG-APP-000120-NDM-000237, SRG-APP-000515-NDM-000325
SRG-APP-000516-NDM-000351
1 Rule
The Arista network device must be running an operating system release that is currently supported by the vendor.
High Severity
Network devices running an unsupported operating system lack current security fixes required to mitigate the risks associated with recent vulnerabilities.
SRG-APP-000001-NDM-000200
1 Rule
The Arista network device must limit the number of concurrent sessions to an organization-defined number for each administrator account and/or administrator account type.
Medium Severity
Device management includes the ability to control the number of administrators and management sessions that manage a device. Limiting the number of allowed administrators and sessions per administrator based on account type, role, or access type is helpful in limiting risks related to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. This requirement addresses concurrent sessions for administrative accounts and does not address concurrent sessions by a single administrator via multiple administrative accounts. The maximum number of concurrent sessions must be defined based upon mission needs and the operational environment for each system. At a minimum, limits must be set for SSH, HTTPS, account of last resort, and root account sessions.