3.13.5Put public services in their own subnet
Anything internet-facing sits in a DMZ, separated from internal systems.
The requirement, verbatim
NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 · 3.13.5Implement subnetworks for publicly accessible system components that are physically or logically separated from internal networks.
NIST's discussion
Subnetworks that are physically or logically separated from internal networks are referred to as demilitarized zones (DMZs). DMZs are typically implemented with boundary control devices and techniques that include routers, gateways, firewalls, virtualization, or cloud-based technologies.
NIST SP 800-41 provides guidance on firewalls and firewall policy. SP 800-125B provides guidance on security for virtualization technologies.
NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2, discussion under 3.13.5. Whitespace normalised; wording unchanged.
Assessment objectives
An assessor decides each of these separately. The requirement is met only when every objective is.
- [a] publicly accessible system components are identified
- [b] subnetworks for publicly accessible system components are separated from internal organizational networks
NIST SP 800-171A, determination statements for 3.13.5.
For assessors: examine, interview, test
NIST SP 800-171A names what an assessor may examine, whom they may interview, and what they may test for this requirement. Assessors select from these lists; they are not a checklist of everything you must produce.
Examine
- System and communications protection policy
- procedures addressing boundary protection
- system security plan
- list of key internal boundaries of the system
- system design documentation
- boundary protection hardware and software
- system configuration settings and associated documentation
- enterprise security architecture documentation
- system audit logs and records
- other relevant documents or records
Interview
- System or network administrators
- personnel with information security responsibilities
- system developers
- personnel with boundary protection responsibilities
Test
- Mechanisms implementing boundary protection capability
NIST SP 800-171A, potential assessment methods and objects for 3.13.5.
Evidence
No evidence examples are published for this requirement yet. The objectives above are what an assessor checks; evidence is whatever shows each one is true in your environment, dated and kept with your system security plan.
Scoring weight
Worth 5 points. Not meeting this requirement subtracts 5 from your 110-point SPRS score. These are the requirements with the largest effect on your posture.
DoD NIST SP 800-171 Assessment Methodology v1.2.1 weighting, as carried in the Bedrock scoring table. The score starts at 110 and subtracts the weight of every requirement not met.
In Rev. 3
Rev. 2 is what your contract requires today. A standing DoD class deviation keeps Rev. 2 in force; NIST has published Rev. 3, but it is not adopted for contracts. In Rev. 3 this requirement is withdrawn and incorporated elsewhere: 03.13.01 Boundary Protection.
See the Rev. 2 and Rev. 3 wording word by word, or start with the status page.
Related requirements
Where this page's facts come from
- Requirement text
- bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/004_reference_requirements.sql#Requirement.basicRequirement@rev2
- Discussion
- bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/004_reference_requirements.sql#Requirement.discussion@rev2
- Practice name
- bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/004_reference_requirements.sql#Requirement.title@rev2 (CMMC Assessment Guide practice name)
- Objectives
- bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/005_reference_objectives.sql#AssessmentObjective.description@rev2
- Examine, interview, test
- bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/005_reference_objectives.sql#AssessmentObjective.description@rev2 ({examineGuidance, interviewGuidance, testGuidance})
- Level
- bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/021_fix_level1_requirements.sql#Requirement.cmmcLevel@rev2
- Weight
- bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:internal/cmmc/requirement_values.go#requirementValues (DoD AM v1.2.1 / eMASS L2 template v3.8)
- Rev. 3 mapping
- bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:docs/reference/nist-800-171-rev3/normalized/r2_r3_transition_map.json#r2_to_r3
- Plain-language title and summary
- editorial/CMMC Navigator.dc.html#RAW (Foxx Cyber editorial)