3.5.11Hide password entry in Rev. 3
No significant change: 03.05.11 Authentication Feedback.
Status as of 2026-09-08
Rev. 2 is what a contract requires today. DFARS 252.204-7012 and the CMMC rule at 32 CFR 170 point at NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2, and a standing DoD class deviation keeps it there. NIST has published Rev. 3, but publishing a revision does not change an obligation. A move to Rev. 3 would arrive through the Department's reform process and formal rulemaking, a change to that deviation or an amendment to the rule, not through publication. The Department has published its organization-defined parameter values for Rev. 3 in preparation; that is groundwork, not adoption.
Side by side
Rev. 2 · in force 3.5.11 Obscure Feedback
Assessment objectives · 800-171A
- [a] authentication information is obscured during the authentication process
Rev. 3 · not adopted 03.05.11 Authentication Feedback
Obscure feedback of authentication information during the authentication process.
Determination statements · 800-171A Rev. 3
- 03.05.11 feedback of authentication information during the authentication process is obscured.
Draws on Rev. 2 3.5.11.
Left: NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 and 800-171A, verbatim. Right: NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 and 800-171A Rev. 3, verbatim, with organization-defined blanks highlighted.
Word by word
The Rev. 2 requirement compared with its Rev. 3 successor. A mechanical comparison of the two verbatim texts, not an interpretation.
removed in Rev. 3 added in Rev. 3
Rev. 2 3.5.11 → Rev. 3 03.05.11 Authentication Feedback
5 words kept, 0 removed, 4 added. Rev. 3 statement labels omitted for the comparison.
What NIST says changed
- New security requirement title
NIST, SP 800-171 Rev. 2 to Rev. 3 change analysis, class “No significant change”. At adoption, Bedrock files this under “Carries as-is”.
NIST's Rev. 3 discussion for 03.05.11
Authentication feedback does not provide information that would allow unauthorized individuals to compromise authentication mechanisms. For example, for desktop or notebook systems with relatively large monitors, the threat may be significant (commonly referred to as shoulder surfing). For mobile devices with small displays, this threat may be less significant and is balanced against the increased likelihood of input errors due to small keyboards. Therefore, the means of obscuring authenticator feedback is selected accordingly. Obscuring feedback includes displaying asterisks when users type passwords into input devices or displaying feedback for a limited time before fully obscuring it.
What this means for you now
Nothing changes in what you are assessed against until a class deviation or a published rule adopts Rev. 3. Keep meeting 3.5.11 as written in Rev. 2.
Bedrock CMMC shows this same comparison against your own package, with your current status on the Rev. 2 side, so the day adoption lands the migration is a review, not a rewrite.
Where this page's facts come from
- Rev. 2 text and objectives
- bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/004_reference_requirements.sql#Requirement.basicRequirement@rev2; bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:migrations/005_reference_objectives.sql#AssessmentObjective.description@rev2
- Mapping and change class
- bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:docs/reference/nist-800-171-rev3/normalized/r2_r3_transition_map.json#r2_to_r3
- Rev. 3 03.05.11
- bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:docs/reference/nist-800-171-rev3/normalized/rev3.json#requirements[]