3.8.8No anonymous USB drives in Rev. 3
Withdrawn and incorporated elsewhere: 03.08.07 Media Use.
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 3.8.8 Shared Media
Assessment objectives · 800-171A
- [a] the use of portable storage devices is prohibited when such devices have no identifiable owner
Rev. 3 · not adopted 03.08.07 Media Use
a. Restrict or prohibit the use of [Assignment: organization-defined types of system media].
b. Prohibit the use of removable system media without an identifiable owner.
Determination statements · 800-171A Rev. 3
- 03.08.07.a the use of the following types of system media is restricted or prohibited: <A.03.08.07.ODP[01]: types of system media>.
- 03.08.07.b the use of removable system media without an identifiable owner is prohibited.
Organization-defined parameters
- A.03.08.07.ODP[01] types of system media with usage restrictions or that are prohibited from use are defined.
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 3.8.8 → Rev. 3 03.08.07 Media Use
6 words kept, 8 removed, 17 added. Rev. 3 statement labels omitted for the comparison.
What NIST says changed
Rev. 3 withdraws this requirement as a separate item and folds it into another requirement. NIST's note: Incorporated into 03.08.07.
NIST's Rev. 3 discussion for 03.08.07
In contrast to requirement <a href="#/cprt/framework/version/SP_800_171_3_0_0/home?element=03.08.01">03.08.01</a>, which restricts user access to media, this requirement restricts or prohibits the use of certain types of media, such as external hard drives, flash drives, or smart displays. Organizations can use technical and non-technical measures (e.g., policies, procedures, and rules of behavior) to control the use of system media. For example, organizations may control the use of portable storage devices by using physical cages on workstations to prohibit access to external ports or disabling or removing the ability to insert, read, or write to devices. Organizations may limit the use of portable storage devices to only approved devices, including devices provided by the organization, devices provided by other approved organizations, and devices that are not personally owned. Organizations may also control the use of portable storage devices based on the type of device — prohibiting the use of writeable, portable devices — and implement this restriction by disabling or removing the capability to write to such devices. Limits on the use of organization-controlled system media in external systems include restrictions on how the media may be used and under what conditions. Requiring identifiable owners (e.g., individuals, organizations, or projects) for removable system media reduces the risk of using such technologies by allowing organizations to assign responsibility and accountability for addressing known vulnerabilities in the media (e.g., insertion of malicious code).
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 3.8.8 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 03.08.07
- bedrock-cmmc-api@89b8e8e:docs/reference/nist-800-171-rev3/normalized/rev3.json#requirements[]