AU-9(4)_access-by-subset-of-privileged-users

DevOps & Security

Authorize access to management of audit logging functionality to only [organization-defined].

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AU-9(4) Access by Subset of Privileged Users

Enhancement of: AU-9

High-Level Description

Family: Audit and Accountability (AU) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

Individuals or roles with privileged access to a system and who are also the subject of an audit by that system may affect the reliability of the audit information by inhibiting audit activities or modifying audit records. Requiring privileged access to be further defined between audit-related privileges and other privileges limits the number of users or roles with audit-related privileges.

What to Check

Verify AU-9(4) Access by Subset of Privileged Users is documented in SSP
Confirm control is operating effectively
Review evidence of continuous monitoring for AU-9(4)
Verify enhancement builds upon base control AU-9

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for AU-9(4) implementation details. Verify the organization has documented how this control is satisfied.

Step 2: Validate Implementation

# For cloud environments, use cloud-audit-mcp tools
# For on-premises, review system configurations directly

# Example: Check if account management policies exist
grep -r "account.management\|access.control" /etc/security/ 2>/dev/null

Step 3: Test Operating Effectiveness

Verify the control is actively functioning, not just documented. Check logs, configurations, and operational evidence.

Tools

Tool	Purpose	Usage
cloud-audit-mcp	Check logging configuration	`cloud_audit_logging`
AWS CLI	Review CloudTrail/CloudWatch	`aws cloudtrail describe-trails`

Remediation Guide

Control Statement

Authorize access to management of audit logging functionality to only [organization-defined].

Implementation Guidance

Risk Assessment

Finding	Severity	Impact
AU-9(4) Access by Subset of Privileged Users not implemented	Medium	Audit and Accountability
AU-9(4) partially implemented	Low	Incomplete Audit and Accountability

CWE Categories

CWE ID	Title
CWE-778	Insufficient Logging

References

Checklist

Control documented in SSP
Implementation evidence collected
Operating effectiveness validated
Continuous monitoring in place
Related controls (AC-5) reviewed