12.1 Ensure Network Infrastructure is Up-to-Date
Keep network infrastructure current, for example by running the latest stable software release or using supported network-as-a-service offerings, and check software versions at least monthly to confirm they remain supported. Implementation Groups: IG1, IG2 and IG3 (part of the IG1 essential cyber hygiene baseline, so every enterprise applies it). Asset type: Network. Security function: Protect.
Source: CIS Controls v8.1, 12.1. The statement above is our statement of the clause, read from the published text and cited so you can check it against the official text, not the instrument verbatim. Open CIS Controls v8.1 in the compliance library.
Each safeguard shows its Implementation Groups. IG1 is the essential baseline for every enterprise, IG2 adds to it, IG3 is all 153. Version 8.1 adds the Govern security function and asks for more processes to be documented; numbering is unchanged from v8.
These are the artefacts auditors commonly ask for on this requirement, our guidance rather than text from the standard. Your assessor decides what is sufficient in your context, and asks for samples across the period when a report covers one.
system holds itEvidence a system already holds
- Network device firmware inventory with support status · Endpoint management (MDM / EDR)
- Upgrade change tickets · Ticketing / ITSM
periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review
- Monthly version review records · Cloud console / configuration management
governing documentDocuments that govern the control
none for this control
First move
Common gaps auditors find
- End-of-support devices in production
- Monthly checks skipped
- Firmware updates deferred indefinitely
Do this for your whole sheet
Paste the rows you run your controls from and get this mapping for every control at once, with the periodic-review ones flagged and a first move per row. No account for the first run.
Build my evidence sheet11.5 Test Data Recovery · 12.2 Establish and Maintain a Secure Network Architecture