2.5 Allowlist Authorized Software
Apply technical controls such as application allowlisting so that only authorised software can run or be reached, and reassess the allowlist at least twice a year. Implementation Groups: IG2 and IG3 (not in the IG1 baseline; applies from IG2 upward). Asset type: Software. Security function: Protect.
Source: CIS Controls v8.1, 2.5. 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
- Allowlisting policy configuration (for example AppLocker, WDAC or equivalent) in enforce mode · Endpoint management (MDM / EDR)
periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review
- Coverage report of devices with the policy applied · Endpoint management (MDM / EDR)
- Six-monthly allowlist review records · Endpoint management (MDM / EDR)
governing documentDocuments that govern the control
none for this control
First move
Common gaps auditors find
- Policy deployed in audit-only mode indefinitely
- Broad path rules that allow user-writable folders
- No reassessment after major software changes
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 sheet2.4 Utilize Automated Software Inventory Tools · 2.6 Allowlist Authorized Libraries