What evidence do auditors commonly ask for on CM-2(3) Baseline Configuration | Retention of Previous Configurations?

Configuration management policy; Procedures addressing the baseline configuration of the system; Configuration management plan; System architecture and configuration documentation; System configuration settings and associated documentation; Copies of previous baseline configuration versions.

What is the most common gap auditors find on CM-2(3)?

The number of previous baseline configurations to retain for rollback was never defined

NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 · CM - Configuration Management

`CM-2(3)` Baseline Configuration | Retention of Previous Configurations

Retain organization-defined number of previous versions of baseline configurations of the system to support rollback.

Source: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5, CM-2(3). 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 NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 in the compliance library.

Base controls and their enhancements. Which apply follows the baseline you are assessed against (for example FedRAMP Moderate or High, or the low, moderate and high baselines of SP 800-53B). Text in square brackets is a parameter your organisation sets.

artefacts

held by a system

at each review

moderate

to go live

Cloud console / configuration management

where the evidence lives

teal = a system already holds it · olive = produced at each review. To go live: easy when half or more of the artefacts are already held by a system, moderate from a quarter to a half, hard below a quarter.

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

Procedures addressing the baseline configuration of the system · Cloud console / configuration management
Copies of previous baseline configuration versions · Cloud console / configuration management

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

Test of Organizational processes for managing baseline configurations · Cloud console / configuration management

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

Configuration management policy · Policy repository / GRC workspace
Configuration management plan · Policy repository / GRC workspace
System architecture and configuration documentation · Policy repository / GRC workspace
System configuration settings and associated documentation · Policy repository / GRC workspace
System security plan · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

Start with the 2 of 8 artefacts that already live in a system (Cloud console / configuration management); keep the periodic reviews but log each one as a dated record with a named reviewer.

Common gaps auditors find

The number of previous baseline configurations to retain for rollback was never defined
Previous baseline versions are not retained, so the organization cannot roll back after a failed change

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 sheet

CM-2(2) Baseline Configuration | Automation Support for Accuracy and Currency · CM-2(6) Baseline Configuration | Development and Test Environments