EvidenceSheet
NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 · SA - System and Services Acquisition

SA-15(7) Development Process, Standards, and Tools | Automated Vulnerability Analysis

Require the developer of the system, system component, or system service organization-defined frequency to: (a) Perform an automated vulnerability analysis using organization-defined tools; (b) Determine the exploitation potential for discovered vulnerabilities; (c) Determine potential risk mitigations for delivered vulnerabilities; and (d) Deliver the outputs of the tools and results of the analysis to organization-defined personnel or roles.

Source: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5, SA-15(7). 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.

10
artefacts
1
held by a system
2
at each review
hard
to go live
Policy repository / GRC workspace
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

  • Vulnerability analysis results · Vulnerability scanner / patch tooling

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

  • Risk assessment reports · Policy repository / GRC workspace
  • Test of Organizational processes for vulnerability analysis of systems, system components, or system services under development; mechanisms supporting and/or implementing vulnerability analysis of systems, system components, or system services under development · Vulnerability scanner / patch tooling

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

  • System and services acquisition policy · Policy repository / GRC workspace
  • Procedures addressing development process, standards, and tools · Policy repository / GRC workspace
  • Solicitation documentation · Document repository
  • Acquisition documentation · Document repository
  • Service level agreements · Vendor register / contract repository
  • Acquisition contracts for the system, system component, or system service · Vendor register / contract repository
  • Vulnerability analysis tools and associated documentation · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

Mostly documents and reviews. Pull the 1 system-held artefact from your Vulnerability scanner / patch tooling on a schedule; put the documents under version control with an owner and review date, and log each review as a dated record with a named reviewer.

Common gaps auditors find

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

SA-15(6) Development Process, Standards, and Tools | Continuous Improvement · SA-15(8) Development Process, Standards, and Tools | Reuse of Threat and Vulnerability Information