11.3.1.2 Authenticated internal vulnerability scanning

Internal vulnerability scans must use authenticated scanning, with these conditions: systems that cannot accept scanning credentials are documented; systems that do accept credentials are scanned with sufficient privileges; and where scanning accounts permit interactive logins, those accounts are governed per Requirement 8.2.2. Applicability: authenticated tools may run on the host or over the network. 'Sufficient' privileges means enough access to system resources for a thorough scan that finds known vulnerabilities. The requirement does not cover components unable to accept credentials, such as mainframes, containers and certain network or security appliances. Objective under the customized approach: automated tools can find vulnerabilities local to each system that are invisible from a remote vantage point. Future-dated: treated as a best practice up to 31 March 2025 and mandatory since then.

Source: PCI DSS v4.0.1, 11.3.1.2. 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 PCI DSS v4.0.1 in the compliance library.

Version 4.0.1 is the active version; 4.0 has been retired. Appendix A1 applies only to multi-tenant service providers, A2 only to card-present POS POI terminals that still use SSL or early TLS, and A3 only when a payment brand or acquirer requires it. Which requirements apply to you follows your validation type.