5.3.5 Users cannot disable or alter anti-malware

Users must not be able to turn off or change anti-malware mechanisms, except where this is specifically documented and authorised by management case by case, for a limited period. Where disabling is needed (for example for maintenance or troubleshooting) the reason should be understood and approved, the change carried out by authorised personnel, and alerting and follow-up should exist when administrators disable protection on their own devices. Applicability: temporary disabling is permitted only for a legitimate technical need with case-by-case management authorisation, and must be formally approved; extra safeguards may be needed while protection is off, such as disconnecting the system from the Internet and running a full scan once protection is restored. Customized approach objective: unauthorised personnel cannot modify anti-malware mechanisms.

Source: PCI DSS v4.0.1, 5.3.5. 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 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.