EvidenceSheet
PCI DSS v4.0.1 · Req 6: Secure Systems and Software

6.5.1 Change control procedure for production

Every change to a system component in production must follow established procedures that include: the reason for the change and a description of it; documented security impact; documented approval from authorised parties; tests showing the change leaves system security intact; for changes to custom and bespoke software, tests of every update against Requirement 6.2.4 ahead of release to production; and procedures for handling failures and returning to a secure state. It applies to all entities. Objective under the customized approach: every change is tracked, authorised and assessed for its impact and security effects, and changes are handled so they do not unintentionally affect the security of system components.

Source: PCI DSS v4.0.1, 6.5.1. 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.

5
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

  • Deployment logs reconciled against approved change records · SIEM / log platform

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

  • Sample of change tickets with security impact assessment and authorised approvals · Ticketing / ITSM
  • Test results showing security testing before deployment, including 6.2.4 checks for software changes · Ticketing / ITSM

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

  • Change management procedure covering reason, security impact, approval, testing and back-out · Policy repository / GRC workspace
  • Documented rollback or back-out plans attached to changes · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

Mostly documents and reviews. Pull the 1 system-held artefact from your SIEM / log platform 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

6.4.3 Payment page script management · 6.5.2 Confirm PCI DSS controls after significant change