EvidenceSheet
PCI DSS v4.0.1 · Appendix A2: Entities using SSL/early TLS for card-present POS POI terminal connections

A2.1.1 Confirm SSL/early TLS POS POI devices resist known exploits

Where POS POI terminals at a merchant or payment acceptance site still use SSL or early TLS, the entity must verify that no known exploit of those protocols works against the devices. Applicability: aimed at the entity owning the terminal, such as a merchant, not at service providers acting as termination or connection points (those providers are covered by A2.1.3 and A2.1.2). The allowance rests on currently known risks; if a new exploit affects the terminals, they will need to be updated immediately. Guidance: moving to a secure protocol at the earliest opportunity is strongly recommended, and where the environment does not need SSL/early TLS, its use and fallback should be disabled. Objective under the customized approach: not eligible for the customized approach.

Source: PCI DSS v4.0.1, A2.1.1. 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
2
held by a system
1
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

  • Terminal network and TLS configuration details · Cloud console / configuration management
  • Vulnerability-tracking records for SSL/TLS advisories · Vulnerability scanner / patch tooling

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

  • Vendor attestation that terminal models are not exposed to known SSL/early TLS exploits · Vendor register / contract repository

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

  • Inventory of POS POI terminals with protocol versions in use · Policy repository / GRC workspace
  • Migration plan or upgrade schedule for legacy terminals · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

Start with the 2 of 5 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

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

A1.2.3 Customer reporting and remediation of incidents and vulnerabilities · A2.1.2 Risk Mitigation and Migration Plan for SSL/early TLS connections