Month: July 2026

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) are excited to announce their 2026 Conference, “Safeguarding Health Information: Building Assurance Through HIPAA Security 2026”.

DATES: September 2 – 3, 2026

LOCATION: NIST Gaithersburg Campus, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899

CONTENT: The conference will include panels and presentations addressing a variety of topics including practical strategies, tips and techniques for implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Security Rule, managing cybersecurity risk and implementing practical cybersecurity solutions, understanding current cybersecurity threats to the healthcare community, updates from federal healthcare agencies, cybersecurity considerations when adopting new technologies, and more.

Registration for the event is now open for both in-person and virtual attendance.

Please visit the event web page for more details and to register for the conference.

Hope to see you there!

Securing AI Data Center: Architecture, Security Posture, and Emerging Standards Workshop Remember to register for the Secure AI Data Center Workshop before Tuesday, July 21, 2026. The agenda is now available. Data centers are the computing infrastructure that powers the training and inference of artificial intelligence (AI), and they have become a critical element of national security, economic strength, and technological dominance. To address the urgent need for robust technical standards outlined in America’s AI Action Plan, NIST (ITL, CAISI) and the DoW High-Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) are proud to host the virtual workshop, “Securing AI Data Center: Architecture, Security Posture, and Emerging Standards,” on July 22-23, 2026. This two-day event will bring together stakeholders from government, industry, and academia to collaborate on the future of AI data center security. Critical topics will include hardware and software architecture, physical and personnel security, regulatory compliance, and supply chain resilience. The community of interest is invited to help define future directions, review ongoing NIST activities, and establish the security posture necessary for protecting next-generation AI infrastructure. Register today to join the workshop and help shape emerging standards. Register Now NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Program CSRC Website questions: csrc-inquiry@nist.gov

The initial public draft (ipd) of NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-209r1, Security Guidelines for Storage Infrastructure, is now available for public comment.

Storage technology has evolved in two primary directions: (1) increased media storage capacity and (2) architectural changes that provide a software-based abstraction over all forms of background storage technologies. However, the latter evolution has increased management complexity and the probability of configuration errors and associated security threats. This document traces the evolution of the storage technology landscape and analyzes current security threats and resultant risks to provide a comprehensive set of security recommendations in the form of storage security controls.

The public comment period is open through September 8, 2026. See the publication details for a copy of the draft, instructions for submitting comments, and a summary of important changes in this revision.

NOTE: A call for patent claims is included in this draft. For additional information, see the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) Patent Policy – Inclusion of Patents in ITL Publications.

Read More

NIST invites public comments on the initial public draft (ipd) of Special Publication (SP) 800-239, AI Data Center Security Analysis: A High-Performance Computing (HPC) Driven Approach, which examines the security landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

Building upon established principles from high-performance computing (HPC) threat analyses and security overlays, this publication delivers a thorough threat and security gap analysis for purpose-built AI infrastructure used in model training, inference, and applications. By contrasting AI data centers with traditional HPC systems across architecture, hardware, software stacks, workflows, and storage systems, the publication pinpoints critical security threats and outlines possible solutions to safeguard next-generation AI environments.

The public comment period is open through September 25, 2026. See the publication details for a copy of the draft and instructions for submitting comments.

NOTE: A call for patent claims is included in this draft. For additional information, see the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) Patent Policy – Inclusion of Patents in ITL Publications.

Read More

The Technology Test and Evaluation Division at NIST is launching a new program to provide researchers with a sequestered testbed environment for the evaluation of AI model performance in a variety of meaningful tasks across diverse datasets, modalities, and domains.

The Artificial Intelligence Technology Evaluation (AITE) provides volunteer testing of AI models on blind data and its sequestered environment mitigates the risk of train/test data contamination to ensure rigorous, objective assessment. The three initial tasks focus on image analysis using large vision language models (VLMs) in the context of (1) quantum science, (2) genomics, (3) public safety. Additional tasks will be added over time. The infrastructure provided by NIST will provide common data, metrics and scoring to help developers understand the performance of their models.

AITE will rely on engagement from participants in two different tracks, each offering distinct advantages:

• Data providers submit an original dataset in their domain that is inaccessible to others and a meaningful task to be performed on that dataset. Data providers will receive careful measurements of top models on their data conducting their task.
• Model providers submit AI models to be tested on the datasets and tasks. Model providers will learn how their models perform on an increasing number of datasets and tasks, and how their models perform relative to others on the same data using the same metrics, improving comparability while ensuring the evaluation data is not used for training any model.

Participation is open to all who wish to engage in one of the ways described above, and who can abide by the AITE Participation Agreement and rules. To request participation or ask questions, contact us at aite-poc@list.nist.gov.

To learn more, we invite you to explore the AITE evaluation overview and specifications for the initial three tasks. These resources can be found by clicking the button below.

Learn More

Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Oracle products, the most severe of which could allow for remote code execution. Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could result in an attacker gaining the same privileges as the logged-on user. Depending on the privileges associated with the user, an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights. 

THREAT INTELLIGENCE:
There are currently no reports of these vulnerabilities being exploited in the wild. 

SYSTEMS AFFECTED:

• GoldenGate Stream Analytics, versions 19.1.0.0.0-19.1.0.0.15, 26.1.0.0.0
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Advanced Pricing – Procurement, version 9.2
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Configurator, version 9.2
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne CRM Foundation, version 9.2
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne General Ledger, version 9.2
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne HCM Foundation, version 9.2
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Human Resources Management, version 9.2
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Procurement and Subcontract Management, version 9.2
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Requirements Planning, version 9.2
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Solution Advisor, version 9.2
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools, version 9.2.26.3
• Management Cloud Engine, version 25.2.0.0.0
• MySQL Cluster, versions 8.0.0-8.0.47, 8.4.0-8.4.10, 9.7.0-9.7.1, 8.0.0-8.0.47, 8.4.0-8.4.10, 9.0.0-9.7.1
• MySQL Connectors, versions 9.7.0-9.7.1
• MySQL Router, versions 8.4.0-8.4.10, 9.7.0-9.7.1
• MySQL Server, versions 8.4.0-8.4.10, 9.0.0-9.7.1
• OPatch, versions 12.2.0.1.16-12.2.0.1.51
• Oracle Access Manager, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.1.0, 15.1.1.0.0
• Oracle Agile Engineering Data Management, version 6.2.1
• Oracle Agile PLM, version 9.3.6
• Oracle Agile PLM MCAD Connector, version 3.6
• Oracle Agile Product Lifecycle Management for Process, version 6.2.4
• Oracle APEX, versions 24.1, 24.2, 26.1
• Oracle Application Testing Suite, version 13.3.0.1
• Oracle Autonomous Health Framework, versions 25.1, 26.0.0, 26.1.0, 26.2.0, 26.3.0, 26.5.0
• Oracle Banking Corporate Lending Process Management, versions 14.6.0-14.8.0
• Oracle Banking Liquidity Management, versions 14.5.0-14.8.0
• Oracle Banking Origination, versions 14.5.0-14.8.0
• Oracle Banking Payments, versions 14.5.0-14.8.0
• Oracle Banking Trade Finance, versions 14.6.0-14.8.0
• Oracle Banking Trade Finance Process Management, versions 14.6.0-14.8.0
• Oracle Banking Virtual Account Management, versions 14.5.0-14.8.0
• Oracle BI Publisher, versions 8.2.0.0.0, 12.2.1.4.0, 26.1.0.0.0
• Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition, versions 8.2.0.0.0, 26.1.0.0.0
• Oracle Business Process Management Suite, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0
• Oracle Cloud Native Session Border Controller, version 26.0.0
• Oracle Coherence, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.1.0.0, 14.1.2.0.0, 15.1.1.0.0
• Oracle Commerce Guided Search, version 11.4.0
• Oracle Commerce Guided Search / Oracle Commerce Experience Manager, version 11.4.0
• Oracle Commerce Guided Search Platform Services, version 11.4.0
• Oracle Commerce Platform, version 11.4.0
• Oracle Commerce Service Center, version 11.4.0
• Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management, versions 15.0.0.0.0-15.0.1.0.0, 15.1.0.0.0-15.2.0.0.0
• Oracle Communications BRM – Elastic Charging Engine, versions 15.0.0.0.0-15.0.1.0.0, 15.1.0.0.0-15.2.0.0.0
• Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Binding Support Function, versions 25.1.200, 25.2.200
• Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Certificate Management, version 25.2.200
• Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Console, versions 25.1.203, 25.2.201
• Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core DBTier, versions 25.1.200, 25.2.200
• Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Network Exposure Function, versions 24.2.0, 24.2.5
• Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Network Function Cloud Native Environment, version 25.2.200
• Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Network Repository Function, version 25.2.201
• Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Network Slice Selection Function, version 25.2.200
• Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Policy, versions 24.2.0, 24.2.7, 25.1.200, 25.2.200
• Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Security Edge Protection Proxy, versions 25.1.203, 25.2.200
• Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Service Communication Proxy, versions 25.1.200, 25.2.100, 25.2.200
• Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Unified Data Repository, versions 25.2.200, 25.200
• Oracle Communications Converged Application Server, versions 8.2, 8.3
• Oracle Communications Convergent Charging Controller, versions 15.0.0.0.0, 15.2.0.0.0
• Oracle Communications Diameter Signaling Router, versions 6.0.2.2.0, 6.1.0.0.0, 6.2.0.0.0, 6.3.0.0.0, 9.0.0, 9.0.0.0.0-10.0.15
• Oracle Communications Instant Messaging Server, version 10.0.1.8.0
• Oracle Communications Messaging Server, version 8.1.0.0
• Oracle Communications Network Analytics Data Director, versions 24.2.0, 24.2.0.0.1, 24.3.4, 25.1.200, 25.2.100, 25.2.200
• Oracle Communications Network Charging and Control, versions 15.0.0.0.0, 15.0.1.0.0
• Oracle Communications Network Integrity, versions 7.3.6, 7.4.0, 7.5.0, 8.0.0
• Oracle Communications Offline Mediation Controller, versions 15.0.0.0.0-15.2.0.0.0
• Oracle Communications Operations Monitor, versions 5.2, 6.0, 6.1
• Oracle Communications Order and Service Management, versions 7.4.1, 7.5.0, 8.0.0
• Oracle Communications Performance Intelligence Center, versions 10.5.0.1.0, 10.5.0.2.0
• Oracle Communications Policy Management, version 15.0.0.0
• Oracle Communications Pricing Design Center, versions 15.0.0.0.0, 15.0.1.0.0, 15.1.0.0.0, 15.2.0.0.0
• Oracle Communications Service Catalog and Design, versions 8.0.0.7.0-8.3.0.3.0
• Oracle Communications Session Border Controller, versions 9.3.0, 10.0.0, 10.1.0
• Oracle Communications Unified Assurance, versions 6.1.1-7.0.0
• Oracle Communications Unified Inventory Management, versions 7.5.0, 7.5.1, 7.6.0, 7.7.0, 7.8.0, 8.0.1
• Oracle Communications User Data Repository, version 15.0
• Oracle Data Integrator, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0
• Oracle Database Server, versions 19.3-19.31, 21.3-21.22, 23.4.0-23.26.2
• Oracle Demantra Demand Management, versions 12.2.3-12.2.15
• Oracle E-Business Suite, versions 12.2.3-12.215, V16
• Oracle Enterprise Communications Broker, versions 4.2.0, 5.0.0, 5.1.0
• Oracle Enterprise Data Quality, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0
• Oracle Enterprise Manager Base Platform, versions 13.5, 24.1
• Oracle Enterprise Manager for Fusion Middleware, version 13.5
• Oracle Enterprise Manager for MySQL Database, versions 13.5.4.0.0-13.5.5.0.0
• Oracle Essbase, version 21.8.1.0.0
• Oracle Financial Services Analytical Applications Infrastructure, versions 8.0.7.9.0, 8.0.8.7.0, 8.1.2.5.0
• Oracle Financial Services Compliance Studio, versions 8.1.2.9, 8.1.3.0, 8.1.3.1
• Oracle Financial Services Model Management and Governance, version 8.1.2.7
• Oracle Fusion Middleware, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0
• Oracle Global Lifecycle Management NextGen OUI Framework, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.1.0.0, 14.1.2.0.0, 14.1.2.1.0, 15.1.1.0.0
• Oracle GoldenGate, versions 19.1.0.0.0-19.30.0.0, 21.3-21.21, 23.4-23.26.2
• Oracle GoldenGate Big Data and Application Adapters, versions 19.1.0.0.0-19.1.0.0.22, 21.3-21.20, 23.4-23.26.1
• Oracle GoldenGate Stream Analytics, versions 19.1.0.0.0-19.1.0.0.15
• Oracle GoldenGate Studio, versions 23.8.0-23.26.1
• Oracle GoldenGate Veridata, versions 23.1.0.0.0-23.26.1.0.0.0
• Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition, version 21.3.18
• Oracle GraalVM for JDK, versions 17.0.19, 21.0.11
• Oracle Graph Server and Client, versions 25.4.1, 25.4.2, 26.1.0
• Oracle Health Sciences Information Manager, versions 4.0.0-4.0.2
• Oracle Healthcare Data Repository, versions 8.2.0.0-8.2.0.7
• Oracle Healthcare Master Person Index, versions 5.0.0.0-5.0.9.6
• Oracle Hospitality Cruise Shipboard Property Management (SPMS), versions 23.1, 23.2
• Oracle Hospitality Simphony, versions 19.8-19.8.5, 19.9-19.9.3, 19.10
• Oracle HTTP Server, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0
• Oracle Identity Manager, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.1.0
• Oracle Identity Manager Connector, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.1.0
• Oracle Java SE, versions 8u491, 8u491-perf, 11.0.31, 17.0.19, 21.0.11, 25.0.3, 26.0.1
• Oracle JDeveloper, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0
• Oracle Managed File Transfer, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0
• Oracle Middleware Common Libraries and Tools, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0
• Oracle NoSQL Database, version 1.7
• Oracle Platform Security for Java, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0
• Oracle Product Lifecycle Analytics, version 3.6.1
• Oracle Retail Allocation, versions 16.0.3, 19.0.1
• Oracle Retail Bulk Data Integration, versions 16.0.3, 19.0.1
• Oracle Retail EFTLink, versions 21.0.0-25.0.0
• Oracle Retail Extract Tranform and Load, version 13.2.8
• Oracle Retail Financial Integration, versions 16.0.3, 19.0.1
• Oracle Retail Integration Bus, versions 14.1.3.2, 16.0.3, 19.0.1
• Oracle Retail Invoice Matching, versions 16.0.3, 19.0.1
• Oracle Retail Price Management, version 16.0.3
• Oracle Retail Pricing, versions 16.0.3, 19.0.1
• Oracle Retail Service Backbone, versions 16.0.3, 19.0.1
• Oracle Retail Xstore Point of Service, versions 21.0.3, 21.0.5-25.0.1
• Oracle Security Service, version 12.2.1.4.0
• Oracle SOA Suite, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0
• Oracle Solaris, versions 11.3, 11.4
• Oracle Spatial Studio, versions 23.2.1, 24.2
• Oracle SQL Developer, versions 19.3-24.3
• Oracle Transportation Management, version 6.5.3
• Oracle Unified Directory, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.1.0
• Oracle Utilities Application Framework, versions 4.3.0.5.0-4.3.0.6.0, 4.4.0.0.0, 4.4.0.2.0-4.4.0.4.0, 4.5.0.0.0-4.5.0.1.1, 4.5.0.1.3, 4.5.0.2.0, 25.4, 25.10, 26.4
• Oracle Utilities Network Management System, versions 2.4.0.1.0-2.4.0.1.32, 2.5.0.1.0-2.5.0.1.17, 2.5.0.2.0-2.5.0.2.11, 2.6.0.1.0-2.6.0.1.12, 2.6.0.2.0-2.6.0.2.8, 25.12.0.0.0-25.12.0.0.2
• Oracle Utilities Testing Accelerator, versions 7.0.0.0.8, 7.0.0.1.7, 25.4.0.0.3
• Oracle VM VirtualBox, versions 7.2.8, 7.2.12
• Oracle WebCenter Content, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0
• Oracle WebCenter Enterprise Capture, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0
• Oracle WebCenter Portal, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0
• Oracle WebCenter Sites, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0
• Oracle WebLogic Server, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.1.0.0, 14.1.2.0.0, 15.1.1.0.0
• Oracle Weblogic Server Proxy Plug-in, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0, 15.1.1.0.0
• PeopleSoft Enterprise CC Common Application Objects, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM Common Objects, version 9.2.23
• PeopleSoft Enterprise CS Campus Community, version 9.2.38
• PeopleSoft Enterprise CS Financial Aid, version 9.2.38
• PeopleSoft Enterprise CS Student Financials, version 9.2.38
• PeopleSoft Enterprise CS Student Records, version 9.2.38
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Billing Argentina, version 9.1
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Cash Management, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Common Objects, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Common Objects Argentina, version 9.1
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Common Objects Brazil, version 9.1
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Engineering Argentina, version 9.1
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN eSettlements, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Expenses, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN General Ledger Argentina, version 9.1
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Grants, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Manufacturing Argentina, version 9.1
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Manufacturing Brazil, version 9.1
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Pay/Bill Management, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Payables, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Program Management, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Project Costing, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Staffing Front Office, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Staffing Front Office Brazil, version 9.1
• PeopleSoft Enterprise HCM Global Payroll Mexico, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise HCM Global Payroll Switzerland, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise HCM Human Resources, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise HCM Talent Acquisition Manager, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools, versions 8.61, 8.62
• PeopleSoft Enterprise SCM eProcurement, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise SCM Inventory, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise SCM Manufacturing, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise SCM Mobile Inventory Management, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise SCM Order Management, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise SCM Purchasing, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft Enterprise SCM Supplier Contract Management, version 9.2
• PeopleSoft In-Memory Project Discovery, version 9.2
• Primavera Gateway, versions 21.12-21.12.17
• Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management, versions 21.12.0.0-21.12.21.8, 22.12.0.0-22.12.21.2, 23.12.0-23.12.19, 24.12.0-24.12.14, 25.12.0-25.12.4
• Primavera Unifier, versions 21.12.0-21.12.17, 22.12.0-22.12.15, 23.12.0-23.12.16, 24.12.0-24.12.14, 25.12.0-25.12.6
• Service Delivery Platform, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0
• Siebel Applications, versions 17.0-26.5
• TimesTen In-Memory Database, versions 22.1.1.1.0, 26.1.1.1.0
• WebCenter Content: Imaging, versions 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.2.0.0

RISK:
Government:

• Large and medium government entities: High
• Small government: High

Businesses:

• Large and medium business entities: High
• Small business entities: High

Home Users: Low 

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:
Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Oracle products, the most severe of which could allow for remote code execution. 

A full list of all vulnerabilities can be found in the Oracle link in the References section.

Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could result in remote code execution in the context of the logged-on user. Depending on the privileges associated with the user, an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
We recommend the following actions be taken:

• Apply appropriate updates provided by Oracle to vulnerable systems immediately after appropriate testing. (M1051:Update Software)
  • Safeguard 7.1: Establish and Maintain a Vulnerability Management Process: Establish and maintain a documented vulnerability management process for enterprise assets. Review and update documentation annually, or when significant enterprise changes occur that could impact this Safeguard.
  • Safeguard 7.2: Establish and Maintain a Remediation Process: Establish and maintain a risk-based remediation strategy documented in a remediation process, with monthly, or more frequent, reviews.
  • Safeguard 7.4: Perform Automated Application Patch Management: Perform application updates on enterprise assets through automated patch management on a monthly, or more frequent, basis.
  • Safeguard 7.5 : Perform Automated Vulnerability Scans of Internal Enterprise Assets: Perform automated vulnerability scans of internal enterprise assets on a quarterly, or more frequent, basis. Conduct both authenticated and unauthenticated scans, using a SCAP-compliant vulnerability scanning tool.
  • Safeguard 7.7: Remediate Detected Vulnerabilities: Remediate detected vulnerabilities in software through processes and tooling on a monthly, or more frequent, basis, based on the remediation process.
  • Safeguard 12.1: Ensure Network Infrastructure is Up-to-Date: Ensure network infrastructure is kept up-to-date. Example implementations include running the latest stable release of software and/or using currently supported network-as-a-service (NaaS) offerings. Review software versions monthly, or more frequently, to verify software support.
  • Safeguard 18.1: Establish and Maintain a Penetration Testing Program: Establish and maintain a penetration testing program appropriate to the size, complexity, and maturity of the enterprise. Penetration testing program characteristics include scope, such as network, web application, Application Programming Interface (API), hosted services, and physical premise controls; frequency; limitations, such as acceptable hours, and excluded attack types; point of contact information; remediation, such as how findings will be routed internally; and retrospective requirements.
  • Safeguard 18.2: Perform Periodic External Penetration Tests: Perform periodic external penetration tests based on program requirements, no less than annually. External penetration testing must include enterprise and environmental reconnaissance to detect exploitable information. Penetration testing requires specialized skills and experience and must be conducted through a qualified party. The testing may be clear box or opaque box.
  • Safeguard 18.3: Remediate Penetration Test Findings: Remediate penetration test findings based on the enterprise’s policy for remediation scope and prioritization.
• Apply the Principle of Least Privilege to all systems and services. Run all software as a non-privileged user (one without administrative privileges) to diminish the effects of a successful attack. (M1026:Privileged Account Management)
  • Safeguard 4.7: Manage Default Accounts on Enterprise Assets and Software: Manage default accounts on enterprise assets and software, such as root, administrator, and other pre-configured vendor accounts. Example implementations can include: disabling default accounts or making them unusable.
  • Safeguard 5.4: Restrict Administrator Privileges to Dedicated Administrator Accounts: Restrict administrator privileges to dedicated administrator accounts on enterprise assets. Conduct general computing activities, such as internet browsing, email, and productivity suite use, from the user’s primary, non-privileged account.
  • Safeguard 5.5: Establish and Maintain an Inventory of Service Accounts: Establish and maintain an inventory of service accounts. The inventory, at a minimum, must contain department owner, review date, and purpose. Perform service account reviews to validate that all active accounts are authorized, on a recurring schedule at a minimum quarterly, or more frequently.
• Use capabilities to detect and block conditions that may lead to or be indicative of a software exploit occurring. (M1050:Exploit Protection)
  • Safeguard 10.5: Enable Anti-Exploitation Features: Enable anti-exploitation features on enterprise assets and software, where possible, such as Microsoft® Data Execution Prevention (DEP), Windows® Defender Exploit Guard (WDEG), or Apple® System Integrity Protection (SIP) and Gatekeeper™.
• Block execution of code on a system through application control, and/or script blocking. (M1038:Execution Prevention)
  • Safeguard 2.5: Allowlist Authorized Software: Use technical controls, such as application allowlisting, to ensure that only authorized software can execute or be accessed. Reassess bi-annually, or more frequently.
  • Safeguard 2.6: Allowlist Authorized Libraries: Use technical controls to ensure that only authorized software libraries, such as specific .dll, .ocx, .so, etc., files, are allowed to load into a system process. Block unauthorized libraries from loading into a system process. Reassess bi-annually, or more frequently.
  • Safeguard 2.7: Allowlist Authorized Scripts: Use technical controls, such as digital signatures and version control, to ensure that only authorized scripts, such as specific .ps1, .py, etc., files, are allowed to execute. Block unauthorized scripts from executing. Reassess bi-annually, or more frequently.
• Use capabilities to prevent suspicious behavior patterns from occurring on endpoint systems. This could include suspicious process, file, API call, etc. behavior. (M1040:Behavior Prevention on Endpoint)
  • Safeguard 13.2: Deploy a Host-Based Intrusion Detection Solution: Deploy a host-based intrusion detection solution on enterprise assets, where appropriate and/or supported.
  • Safeguard 13.7: Deploy a Host-Based Intrusion Prevention Solution: Deploy a host-based intrusion prevention solution on enterprise assets, where appropriate and/or supported. Example implementations include use of an Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) client or host-based IPS agent.
• Inform and educate users regarding the threats posed by hypertext links contained in emails or attachments especially from un-trusted sources. Remind users not to visit un-trusted websites or follow links provided by unknown or un-trusted sources. (M1017:User Training)
  • Safeguard 14.1: Establish and Maintain a Security Awareness Program: Establish and maintain a security awareness program. The purpose of a security awareness program is to educate the enterprise’s workforce on how to interact with enterprise assets and data in a secure manner. Conduct training at hire and, at a minimum, annually. Review and update content annually, or when significant enterprise changes occur that could impact this Safeguard.
  • Safeguard 14.2: Train Workforce Members to Recognize Social Engineering Attacks: Train workforce members to recognize social engineering attacks, such as phishing, pre-texting, and tailgating.

REFERENCES:

Oracle:
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2026.html