Skip to content

Configuration Management

What is Configuration Management?

A process for systematically managing, organizing, and controlling changes to system configurations to maintain integrity and traceability.

Governance

Each of these is named in at least one of the same controls as configuration management. The number is how many controls name both.

What the standards actually require on configuration management

Requirements naming configuration management across 6 standards, quoted from the control text.

NIST SP 800-1288 controls

Establish the SecCM policy and procedures that address purpose, scope, roles, responsibilities, and compliance.

SP800-128-POLICY · Configuration Management Policy and Procedures

Requires a configuration management policy with supporting procedures to be developed, approved, disseminated to defined personnel, owned by a named official, and reviewed and updated on a defined frequency and after defined events.

NIST800-CM-1 · Policy and procedures for configuration management

Licensees must maintain configuration management for critical digital assets throughout their lifecycle.

RG5.71-C.6 · Configuration Management
FedRAMP High3 controls

Develop, document, implement configuration management plan addressing roles, processes, items under CM, identification scheme.

CM-9 · Configuration Management Plan
NIST SP 800-1603 controls

Manage and control system elements and configurations over the life cycle, preserving security-relevant configuration integrity.

SP800-160-TM-CONFIG · Configuration Management Process

Requires the developer or supplier to manage configuration of what they deliver, and to prove it.

161R1-SA-10 · Developer Configuration Management

Questions people ask about configuration management

What is Configuration Management?
A process for systematically managing, organizing, and controlling changes to system configurations to maintain integrity and traceability.
Why is Configuration Management important for compliance?
Configuration Management is a key concept in Governance. Understanding configuration management helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, reduce risk, and demonstrate due diligence during audits. Our compliance platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings.
Which compliance frameworks address Configuration Management?
Configuration Management appears in the requirement text of NIST SP 800-128, NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5, NRC 10 CFR 73.54 - Nuclear Facility Cybersecurity, FedRAMP High, NIST SP 800-160. Across these standards we have identified 27 controls that name it directly, each linked to the control text on the compliance platform.
Where can I learn more about Configuration Management?
Explore our compliance framework pages to see how configuration management applies across different standards and regulations. Our implementation guides provide step-by-step guidance, and the compliance platform offers AI-powered analysis of how this concept maps across 686 frameworks.

See how Configuration Management applies across compliance frameworks

Our platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings. Explore how this concept is addressed across standards.

Written and maintained by Gerard Blokdyk, The Art of Service.