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Kerberos

What is Kerberos?

A network authentication protocol that uses secret-key cryptography to authenticate client-server applications. Kerberos provides mutual authentication where both the user and server verify each other's identity.

Information Security

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

What the standards actually require on kerberos

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

API 11641 control

The plan must require risk-appropriate access non-repudiation protections and identity proofing, and the binding of assigned unique digital identities (non-shared accounts, tokens, session keys) to real-life identities;

api-1164::PR.AC-6 · PR.AC-6 Non-repudiation, identity proofing and binding of digital identities to real identities →

Credentials for the Kerberos Key Distribution Center's service account (KRBTGT) are changed twice, allowing for replication to all Microsoft AD DS domain controllers in-between each change, if the domain has been directly compromised, the domain is suspected o...

ISM-1847 · Changing KRBTGT account credentials →

The NDM SRG's general requirements, condensed from the Network Management Security Guidance At-a-Glance: management traffic carried on an out-of-band management network whose interface forwards no transit traffic, or where no OOBM port exists a management inte...

disa-security-technical-implementation-guides-stigs::SRG-6 · SRG-6 NDM general requirements: out-of-band or leak-free management network, SNMPv3, logging to syslog, AAA, authenticated NTP, secure image and configuration storage →

NFS services should use versions and security modes that authenticate users and hosts and protect traffic (Kerberos-based security with integrity and privacy where available), restrict exports by host and identity, avoid legacy versions and permissive options,...

iso-iec-27040-2024::10.10.2 · NFS-based NAS →

Security Dimension 2 Authentication per X.805 Clause 6.2: Authentication confirms that each party to a communication (for example a person, device, service or application) really is who it claims to be, and gives assurance that no party is impersonating anothe...

X805-Dim2-Authentication-Identity-Verification-Claimed-Identities-Entities-Communication · ITU-T X.805 Security Dimension 2 - Authentication + Identity Verification + Claimed Identity + Entity Authentication + Data Origin Authentication + Mutual Authentication + Multi-Factor + Cryptographic Authentication →

Questions people ask about kerberos

What is Kerberos?
A network authentication protocol that uses secret-key cryptography to authenticate client-server applications. Kerberos provides mutual authentication where both the user and server verify each other's identity.
Why is Kerberos important for compliance?
Kerberos is a key concept in Information Security. Understanding kerberos helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, reduce risk, and demonstrate due diligence during audits. Our compliance platform maps 1,016 frameworks with 316K cross-framework control mappings.
Which compliance frameworks address Kerberos?
Kerberos appears in the requirement text of API 1164, Australian Information Security Manual, DISA Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs), ISO/IEC 27040:2024, ISO/IEC 29115:2013 - Entity Authentication Assurance Framework. Across these standards we have identified 6 controls that name it directly, each linked to the control text on the compliance platform.
Where can I learn more about Kerberos?
Explore our compliance framework pages to see how kerberos 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 1,016 frameworks.

See how Kerberos applies across compliance frameworks

Our platform maps 1,016 frameworks with 316K cross-framework control mappings. Explore how this concept is addressed across standards.

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