# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-8(5) — No Duplicate Accounting Of Components - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cm-8-5-no-duplicate-accounting-of-components - Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 Controls](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5) › CM — Configuration Management - Last updated: 2026-06-05 - Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com) **NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5**·Control `CM-8(5)`·high·Component: **Configuration Management** ## What this control requires > Ensure no duplicate accounting of system components in the inventory using unique identifiers to prevent ambiguity in ownership and system association for hardware, software, and firmware. This control supports the Uniqueness capability within the Configuration Management family. > > — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control CM-8(5) ### In plain English Ensure no duplicate accounting of system components in the inventory using unique identifiers to prevent ambiguity in ownership and system association for hardware, software, and firmware. In practice, this means you can prove you access management-level controls on a defined cadence. ## Why it matters SP 800-53 is the catalogue every U.S. federal authorisation (FedRAMP, FISMA, CMMC) and most regulated industries point at. A missing control surfaces as a Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M) item that an Authorizing Official must approve before the Authority To Operate is granted or renewed. This control is rated **high**. Auditors expect a named owner, a remediation SLA, and a tooling artefact that evidences continuous operation. ## What an auditor looks for A 3PAO (FedRAMP) or Independent Assessor (NIST RMF) tests against NIST SP 800-53A assessment procedures. For each control they expect a documented implementation that addresses every assessment objective (Examine, Interview, Test) and an implementation summary in the System Security Plan. Within **Configuration Management**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control CM-8(5)) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles. ## How to implement #### Asset Inventory **AWS.** AWS Config Aggregator across every account + region gives a real-time inventory; ship the daily snapshot to S3 and surface drift in Security Hub. **Azure.** Azure Resource Graph plus Defender for Cloud's inventory blade enumerates every subscription; export to Log Analytics for retention and Workbooks for reporting. **GCP.** Cloud Asset Inventory exports a daily feed of every resource and IAM binding; query via BigQuery and alert on appearance/disappearance. **Endpoints.** Pipe MDM telemetry (Intune / Jamf / Workspace ONE) into your CMDB so laptops and phones are inventoried with the same rigour as cloud resources. ### Operational checklist - **Access.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Configuration.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Review.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Association.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **No.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** management, system, identity, configuration, hardware, software, firmware, review. ## Evidence to collect - **Identity Scan.** IAM / IdP exports — Entra ID, Okta, IAM Identity Center, Workspace directory — showing accounts, roles, MFA state and last sign-in. Identity analytics (Okta, SailPoint, Access Analyzer) demonstrates least-privilege. Focus: No Duplicate Accounting Of Components. ## Common pitfalls - Inventories that exclude SaaS, shadow IT and ephemeral cloud resources (Lambda, Cloud Run, K8s pods) miss the assets where most modern incidents start. ## How it maps to other frameworks Computed from shared tags, control component and key-operation subjects — handy when you are reconciling controls across an audit. - [**NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.4.10** — System Component Inventory](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3/3-4-10-system-component-inventory) - [**CIS Controls v8 9.2** — Use DNS Filtering Services](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/9-2-use-dns-filtering-services) - [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.8.23** — Web filtering](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-8-23-web-filtering) - [**ISO/IEC 27701:2025 A.3.8** — Identity management](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27701-2025/a-3-8-identity-management) - [**SOC 2 (2017 TSC) CC1.5** — Accountability for Internal Control Responsibilities](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/cc1-5-accountability-for-internal-control-responsibilities) ## Related controls in NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 - [**Control CM-5(4)** — Dual Authorization](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cm-5-4-dual-authorization) - [**Control CM-8(3)** — Automated Unauthorized Component Detection](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cm-8-3-automated-unauthorized-component-detection) - [**Control CM-8(4)** — Accountability Information](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cm-8-4-accountability-information) - [**Control SR-11(1)** — Anti-Counterfeit Training](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sr-11-1-anti-counterfeit-training) - [**Control CM-11(2)** — Software Installation With Privileged Status](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cm-11-2-software-installation-with-privileged-status) - [**Control CM-3(6)** — Cryptography Management](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cm-3-6-cryptography-management) ## References - [NIST Computer Security Resource Center — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5](https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/risk-management/sp800-53-controls) - Catalogue identifier: `Control CM-8(5)` Topics: identity accessidentity managementaccess reviewprivileged accessasset inventory ## Related compliance guidance - [NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: a practical implementation guide for cloud teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5): Start with the full NIST SP 800-53 implementation guide — scope, roadmap, evidence and how the assessment runs. - [NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC: a practical guide to protecting CUI in the cloud](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3): If your obligation is protecting CUI in your own systems for a federal or defence contract, this derived subset — not the full catalogue — is the requirement. - [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Most commercial SaaS already hold a SOC 2 Type 2, and FedRAMP 20x Class A is designed for providers that have one.