# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-9 — Configuration Management Plan - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cm-9-configuration-management-plan - 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-9`·high·Component: **Configuration Management** ## What this control requires > Develop and implement a configuration management plan defining roles, responsibilities, processes, and configuration item management. Ensure plan approval and protection from unauthorized access. This control supports the Planning capability within the Configuration Management family. > > — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control CM-9 ### In plain English Develop and implement a configuration management plan defining roles, responsibilities, processes, and configuration item management. In practice, this means you can prove you policy 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-9) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles. ## How to implement #### Configuration Management **Policy-as-code.** Codify the control as Service Control Policies (AWS), Azure Policy initiatives, or Organisation Policy (GCP) so the platform enforces what the document promises. **IaC.** Gate Terraform / Pulumi / CloudFormation changes with Checkov / tfsec / OPA so misconfigurations never reach production. **Drift.** Run a CSPM (Wiz / Prisma / Defender for Cloud / Security Command Center) over every account and route findings to a single risk register. #### Policy Management **Docs.** Keep each policy in version-controlled Markdown alongside the code that implements it; ship a signed PDF snapshot at each annual review and link the SHA into the SoA. ### Operational checklist - **Policy.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Access.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Configuration.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Protection.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Unauthorized.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** management, protection, configuration, management plan, capability, implement, policy, roles. ## Evidence to collect - **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Configuration Management Plan. ## Common pitfalls - Manual cloud-console changes that never make it back to Terraform — drift accumulates until the next outage forces a reconciliation. - Policies that no engineer has read; the version in Confluence drifts from the version that's actually being enforced. ## 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. - [**BSI C5:2020 AM-02** — Acceptable Use and Safe Handling of Assets Policy](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/am-02-acceptable-use-and-safe-handling-of-assets-policy) - [**NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.4.8** — Authorized Software - Allow by Exception](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3/3-4-8-authorized-software-allow-by-exception) - [**HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164) 164.308(a)(7)(ii)(A)** — Contingency Plan - Data Backup Plan](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-308-a-7-ii-a-contingency-plan-data-backup-plan) - [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.5.5** — Contact with authorities](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-5-5-contact-with-authorities) - [**SOC 2 (2017 TSC) CC2.3** — External Communication on Internal Control Matters](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/cc2-3-external-communication-on-internal-control-matters) ## Related controls in NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 - [**Control CM-1** — Policy And Procedures](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cm-1-policy-and-procedures) - [**Control CM-9(1)** — Assignment Of Responsibility](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cm-9-1-assignment-of-responsibility) - [**Control CM-11** — User-Installed Software](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cm-11-user-installed-software) - [**Control CM-3** — Configuration Change Control](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cm-3-configuration-change-control) - [**Control CM-3(3)** — Automated Change Implementation](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cm-3-3-automated-change-implementation) - [**Control CP-1** — Policy And Procedures](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cp-1-policy-and-procedures) ## 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-9` Topics: governance riskconfiguration managementpolicy management ## 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.