# NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SI-2(5) — Automatic Software And Firmware Updates - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/si-2-5-automatic-software-and-firmware-updates - 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) › SI — System and Information Integrity - Last updated: 2026-06-05 - Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com) **NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5**·Control `SI-2(5)`·high·Component: **System and Information Integrity** ## What this control requires > Automatically install security-relevant software and firmware updates to designated system components. Organizations balance the urgency of applying updates with configuration management and operational impacts. This control supports the Automated Software and Firmware Update Tools capability within the System and Information Integrity family. > > — NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Control SI-2(5) ### In plain English Automatically install security-relevant software and firmware updates to designated system components. In practice, this means you can prove you security-relevant 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 **System and Information Integrity**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control SI-2(5)) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles. ## How to implement #### Cloud Posture **CSPM.** Run Wiz / Prisma / Defender for Cloud / Security Command Center over every account; auto-ticket findings above your accepted-risk threshold. #### 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. #### Network Security **AWS.** VPC Flow Logs to S3, default-deny security groups, AWS Network Firewall for north-south, and Transit Gateway for hub-and-spoke segmentation. **Azure.** NSGs with deny-by-default, Azure Firewall Premium with TLS inspection, Private Endpoints for PaaS, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud's secure score for drift. **GCP.** VPC Service Controls perimeters around sensitive APIs, Cloud NGFW Enterprise for L7 inspection, Private Service Connect for managed services. ### Operational checklist - **Security-Relevant.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Information.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Configuration.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Network.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Automatic.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** management, information, system, configuration, software, firmware, components, updates. ## Evidence to collect - **Infra Scan.** Continuous infrastructure-posture telemetry — AWS Config, Azure Policy compliance, GCP Organisation Policy, Wiz / Prisma findings. Infrastructure posture tooling (AWS Config, Azure Policy, Nessus) verifies platform hardening. Focus: Automatic Software And Firmware Updates. ## Common pitfalls - Treating CSPM findings as a backlog instead of a hot queue: findings older than the policy SLA accumulate until the auditor asks why. - Manual cloud-console changes that never make it back to Terraform — drift accumulates until the next outage forces a reconciliation. - Default-allow egress rules; East-West traffic with no segmentation; jump hosts on the public internet with password auth. ## 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 3.4.12** — System and Component Configuration for High-Risk Areas](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3/3-4-12-system-and-component-configuration-for-high-risk-areas) - [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.5.34** — Privacy and protection of personal identifiable information (PII)](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-5-34-privacy-and-protection-of-personal-identifiable-information-pii) - [**BSI C5:2020 COM-03** — Internal audits of the information security management system](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/com-03-internal-audits-of-the-information-security-management-system) ## Related controls in NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 - [**Control SI-8** — Spam Protection](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/si-8-spam-protection) - [**Control SI-2(2)** — Automated Flaw Remediation Status](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/si-2-2-automated-flaw-remediation-status) - [**Control SI-2(6)** — Removal Of Previous Versions Of Software And Firmware](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/si-2-6-removal-of-previous-versions-of-software-and-firmware) - [**Control CP-10(4)** — Restore Within Time Period](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cp-10-4-restore-within-time-period) - [**Control CM-2** — Baseline Configuration](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/cm-2-baseline-configuration) - [**Control SA-19(2)** — Configuration Control For Component Service And Repair](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/sa-19-2-configuration-control-for-component-service-and-repair) ## 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 SI-2(5)` Topics: governance riskcloud postureconfiguration managementnetwork security ## 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.