The Cisco switch must be configured to encrypt SNMP messages using a FIPS 140-2 approved algorithm.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-220553 | CISC-ND-001140 | SV-220553r961506_rule | CCI-000068 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| Without the strong encryption that is provided by the SNMP Version 3 User-based Security Model (USM), an unauthorized user can gain access to network management information that can be used to create a network outage. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| Cisco IOS XE Switch NDM Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2025-05-19 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-220553r961506_chk)
Review the Cisco switch configuration to verify that it is compliant with this requirement as shown in the example below:
snmp-server group V3GROUP v3 priv read V3READ write V3WRITE
snmp-server view V3READ iso included
snmp-server view V3WRITE iso included
snmp-server host x.x.x.x version 3 auth V3USER
Encryption used by the SNMP users can be viewed via the show snmp user command as shown in the example below:
R4#show snmp user
User name: V3USER
Engine ID: 800000090300C2042B540000
storage-type: nonvolatile active
Authentication Protocol: SHA
Privacy Protocol: AES256
Group-name: V3GROUP
If the Cisco switch is not configured to encrypt SNMP messages using a FIPS 140-2 approved algorithm, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-22257r508604_fix)
Configure the Cisco switch to encrypt SNMP messages using a FIPS 140-2 approved algorithm as shown in the example below:
SW4(config)#snmp-server group V3GROUP v3 priv read V3READ write V3WRITE
SW4(config)#snmp-server user V3USER V3GROUP v3 auth sha xxxxxx priv aes 256 xxxxxx