The Cisco ACI layer 2 switch must authenticate all network-connected endpoint devices before establishing any connection.

Severity	Group ID	Group Title	Version	Rule ID	Date	STIG Version
medium	V-272032	SRG-NET-000343-L2S-000016	CACI-L2-000004	SV-272032r1168262_rule	2025-12-11	1

Description
Without authenticating devices, unidentified or unknown devices may be introduced, thereby facilitating malicious activity. For distributed architectures (e.g., service-oriented architectures [SOA]), the decisions regarding the validation of authentication claims may be made by services separate from the services acting on those decisions. In such situations, it is necessary to provide authentication decisions (as opposed to the actual authenticators) to the services that need to act on those decisions. This requirement applies to applications that connect either locally, remotely, or through a network to an endpoint device (including, but not limited to, workstations, printers, servers [outside a datacenter], VoIP Phones, and VTC CODECs). Gateways and SOA applications are examples of where this requirement would apply. Device authentication is a solution enabling an organization to manage devices. It is an additional layer of authentication ensuring only specific pre-authorized devices can access the system.

Description

Without authenticating devices, unidentified or unknown devices may be introduced, thereby facilitating malicious activity. For distributed architectures (e.g., service-oriented architectures [SOA]), the decisions regarding the validation of authentication claims may be made by services separate from the services acting on those decisions. In such situations, it is necessary to provide authentication decisions (as opposed to the actual authenticators) to the services that need to act on those decisions. This requirement applies to applications that connect either locally, remotely, or through a network to an endpoint device (including, but not limited to, workstations, printers, servers [outside a datacenter], VoIP Phones, and VTC CODECs). Gateways and SOA applications are examples of where this requirement would apply. Device authentication is a solution enabling an organization to manage devices. It is an additional layer of authentication ensuring only specific pre-authorized devices can access the system.

ℹ️ Check
Verify the switch authenticates all network-connected endpoint devices before establishing any connection. 1. On the menu bar, click Fabric >> Access Policies >> Interfaces >> Leaf Interfaces >> Policy Groups >> (Leaf Access port, PC interface or VPC interface) >> {{your_policy_name}} >> Advance Policies. 2. Path to Validate the policy group is assigned to an interface: Fabric >> Access Policies >> Interfaces >> Leaf Interfaces >> Profiles >> {{your_profile}}. If The Cisco ACI layer 2 switch does not authenticate all network-connected endpoint devices before establishing any connection, this is a finding.

ℹ️ Check

Verify the switch authenticates all network-connected endpoint devices before establishing any connection. 1. On the menu bar, click Fabric >> Access Policies >> Interfaces >> Leaf Interfaces >> Policy Groups >> (Leaf Access port, PC interface or VPC interface) >> {{your_policy_name}} >> Advance Policies. 2. Path to Validate the policy group is assigned to an interface: Fabric >> Access Policies >> Interfaces >> Leaf Interfaces >> Profiles >> {{your_profile}}. If The Cisco ACI layer 2 switch does not authenticate all network-connected endpoint devices before establishing any connection, this is a finding.

✔️ Fix
Create Authentication Policy and associate with a policy group. 1. On the menu bar, click Fabric >> Access Policies >> Interfaces >> Leaf Interfaces >> Policy Groups >> (Leaf Access port, PC interface or VPC interface) >> {{your_policy_name}} >> Advance Policies. 2. Path to Validate the policy group is assigned to an interface: Fabric >> Access Policies >> Interfaces >> Leaf Interfaces >> Profiles >> {{your_profile}}.

✔️ Fix

Create Authentication Policy and associate with a policy group. 1. On the menu bar, click Fabric >> Access Policies >> Interfaces >> Leaf Interfaces >> Policy Groups >> (Leaf Access port, PC interface or VPC interface) >> {{your_policy_name}} >> Advance Policies. 2. Path to Validate the policy group is assigned to an interface: Fabric >> Access Policies >> Interfaces >> Leaf Interfaces >> Profiles >> {{your_profile}}.