The network device must authenticate Network Time Protocol sources using authentication that is cryptographically based.

Severity
Group ID
Group Title
Version
Rule ID
Date
STIG Version
mediumV-202112SRG-APP-000395SRG-APP-000395-NDM-000347SV-202112r961506_rule2025-09-105

Description

If Network Time Protocol is not authenticated, an attacker can introduce a rogue NTP server. This rogue server can then be used to send incorrect time information to network devices, which will make log timestamps inaccurate and affect scheduled actions. NTP authentication is used to prevent this tampering by authenticating the time source.

ℹ️ Check

Review the network device configuration to determine if the network device authenticates NTP endpoints before establishing a local, remote, or network connection using authentication that is cryptographically based. If the network device does not authenticate Network Time Protocol sources using authentication that is cryptographically based, this is a finding.

✔️ Fix

Configure the network device to authenticate Network Time Protocol sources using authentication that is cryptographically based.