Nutanix AOS must use multifactor authentication for access to privileged and nonprivileged accounts by enabling common access card (CAC) authentication.

Multifactor authentication (MFA) is defined as using two or more factors to achieve authentication. MFA creates a layered defense and makes it more difficult for an unauthorized person to access the application server. If one factor is compromised or broken, the attacker still has at least one more barrier to breach before successfully breaking into the target. Unlike a simple username/password scenario where the attacker could gain access by knowing both the username and password without the user knowing his account was compromised, multifactor authentication adds the requirement the attacker must have something from the user, such as a token, or to biometrically be the user.

Factors include:
(i) Something a user knows (e.g., password/PIN);
(ii) Something a user has (e.g., cryptographic identification device, token); or
(iii) Something a user is (e.g., biometric). A CAC or PKI Hardware Token meets this definition.

A privileged account is defined as an information system account with authorizations of a privileged user. These accounts would be capable of accessing the web management interface.

When accessing the application server via a network connection, administrative access to the application server must be PKI Hardware Token enabled.

Satisfies: SRG-APP-000149-AS-000102, SRG-APP-000401-AS-000243, SRG-APP-000402-AS-000247, SRG-APP-000177-AS-000126, SRG-APP-000403-AS-000248