au-12-audit-record-generation

name	AU-12_audit-record-generation
description	Provide audit record generation capability for the event types the system is capable of auditing as defined in [AU-2a](#au-2_smt.a) on [organizatio...
category	information-gathering
version	5.2.0
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["nist","sp800-53","rev5","au-12","au"]
tech_stack	["aws","azure","gcp","linux","windows"]
cwe_ids	["CWE-778"]
chains_with	["AC-6","AC-17","AU-2","AU-3","AU-4","AU-5","AU-6","AU-7","AU-14","CM-5"]
prerequisites	[]
severity_boost	{"AC-6":"Chain with AC-6 for comprehensive security coverage","AC-17":"Chain with AC-17 for comprehensive security coverage","AU-2":"Chain with AU-2 for comprehensive security coverage"}

AU-12 Audit Record Generation

High-Level Description

Family: Audit and Accountability (AU) Framework: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5

Audit records can be generated from many different system components. The event types specified in AU-2d are the event types for which audit logs are to be generated and are a subset of all event types for which the system can generate audit records.

What to Check

• Verify AU-12 Audit Record Generation is documented in SSP
• Validate all 3 control requirements are implemented
• Confirm control is operating effectively
• Review evidence of continuous monitoring for AU-12

How to Test

Step 1: Review Documentation

Examine the System Security Plan (SSP) and related artifacts for AU-12 implementation details. Verify the organization has documented how this control is satisfied.

Step 2: Validate Implementation

# For cloud environments, use cloud-audit-mcp tools
# For on-premises, review system configurations directly

# Example: Check if account management policies exist
grep -r "account.management\|access.control" /etc/security/ 2>/dev/null

Step 3: Test Operating Effectiveness

Verify the control is actively functioning, not just documented. Check logs, configurations, and operational evidence.

Tools

Tool	Purpose	Usage
cloud-audit-mcp	Check logging configuration	cloud_audit_logging
AWS CLI	Review CloudTrail/CloudWatch	aws cloudtrail describe-trails

Remediation Guide

Control Statement

Provide audit record generation capability for the event types the system is capable of auditing as defined in AU-2a on [organization-defined]; Allow [organization-defined] to select the event types that are to be logged by specific components of the system; and Generate audit records for the event types defined in AU-2c that include the audit record content defined in AU-3.

Implementation Guidance

Audit records can be generated from many different system components. The event types specified in are the event types for which audit logs are to be generated and are a subset of all event types for which the system can generate audit records.