NIST 800-171 3.5.10 (IA.L2-3.5.10): Protected Passwords

Store and transmit only cryptographically-protected passwords.

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2, requirement 3.5.10

CMMC Level 2 practice IA.L2-3.5.10Published 2026-11-11

What 3.5.10 means in practice

Passwords are never stored or sent in readable form. Stored passwords are salted one-way hashes and sign-ins travel over encrypted connections, so look out for legacy applications, scripts and configuration files that keep passwords in plain text.

SPRS points and the CMMC POA&M

CMMC Level 2 practice: IA.L2-3.5.10
SPRS points: 5 points. When it is not met, the DoD Assessment Methodology subtracts 5 from the score of 110.
CMMC POA&M: Not allowed. It is worth 5 points, and 32 CFR 170.21(a)(2)(ii) admits only requirements worth 1 point, with one exception: 3.13.11 when encryption is used but not FIPS validated.

Sources: NIST SP 800-171 DoD Assessment Methodology, version 1.2.1 (June 24, 2020), Annex A; 32 CFR 170.21, Plan of Action and Milestones requirements.

What an assessor checks for 3.5.10

NIST SP 800-171A gives 2 determination statements for 3.5.10, each found satisfied or other than satisfied. Determine if:

3.5.10[a] passwords are cryptographically protected in storage.
3.5.10[b] passwords are cryptographically protected in transit.

NIST SP 800-171A (June 2018), assessment objectives for 3.5.10

Evidence that shows 3.5.10 is met

Password storage settings for the directory and for applications with their own logins.
Configuration showing sign-in traffic is encrypted, such as TLS on login pages and LDAPS for directory connections.
A scan or review for plain-text passwords in scripts and configuration files.

How PolicyCortex gathers the evidence

No PolicyCortex collector reads the evidence for 3.5.10. Your team provides the evidence listed above.

Related pages

Calculator: SPRS score calculator: mark 3.5.10 and the other 109 requirements and see the score.
Sample package: Sample package: an SSP, a POA&M and an evidence chain the product generated from demonstration data.
Family: All 11 Identification and Authentication requirements (3.5).
Previous: 3.5.9: Temporary Passwords
Next: 3.5.11: Obscured Feedback
All requirements: All 110 NIST SP 800-171 requirements, by family.

Related records

Guides and articles describe the work. The evidence that work produces is described in three proof pages, the architecture page, and the two pages on authorization.

proof.state: Proof of State. What the environment was, as of a date someone else picks: point-in-time records, content hashed and chained.
proof.change: Proof of Change. Who or what altered the environment, under what authority, with before and after state hashes.
proof.agency: Proof of Agency. What a machine was permitted to do before it acted, what it did, and what would have stopped it.
architecture: Architecture. How the chain is built and where the evidence is stored in each delivery mode.
authorization: Continuous ATO. How an authorizing official's decision is recorded with its package, and how the authorized system is checked against it every hour.
baseline: NIST SP 800-53. The Low, Moderate and High baselines as evidence, with the SSP, SAR and POA&M generated from one record.