The Cisco Catalyst 9200CX/9500X/9600X Series Switches 17.15 Target of Evaluation (TOE) is a purpose-built, switching and routing platform enabling connected devices to communicate over a network at layer 2 or 3. The TOE provides Administrative control and management of the network. The TOE also provides Layer 3 capabilities, including OSPF, EIGRP, ISIS, RIP, and routed access.
","evaluation_configuration":"The Cisco Catalyst 9200CX/9500X/9600X Series Switches 17.15 TOE includes the cat9k_lite_iosxe.V1715_3_CSCWO73590_3.SPA.bin or cat9k_iosxe.V1715_3_CSCWO73590_3.SPA.bin software image and is composed of the following hardware:
\r\n| \r\n Series \r\n | \r\n\r\n Models \r\n | \r\n
| \r\n 9200CX models \r\n | \r\n\r\n C9200CX-12T-2X2G \r\nC9200CX-12P-2X2G \r\nC9200CX-8P-2X2G \r\nC9200CX-8UXG-2X \r\n | \r\n
| \r\n 9500X models \r\n | \r\n\r\n C9500X-28C8D \r\nC9500X-60L4D \r\n | \r\n
| \r\n 9600X models, with the following Line Card models: \r\n
| \r\n\r\n Chassis: \r\nC9606R \r\n\r\n With the following Supervisor model: \r\nC9600X-SUP-2 \r\n | \r\n
The evaluation was carried out in accordance to the Common Criteria Evaluation and Validation Scheme (CCEVS) requirements and guidance. The evaluation demonstrated that the TOE meets the security requirements contained in the Security Target. The criteria against which the TOE was judged are described in the Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation, Version 3.1, Revision 5, April 2017. The evaluation methodology used by the evaluation team to conduct the evaluation is the Common Methodology for Information Technology Security Evaluation, Evaluation Methodology, Version 3.1, Revision 5, April 2017. The product, when delivered and configured as identified in the Cisco Catalyst 9200CX/9500X/9600X Series Switches 17.15 Common Criteria Configuration Guide, Version 1.0, August 4, 2025 document, satisfies all of the security functional requirements stated in the Cisco Catalyst 9200CX/9500X/9600X Series Switches 17.15 Security Target, Version 1.0, August 4, 2025. The project underwent CCEVS Validator review. The evaluation was completed in August 2025. Results of the evaluation can be found in the Common Criteria Evaluation and Validation Scheme Validation Report (report number CCEVS-VR-VID11586-2025) prepared by CCEVS.
","environmental_strengths":"The logical boundaries of the Catalyst 9200CX/9500X/9600X Series Switches 17.15 are realized in the security functions that it implements. Each of these security functions is summarized below.
\r\n\r\n
Security audit:
\r\nAuditing allows Security Administrators to discover intentional and unintentional issues with the TOE’s configuration and/or operation. Auditing of administrative activities provides information that may be used to hasten corrective action should the system be configured incorrectly. Security audit data can also provide an indication of failure of critical portions of the TOE (e.g. a communication channel failure or anomalous activity (e.g. establishment of an administrative session at a suspicious time, repeated failures to establish sessions or authenticate to the TOE) of a suspicious nature.
\r\nThe TOE provides extensive capabilities to generate audit data targeted at detecting such activity. The TOE generates an audit record for each auditable event. Each security relevant audit event has the date, timestamp, event description, and subject identity. The TOE stores audit messages in a circular audit trail configurable by the Security Administrator. All audit logs are transmitted to an external audit server over a trusted channel protected with IPsec. The TOE allows authorized administrators the ability to view locally stored audit records.
\r\nCryptographic support:
\r\nThe TOE provides cryptographic functions to implement SSH and IPsec protocols. The cryptographic algorithm implementation has been validated for CAVP conformance. This includes key generation and random bit generation, key establishment methods, key destruction, and the various types of cryptographic operations to provide AES encryption/decryption, signature verification, hash generation, and keyed hash generation.
\r\nSSH and IPsec protocols are implemented using the IOS Common Cryptographic Module (IC2M) version Rel5a.
\r\nIdentification and authentication:
\r\nThe TOE implements four types of authentication to provide a trusted means for Security Administrators and remote servers/endpoints to securely communicate: X.509v3 certificate-based authentication for remote syslog audit servers and local and remote authentication for Security Administrators using local password, SSH password, and SSH public key.
\r\nSecurity Administrators have the ability to compose strong passwords which are stored using a SHA-2 hash. Additionally, the TOE detects and tracks successive unsuccessful remote authentication attempts and will prevent the offending account from making further attempts until a Security Administrator time period has elapsed or until the Administrator manually unblocks the account.
\r\nSecurity management:
\r\nThe TOE provides secure remote administrative interface and local interface to perform security management functions. This includes ability to configure cryptographic functionality; an access banner containing an advisory notice and consent warning message; a session inactivity timer before session termination as well as an ability to update TOE software.
\r\nThe TOE provides a Security Administrator role and only the Security Administrator can perform the above security management functions.
\r\nProtection of the TSF:
\r\nThe TOE protects critical security data including keys and passwords against tampering by untrusted subjects. The TOE provides reliable timestamps to support monitoring local and remote interactive administrative sessions for inactivity, validating X.509 certificates (to determine if a certificate has expired), and to support accurate audit records.
\r\nThe TOE provides self-tests to ensure it is operating correctly, including the ability to detect software integrity failures. Additionally, the TOE provides an ability to perform software updates and to verify those software updates are from Cisco Systems, Inc.
\r\nTOE access:
\r\nThe TOE monitors both local and remote admin sessions for inactivity and terminates when a threshold time period is reached. Once a session has been terminated the TOE requires the user to re-authenticate.
\r\nThe TOE also displays a Security Administrator specified advisory notice and consent warning message prior to initiating identification and authentication for each administrative user.
\r\nTrusted path/channels:
\r\nThe TOE provides encryption (protection from disclosure and detection of modification) for communication paths and channels between itself and remote endpoints.
\r\nIn addition, the TOE provides two-way authentication of each endpoint in a cryptographically secure manner, meaning that even if there was a malicious attacker between the two endpoints, any attempt to represent themselves to either endpoint of the communications path as the other communicating party would be detected.
","features":[{"id":3321,"feature_name":"Asymmetric Key Generation"},{"id":3318,"feature_name":"Auditing"},{"id":3323,"feature_name":"Cryptographic Hashing"},{"id":3322,"feature_name":"Cryptographic Key Establishment"},{"id":3320,"feature_name":"DRBG"},{"id":3317,"feature_name":"Flaw Remediation"},{"id":3324,"feature_name":"Keyed-hash message authentication"},{"id":3319,"feature_name":"SSH Server"}]}