FedRAMP and the penetration test
FedRAMP names the penetration test in control CA-8 and gives it the widest scope of any framework here: six defined attack vectors, from social engineering of admins to tenant-to-tenant isolation, assessed by an accredited 3PAO at Moderate and High.
FedRAMP, in one panel
- Standard
- FedRAMP (NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 baselines; Penetration Test Guidance v3.0)
- Pentest status
- Required · named in the standard as a mandatory control
- Where it lives
- Control CA-8, per the FedRAMP Penetration Test Guidance v3.0
- Frequency
- At least annually, by an accredited 3PAO
- Scope
- All six in-scope attack vectors, mapped to the system security plan, with red team evidence at the higher baselines.
- What the assessor wants
- A report authored by an accredited 3PAO covering every in-scope vector, a rules-of-engagement artifact, findings tied to the SSP and the POA&M, and remediation tracking.
What FedRAMP is
FedRAMP is the US government program that authorizes cloud services for federal use. It is built on the NIST SP 800-53 control baselines at Low, Moderate and High.
For Moderate and High, penetration testing is a named control, and the operational detail lives in the FedRAMP Penetration Test Guidance, version 3.0.
Where the pentest fits
Control CA-8 requires penetration testing, with CA-8(2) adding red team exercises at the higher baselines. The guidance turns that into a mandated scope of six attack vectors.
Those vectors are: external to corporate (phishing and social engineering of admins), external to the target system, tenant to the cloud management plane, tenant to tenant, mobile application, and client-side application or agents to the target system. It is the only framework here that explicitly mandates both social engineering and multi-tenant isolation testing.
How an AI-native pentest meets it
Uvy can continuously exercise several of the mandated vectors, external to target, tenant to tenant isolation, and client-side paths, and keep POA&M evidence current between the annual assessments.
That turns the annual scramble into a standing picture of where you are, so the formal assessment finds fewer surprises.
The formal FedRAMP test must be run by an accredited 3PAO. Uvy prepares and augments that engagement and keeps POA&M evidence current between assessments; it does not replace the 3PAO.
What a seasoned assessor knows
FedRAMP's six-vector scope is the most demanding pentest mandate in commercial compliance: phishing of admins, tenant-to-tenant isolation, client-side paths, and more, each tied to the SSP and the POA&M. Uvy keeps several of those vectors under continuous test so the annual 3PAO assessment finds fewer surprises.
Find every way in, before an attacker does
Uvy runs continuous offense and defense across your applications, agents, and embodied AI, at machine speed, and hands your team proof and the exact fix. Start with an application pentest, or talk to sales to cover the rest.
Free to test. No card to start.
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