Obtaining SCAP benchmark content
Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) benchmark content is a set of XML files that defines checklists and rules for SCAP compliance scanning.
You can obtain SCAP benchmark content from any source. A common source is the NIST SCAP content website at http://scap.nist.gov/content/.
Many other organizations and companies provide SCAP benchmark content, or you can import custom content. Regardless of the source of the content, it must be well-formed XML and validated without major errors. The import process creates a log file of all validation errors.
Benchmark content typically includes the following XML files:
- XCCDF file (<xxx>-xccdf.xml)
- Generic OVAL file (<xxx>-oval.xml)
- Platform-specific OVAL file (<xxx>-oval-cpe.xml)
- (Optional) Patches file (<xxx>-patches.xml)
- Source-specific platform dictionary (<xxx>-cpe-dictionary.xml)
The XCCDF file references the other files. To import a benchmark, you navigate to the XCCDF file. The import process reads the XCCDF file and searches for any other files referenced in the XCCDF file. All of the files comprising a benchmark must be in the same folder for the import.
To prepare SCAP benchmark content
- Download benchmark files from a website or other source to a system that is a BMC Server Automation managed server. Alternatively, you can create custom benchmark files and place them on a managed server.
- Make sure that all files referenced in the XCCDF file are present in the same folder with the XCCDF file.
The following example shows two sets of SCAP content files ready for import.