National Information Assurance Partnership
Common Criteria Evaluation and Validation Scheme
Validation Report
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and
Access Points 17.12
Report Number: CCEVS-VR-VID11456-2025
Dated: April 10, 2025
Version: 1.0
National Institute of Standards and Technology Department of Defense
Information Technology Laboratory ATTN: NIAP, Suite 6982
100 Bureau Drive 9800 Savage Road
Gaithersburg, MD 20899 Fort Meade, MD 20755-6982
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Validation Team
Sheldon Durrant
Randy Heimann
Lisa Mitchell
Linda Morrison
Lori Sarem
Chris Thorpe
The MITRE Corporation
Common Criteria Testing Laboratory
Sean Bennett
Greg McLearn
Joon Sim
Kevin Steiner
Lightship Security USA, Inc.
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Table of Contents
1 Executive Summary.................................................................................................... 1
2 Identification............................................................................................................... 3
3 Architectural Information ........................................................................................... 5
3.1 TOE Description................................................................................................. 5
3.2 TOE Evaluated Platforms ................................................................................... 6
3.3 TOE Architecture................................................................................................ 6
3.4 Physical Boundaries............................................................................................ 6
4 Security Policy............................................................................................................ 7
4.1 Security audit ...................................................................................................... 8
4.2 Communication................................................................................................... 8
4.3 Cryptographic support ........................................................................................ 8
4.4 Identification and authentication......................................................................... 8
4.5 Security management.......................................................................................... 9
4.6 Protection of the TSF........................................................................................ 10
4.7 TOE access........................................................................................................ 10
4.8 Trusted path/channels ....................................................................................... 10
5 Assumptions & Clarification of Scope ..................................................................... 10
6 Documentation.......................................................................................................... 12
7 IT Product Testing .................................................................................................... 13
7.1 Developer Testing............................................................................................. 13
7.2 Evaluation Team Independent Testing ............................................................. 13
8 TOE Evaluated Configuration .................................................................................. 14
8.1 Evaluated Configuration................................................................................... 14
8.2 Excluded Functionality..................................................................................... 14
9 Results of the Evaluation .......................................................................................... 16
9.1 Evaluation of the Security Target (ASE).......................................................... 16
9.2 Evaluation of the Development (ADV) ............................................................ 16
9.3 Evaluation of the Guidance Documents (AGD)............................................... 16
9.4 Evaluation of the Life Cycle Support Activities (ALC) ................................... 17
9.5 Evaluation of the Test Documentation and the Test Activity (ATE) ............... 17
9.6 Vulnerability Assessment Activity (VAN)....................................................... 17
9.7 Summary of Evaluation Results........................................................................ 18
10 Validator Comments/Recommendations .............................................................. 19
11 Annexes................................................................................................................. 20
12 Security Target...................................................................................................... 21
13 Glossary ................................................................................................................ 22
14 Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 23
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1 Executive Summary
This report documents the assessment of the National Information Assurance Partnership
(NIAP) validation team of the evaluation of Cisco catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers
and Access Points 17.12 provided by Cisco Systems, Inc. It presents the evaluation results,
their justifications, and the conformance results. This Validation Report (VR) is not an
endorsement of the Target of Evaluation by any agency of the U.S. government, and no
warranty is either expressed or implied.
This Validation Report (VR) is intended to assist the end user of this product and any security
certification Agent for that end user in determining the suitability of this Information
Technology (IT) product for their environment. End users should review the Security Target
(ST), which is where specific security claims are made, in conjunction with this VR, which
describes how those security claims were tested and evaluated and any restrictions on the
evaluated configuration. Prospective users should carefully read the Assumptions and
Clarification of Scope in Section 5 and the Validator Comments in Section 10, where any
restrictions on the evaluated configuration are highlighted.
The evaluation was performed by the Lightship Ottawa laboratory, an affiliate of the
Lightship Security USA Common Criteria Laboratory (CCTL) in Baltimore, MD, United
States of America, and was completed in April 2025. The information in this report is largely
derived from the Evaluation Technical Report (ETR) and associated test reports, all written
by Lightship Security (LS). The evaluation determined that the product is both Common
Criteria Part 2 Extended and Part 3 Conformant, and meets the assurance requirements of the
PP-Configuration for Network Devices and Wireless Local Area Network Access Systems,
2022-04-21, Version 1.0, (CFG_ND_WLAN-AS_V1.0) which includes the Base PP:
collaborative Protection Profile for Network Devices, Version 2.2e, 23 March 2020
(NDcPP22e) with the PP-Module for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Access System,
Version 1.0, 31 March 2022 (WLANAS10).
The Target of Evaluation (TOE) is the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and
Access Points 17.12.
The Target of Evaluation (TOE) identified in this VR has been evaluated at a NIAP approved
Common Criteria Testing Laboratory using the Common Methodology for IT Security
Evaluation (Version 3.1, Rev 5) for conformance to the Common Criteria for IT Security
Evaluation (Version 3.1, Rev 5). This Validation Report applies only to the specific version
of the TOE as evaluated. The evaluation has been conducted in accordance with the
provisions of the NIAP Common Criteria Evaluation and Validation Scheme and the
conclusions of the testing laboratory in the evaluation technical report are consistent with the
evidence provided.
The validation team monitored the activities of the evaluation team, provided guidance on
technical issues and evaluation processes, and reviewed the individual work units and
successive versions of the ETR. The validation team found that the evaluation showed that
the product satisfies all of the functional requirements and assurance requirements stated in
the Security Target (ST). Therefore, the validation team concludes that the testing
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laboratory’s findings are accurate, the conclusions justified, and the conformance results are
correct. The conclusions of the testing laboratory in the evaluation technical report are
consistent with the evidence produced.
The technical information included in this report was obtained from the Cisco Catalyst 9800
Series Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12 Security Target, Version 1.2, April 6,
2025 and analysis performed by the validation team.
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2 Identification
The CCEVS is a joint National Security Agency (NSA) and National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST) effort to establish commercial facilities to perform trusted product
evaluations. Under this program, security evaluations are conducted by commercial testing
laboratories called Common Criteria Testing Laboratories (CCTLs) using the Common
Evaluation Methodology (CEM) in accordance with National Voluntary Laboratory
Assessment Program (NVLAP) accreditation.
The NIAP Validation Body assigns Validators to monitor the CCTLs to ensure quality and
consistency across evaluations. Developers of information technology products desiring a
security evaluation contract with a CCTL and pay a fee for their product’s evaluation. Upon
successful completion of the evaluation, the product is added to NIAP’s Validated Products
List.
Table 1 provides information needed to completely identify the product, including:
• The Target of Evaluation (TOE): the fully qualified identifier of the product as evaluated.
• The Security Target (ST), describing the security features, claims, and assurances of the
product.
• The conformance result of the evaluation.
• The Protection Profile to which the product is conformant.
• The organizations and individuals participating in the evaluation.
Table 1: Evaluation Identifiers
Item Identifier
Evaluation Scheme United States NIAP Common Criteria Evaluation and Validation Scheme
TOE Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12
(Specific models identified in Section 8)
Protection Profile PP-Configuration for Network Devices and Wireless Local Area Network Access
Systems, 2022-04-21, Version 1.0, (CFG_ND_WLAN-AS_V1.0) which includes
the Base PP: collaborative Protection Profile for Network Devices, Version 2.2e,
23 March 2020 (NDcPP22e) with the PP-Module for Wireless Local Area
Network (WLAN) Access System, Version 1.0, 31 March 2022 (WLANAS10)
ST Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12 Security
Target, Version 1.2, April 6, 2025
Evaluation Technical
Report
Evaluation Technical Report for Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers
and Access Points 17.12, Version 1.2, April 2025
CC Version Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation, Version 3.1,
rev 5
Conformance Result CC Part 2 extended, CC Part 3 conformant
Sponsor and
Developer
Cisco Systems, Inc.
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Item Identifier
Common Criteria
Testing Lab (CCTL)
Lightship Security USA, Inc.
3600 O’Donnell St., Suite 2
Baltimore, MD 21224
CCEVS Validators The MITRE Corporation
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3 Architectural Information
Note: The following architectural description is based on the description presented in the
Security Target.
The Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series combines Wireless LAN Controllers and Access Points to
create a WLAN Access System TOE. For wireless clients, the TOE provides secure over-
the-air access to an organization’s network. For administrators, the TOE provides central
management and administration of the wireless infrastructure within an organization.
3.1 TOE Description
The Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12 Target of
Evaluation (TOE) provides wireless clients access to resources on an organization's
network.
The TOE is comprised of two distinct components:
1. The Access Point (AP) operates at the edge of an organization’s network. The AP
contains 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz wireless radios and implements functions from the IEEE
802.11 standard to communicate over-the-air directly to wireless client radios. This
communication includes advertising its presence (known as beacons), responding to
requests for available networks (probes), performing 802.11 authentication,
association, encryption/decryption, and session management.
2. The Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) is responsible for ensuring wireless clients
are authenticated and keys are derived in accordance to the IEEE 802.11 standard.
The TOE uses IEEE 802.1X to ensure Supplicants are authenticated prior to allowing
wireless client traffic onto the organization’s wired network. Encryption keys for wireless
sessions are derived using AES-CCMP for encryption and message integrity with
cryptographic key size of 128 bits in accordance with the IEEE 802.11-2020 standard.
AES-CCMP-128 bit encryption as specified in 802.11-2020 is more commonly known by
its Wi-Fi Alliance certification name, WPA3-Enterprise.
Additionally, the TOE derives wireless encryption keys using AES-CCMP with
cryptographic key size of 256 bits and AES-GCMP, with cryptographic key size of 128 and
256 bits in accordance with the IEEE 802.11ax-2021 specification.
The WLC is responsible for all management of the APs. Once an AP has registered with
the WLC, an internal channel is formed for the purposes of centralized management and
configuration of the APs. No local administration is available directly on the APs. The
internal channel also protects the distribution of IEEE keys between the WLC and AP.
For connections to the Syslog audit server, the WLC authenticates those devices with
X.509v3 certificates and protects communication channels with the IPsec protocol. For
RADIUS, the WLC protects communication to the RADIUS authentication server with
RADsec. Secure remote administration is protected with HTTPS and SSH which is
implemented with authentication failure handling.
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3.2 TOE Evaluated Platforms
Detail regarding the evaluated configuration is provided in Section 8 below.
3.3 TOE Architecture
The Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12 TOE is
distributed. Deployment of the TOE in its evaluated configuration consists of one Wireless
LAN Controller (WLC) model and at least one Access Point (AP). Extra instances of a WLC
or AP TOE component are permitted in the evaluated configuration. The evaluated
configuration of Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL (vSphere) follows vND evaluated configuration
Case 1 in [NDcPP] where a virtual Network Device (vND) runs inside a virtual machine
(VM) on purpose-built hardware.
3.4 Physical Boundaries
The TOE physical boundary is the WLC and AP components as denoted by hashed red lines
in the figure below.
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The WLC can be administered interactively using a local console connection (CLI), or
remotely over HTTPS (GUI) or SSH (CLI). Once the APs have registered with a Controller
and ‘joined’ to form the TOE, the APs are entirely managed via the WLC. The TOE does
not permit direct local administration of the APs thus fulfilling distributed TOE use case 1
in section 3.1 of [NDcPP].
The operational environment of the TOE will include at least one RADIUS server for
authentication of wireless clients. The RADIUS Authentication Server and wireless client
(Supplicant) must authenticate each other with EAP-TLS which requires use of X.509
certificates provided by the CA server. The operational environment requires a CA server
to provide the TOE, Authentication Server, and Wireless clients with valid X.509
certificates. The environment will also include an audit (syslog) server and a Management
Workstation.
The TOE supports two modes of operation, Local mode and Flex Connect mode. In Local
mode, the Access Point processes layer 2 wireless frames which are tunneled to the
Controller over an internal channel protected with DTLS. In Local mode the WLC is the
single point of ingress and egress for both management (TSF data) and user data traffic.
When user data traffic reaches the WLC, it is mapped to a corresponding interface (VLAN)
or interface group (VLAN pool) defined as part of the WLAN configuration settings on the
WLC.
Flex Connect mode is similar to Local mode in that the AP handles functions from the
802.11 specification. The difference with Flex Connect is it allows an option for user data
to be distributed at the egress (wired) port of the AP as IEEE 802.3 Ethernet traffic. This
mode allows authenticated wireless clients access to resources local to the AP which is
particularly useful in small remote and branch offices across WAN links where only a
handful of access points are needed. In Flex Connect mode, the WLC is the point of ingress
and egress for management traffic (TSF data) only.
Regardless of either mode it may operate in, the AP is always centrally managed by the
WLC and management traffic (TSF data) is secured in an internal channel protected with
DTLS. Wireless clients are authenticated by a centralized authentication server when the
TOE operates in either Local or Flex Connect mode.
4 Security Policy
This section summarizes the security functionality of the TOE:
1. Security audit
2. Communication
3. Cryptographic support
4. Identification and authentication
5. Security management
6. Protection of the TSF
7. TOE access
8. Trusted path/channels
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4.1 Security audit
Auditing 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.
The 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
AP transmits its audit messages to the WLC where they are stored along with the WLC's
own 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.
4.2 Communication
The TOE provides a secure internal channel, under control of the Security Administrator,
for Access Points to register and join the WLC to form a distributed TOE.
4.3 Cryptographic support
The TOE provides cryptographic functions in order to implement HTTPS, DTLS, SSH,
IPsec, WPA2, and IEEE 802.11ax-2021 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. All cryptography is implemented
using the IOS Common Cryptographic Module (IC2M) Rel5a and CiscoSSL FOM 7.3
cryptographic modules. IC2M Rel5a applies to the WLC and CiscoSSL FOM 7.3 applies to
the WLC and the AP. SSH and IPsec protocols are implemented using the IOS Common
Cryptographic Module (IC2M) and TLS and DTLS protocols are implemented using the
CiscoSSL FOM cryptographic modules. Refer to Table 22 in the ST for identification of
the relevant CAVP certificates.
In addition, the IEEE 802.11 implementation has been validated by the Wi-Fi Alliance for
WPA2 certification. Refer to Table 23 in the ST for identification of the relevant Wi-Fi
Alliance certificates.
4.4 Identification and authentication
The TOE facilitates authentication of wireless clients by performing the role of
Authenticator in an 802.1X authentication exchange.
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During the 802.1X authentication exchange, the wireless client software responsible for
authentication (hereinafter referred to as a Supplicant) is relayed through the WLC. The
802.1X frames carry EAP authentication packets which are passed through to the RADIUS
Authentication Server. The TOE creates a virtual port for each wireless client that is
attempting access and blocks access until the RADIUS server returns an authentication
success message and 802.11 wireless encryption keys are derived and installed on both the
Supplicant and AP. After that point 802.11 wireless data frames from the wireless client
are allowed to pass as 802.3 Ethernet frames on the network.
The TOE provides two types of authentication to provide a trusted means for Security
Administrators and remote endpoints to interact with a WLAN Access System: X.509v3
certificate-based authentication for remote devices and password-based authentication for
Security Administrators. Device-level authentication allows the TOE to establish a secure
communication channel with remote endpoints.
Security Administrators have the ability to compose strong passwords (between 8 and 16
characters) which are stored in an obscured form. 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.
4.5 Security management
The 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.
The APs are managed via the WLC. Direct local administration of the APs is not
supported.
The TOE provides a Security Administrator role and only the Security Administrator can
perform the above security management functions. The TOE prevents attempts to perform
remote administration from a wireless client.
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4.6 Protection of the TSF
The 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), denying session establishment of wireless clients
(based on time), and to support accurate audit records.
The 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.
4.7 TOE access
The 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.
The TOE is capable of denying wireless client session establishment based on time, day,
and WLAN SSID.
The TOE also displays a Security Administrator specified advisory notice and consent
warning message prior to initiating identification and authentication for each administrative
user.
4.8 Trusted path/channels
The TOE provides encryption (protection from disclosure and detection of modification)
for communication channels/paths between itself and remote endpoints and TOE
administrators. Specifically, the TOE allows a trusted path to be established to itself from
the remote authorized administrator over SSH and TLS/HTTPS. The TOE also initiates an
outbound IPsec trusted channel to transmit audit messages to a remote syslog server.
In 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.
5 Assumptions & Clarification of Scope
Assumptions
The Security Problem Definition, including the assumptions, may be found in the following
documents:
• collaborative Protection Profile for Network Devices, Version 2.2e, 23
March 2020 (NDcPP22e)
• PP-Module for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Access System,
Version 1.0, 31 March 2022 (WLANAS10)
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That information has not been reproduced here and the NDcPP22e/WLANAS10 should be
consulted if there is interest in that material.
Clarification of scope
The scope of this evaluation was limited to the functionality and assurances covered in the
NDcPP22e/WLANAS10 as described for this TOE in the Security Target. Other
functionality included in the product was not assessed as part of this evaluation. All other
functionality provided by the devices needs to be assessed separately, and no further
conclusions can be drawn about their effectiveness.
All evaluations (and all products) have limitations, as well as potential misconceptions that
need clarification. This text covers some of the more important limitations and clarifications
of this evaluation. Note that:
• As with any evaluation, this evaluation only shows that the evaluated configuration
meets the security claims made with a certain level of assurance (the assurance
activities specified in the collaborative Protection Profile for Network Devices and
the Wireless LAN Module and performed by the evaluation team).
• This evaluation covers only the specific device models and software as identified in
this document, and not any earlier or later versions released or in process.
• Apart from the Admin Guide, additional customer documentation for the specific
Wireless LAN models was not included in the scope of the evaluation and therefore
should not be relied upon when configuring or operating the device as evaluated.
• This evaluation did not specifically search for, nor attempt to exploit, vulnerabilities
that were not “obvious” or vulnerabilities to objectives not claimed in the ST. The
CEM defines an “obvious” vulnerability as one that is easily exploited with a
minimum of understanding of the TOE, technical sophistication and resources.
• The functionality evaluated is scoped exclusively to the security functional
requirements specified in the NDcPP22e/WLANAS10 and applicable Technical
Decisions. Any additional security related functional capabilities of the TOE were
not covered by this evaluation.
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6 Documentation
The following documents were available with the TOE for evaluation:
• Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12 CC
Configuration Guide, Version 0.9, April 6, 2025
Any additional customer documentation provided with the product, or that is available
online, was not included in the scope of the evaluation and therefore should not be relied
upon when configuring or operating the device as evaluated.
To use the product in the evaluated configuration, the product must be configured as
specified in the Guidance Documentation listed above. Consumers are encouraged to
download the configuration guides from the NIAP website to ensure the device is
configured as evaluated.
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7 IT Product Testing
This section describes the testing efforts of the developer and the Evaluation Team. It is
derived from information contained in the proprietary Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless
Controllers and Access Points 17.12 NDcPPv2.2E + MOD_WLAN_ASv1.0 Detailed Test
Report, Version 1.2, April 9, 2025 (DTR), as summarized in the evaluation Assurance
Activity Report (AAR).
7.1 Developer Testing
No evidence of developer testing is required in the assurance activities for this product.
7.2 Evaluation Team Independent Testing
The evaluation team conducted independent testing from November 2024 through April
2025. Testing was performed in the Lightship Ottawa (Canada) facility that has been
accredited by the Standards Council of Canada. The TOE and test setup were physically and
logically protected from unauthorized access, and the TOE was configured according to
vendor installation instructions and as identified in the Security Target.
Testing within the Lightship lab in Canada was pre-approved by NIAP. The Lightship lab
in Ottawa, Canada is an ISO-17025 accredited facility. It has access control to all areas
containing systems under test and only authorized personnel are permitted access to the test
space.
The evaluation team verified the product according to a Common Criteria Certification
document and ran the tests specified in the NDcPP22e/WLANAS10 including the tests
associated with optional requirements. The Independent Testing activity is documented in
the AAR, which is publicly available, and is not duplicated here.
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8 TOE Evaluated Configuration
8.1 Evaluated Configuration
The TOE components are Wireless LAN Controllers and Access Points and each is
composed of hardware and software. When components are joined, the TOE forms a
Wireless LAN Access System.
The TOE is comprised of the following models:
Hardware Configuration Software Version
9166 Series Wi-Fi 6/6E AP
9164I Series Wi-Fi 6/6E AP
9162I Series Wi-Fi 6/6E AP
9136I Series AP
9130AX Series Wi-Fi 6/6E AP
9124AX Series AP
IW9167 Heavy Duty AP
IOS-XE 17.12.04 (embedded in WLC)
9800-80 WLC C9800-80: IOS-XE 17.12.04
9800-40 WLC C9800-40: IOS-XE 17.12.04
9800-L WLC C9800-L: IOS-XE 17.12.04
9800-CL WLC running on ESXi 6.7 on the Unified
Computing System (UCS) USCS-C220-M5,
UCSC-C240-M5, UCSC-C480-M5
C9800-CL: IOS-XE 17.12.04
8.2 Excluded Functionality
The following functionality is excluded from the evaluation.
Excluded Functionality Exclusion Rationale
Non-FIPS 140-2 and CC mode of operation The TOE includes FIPS and CC modes of
operation. The FIPS modes allows the TOE
to use only approved cryptography and CC
mode removes the ability to use non-PFS
ciphersuites for DTLS. FIPS and CC modes
of operation must be enabled in order for the
TOE to be operating in its evaluated
configuration.
WPA and WPA2 with TKIP encryption Only WPA2/3-Enterprise along with 802.1X
with AES encryption will meet the
requirements of the PP-Module for Wireless
Local Area Network (WLAN) Access
System, Version 1.0
(MOD_WLAN_AS_V1.0).
Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL for public cloud The Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL for public cloud
is an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
solution available on the Amazon Web
Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform
(GCP) Marketplace. The Cisco Catalyst
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Excluded Functionality Exclusion Rationale
9800-CL for public cloud solution is
excluded from the evaluation.
Cisco CleanAir Cisco CleanAir is a spectrum intelligence
solution designed to proactively manage the
challenges of a shared wireless spectrum.
Additionally, the TOE includes a number of functions where there are no Security
Functional Requirements that apply from the collaborative Protection Profile for Network
Devices v2.2e or the PP-Module for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Access
System Version 1.0. The excluded functionality does not affect the TOE’s conformance to
the claimed Protection Profiles.
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9 Results of the Evaluation
The results of the assurance requirements are generally described in this section and are
presented in detail in the proprietary ETR. The reader of this document can assume that all
assurance activities and work units received a passing verdict.
A verdict for an assurance component is determined by the resulting verdicts assigned to the
corresponding evaluator action elements. The evaluation was conducted based upon CC
version 3.1 rev 5 and CEM version 3.1 rev 5. The evaluation determined the Cisco Catalyst
9800 Series Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12 TOE to be Part 2 extended, and to
meet the SARs contained in the NDcPP22e/WLANAS10.
9.1 Evaluation of the Security Target (ASE)
The evaluation team applied each ASE CEM work unit. The ST evaluation ensured the ST
contains a description of the environment in terms of policies and assumptions, a statement
of security requirements claimed to be met by the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless
Controllers and Access Points 17.12 products that are consistent with the Common Criteria,
and product security function descriptions that support the requirements.
The validation team reviewed the work of the evaluation team and found that sufficient
evidence and justification was provided by the evaluation team to confirm that the evaluation
was conducted in accordance with the requirements of the CEM, and that the conclusion
reached by the evaluation team was justified.
9.2 Evaluation of the Development (ADV)
The evaluation team applied each ADV CEM work unit. The evaluation team assessed the
design documentation and found it adequate to aid in understanding how the TSF provides
the security functions. The design documentation consists of a functional specification
contained in the Security Target and Guidance documents. Additionally, the evaluation team
performed the assurance activities specified in the NDcPP22e/WLANAS10 related to the
examination of the information contained in the TSS.
The validation team reviewed the work of the evaluation team and found that sufficient
evidence and justification was provided by the evaluation team to confirm that the evaluation
was conducted in accordance with the requirements of the CEM, and that the conclusion
reached by the evaluation team was justified.
9.3 Evaluation of the Guidance Documents (AGD)
The evaluation team applied each AGD CEM work unit. The evaluation team ensured the
adequacy of the user guidance in describing how to use the operational TOE. Additionally,
the evaluation team ensured the adequacy of the administrator guidance in describing how
to securely administer the TOE. All of the guides were assessed during the design and testing
phases of the evaluation to ensure they were complete.
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The validation team reviewed the work of the evaluation team and found that sufficient
evidence and justification was provided by the evaluation team to confirm that the evaluation
was conducted in accordance with the requirements of the CEM, and that the conclusion
reached by the evaluation team was justified.
9.4 Evaluation of the Life Cycle Support Activities (ALC)
The evaluation team applied each ALC CEM work unit. The evaluation team found that the
TOE was identified.
The validation team reviewed the work of the evaluation team and found that sufficient
evidence and justification was provided by the evaluation team to confirm that the evaluation
was conducted in accordance with the requirements of the CEM, and that the conclusion
reached by the evaluation team was justified.
9.5 Evaluation of the Test Documentation and the Test Activity (ATE)
The evaluation team applied each ATE CEM work unit. The evaluation team ran the set of
tests specified by the assurance activities in the NDcPP22e/WLANAS10 and recorded the
results in a Test Report, summarized in the AAR.
The validation team reviewed the work of the evaluation team and found that sufficient
evidence and justification was provided by the evaluation team to confirm that the evaluation
was conducted in accordance with the requirements of the CEM, and that the conclusion
reached by the evaluation team was justified.
9.6 Vulnerability Assessment Activity (VAN)
The evaluation team applied each AVA CEM work unit. The vulnerability analysis is in the
Detailed Test Report (DTR) prepared by the evaluation team. The vulnerability analysis
includes a public search for vulnerabilities. The public search for vulnerabilities did not
uncover any residual vulnerability.
The evaluation team searched the following sources:
• National Vulnerability Database (https://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/search)
• MITRE CVE List (https://cve.mitre.org/cve/search_cve_list.html),
• CVE Details (https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-search.php)
• CISA - Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog (https://www.cisa.gov/known-
exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog)
• Cisco Security Advisories
(https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/publicationListing.x)
• Cisco Security Software Checker for IOS-XE 17.12.04
(https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/softwarechecker.x?productSelected
=ios_xe&selectedMethod=A&captchaPage=true&platformCode=NA&versionNam
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esSelected=17.12.04&allAdvisoriesSelectedByTree=N&advisoryType=0&iosBund
leId=cisco-sa-20240925-
bundle&isFewCheckBoxChecked1=false&isNoneCheckBoxsChecked1=true#~onS
tep3)
The searches were performed on April 6, 2025 with the following search terms:
Cisco IOS-XE 17.12
Wireless LAN Controller
Lightweight AP software 17.12
Intel Xeon Silver 4116T
Intel Xeon Broadwell D-1548
Intel Xeon Broadwell D-1563N
Intel Xeon Skylake SP
Qualcomm IPQ8076 ARMv8
Qualcomm IPQ6010 ARMv8
Qualcomm IPQ8078 ARMv8
Cisco Catalyst 9800-80 Wireless
Controller
Cisco Catalyst 9800-40 Wireless
Controller
Cisco Catalyst 9800-L Wireless
Controller
Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL Wireless
Controller
Access Points (As identified in [ST]
Section 1.7)
ACT2Lite
SmartFusion2
OpenSSH
OpenResty
DNSmasq
OpenSSL
CiscoSSL
IC2M Rel5a
CiscoSSH
VMWare ESXi 6.7
The validation team reviewed the work of the evaluation team and found that sufficient
evidence and justification was provided by the evaluation team to confirm that the evaluation
was conducted in accordance with the requirements of the CEM, and that the conclusion
reached by the evaluation team was justified.
9.7 Summary of Evaluation Results
The evaluation team’s assessment of the evaluation evidence demonstrates that the claims in
the ST are met. Additionally, the evaluation team’s testing also demonstrated the accuracy
of the claims in the ST.
The validation team’s assessment of the evidence provided by the evaluation team is that it
demonstrates that the evaluation team followed the procedures defined in the CEM, and
correctly verified that the product meets the claims in the ST.
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10 Validator Comments/Recommendations
The validation team notes that the evaluated configuration is dependent upon the TOE being
configured per the evaluated configuration instructions in the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series
Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12 CC Configuration Guide, Version 0.9, April
6, 2025. As stated in the Clarification of Scope, the evaluated functionality is scoped
exclusively to the security functional requirements specified in the ST, and the only evaluated
functionality was that which was described by the SFRs claimed in the ST. All other
functionality provided by the TOE needs to be assessed separately and no further conclusions
can be drawn about its effectiveness.
Consumers employing the TOE must follow the configuration instructions provided in the
Configuration Guidance documentation listed in Section 6 to ensure the evaluated
configuration is established and maintained. It is important to note the excluded functionality
listed in Section 8.2 and follow the configuration instructions to ensure that this functionality
is disabled. In addition, it is important to apply all updates and patches, particularly for ESXi
6.7 if using the 9800-CL WCL.
Evaluation activities are strictly bound by the assurance activities described in the
NDcPP22e/WLANASS10 and accompanying Supporting Documents. Consumers and
integrators of this TOE are advised to understand the inherent limitations of these activities
and take additional measures as needed to ensure proper TOE behavior when integrated into
an operational environment.
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11 Annexes
Not applicable
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12 Security Target
The Security Target is identified as: Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and
Access Points 17.12 Security Target, Version 1.2, April 6, 2025.
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13 Glossary
The following definitions are used throughout this document:
• Common Criteria Testing Laboratory (CCTL). An IT security evaluation facility
accredited by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) and
approved by the CCEVS Validation Body to conduct Common Criteria-based
evaluations.
• Conformance. The ability to demonstrate in an unambiguous way that a given
implementation is correct with respect to the formal model.
• Evaluation. The assessment of an IT product against the Common Criteria using the
Common Criteria Evaluation Methodology to determine whether or not the claims made
are justified; or the assessment of a protection profile against the Common Criteria using
the Common Evaluation Methodology to determine if the Profile is complete, consistent,
technically sound and hence suitable for use as a statement of requirements for one or
more TOEs that may be evaluated.
• Evaluation Evidence. Any tangible resource (information) required from the sponsor or
developer by the evaluator to perform one or more evaluation activities.
• Feature. Part of a product that is either included with the product or can be ordered
separately.
• Target of Evaluation (TOE). A group of IT products configured as an IT system, or an
IT product, and associated documentation that is the subject of a security evaluation
under the CC.
• Validation. The process carried out by the CCEVS Validation Body leading to the issue
of a Common Criteria certificate.
• Validation Body. A governmental organization responsible for carrying out validation
and for overseeing the day-to-day operation of the NIAP Common Criteria Evaluation
and Validation Scheme.
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14 Bibliography
The validation team used the following documents to produce this VR:
[1] Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation: Part 1:
Introduction and General Model, Version 3.1, Revision 5, April 2017.
[2] Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation Part 2: Security
functional components, Version 3.1, Revision 5, April 2017.
[3] Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation Part 3: Security
assurance components, Version 3.1 Revision 5, April 2017.
[4] collaborative Protection Profile for Network Devices, Version 2.2e, 23 March 2020
(NDcPP22e).
[5] PP-Module for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Access System),Version 1.0,
31 March 2022 (WLANAS10).
[6] Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12 Security
Target, Version 1.2, April 6, 2025 (ST).
[7] Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12 Assurance
Activity Report, Version 1.2, April 9, 2025 (AAR).
[8] Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12
NDcPPv2.2E + MOD_WLAN_ASv1.0 Detailed Test Report, Version 1.2, April 9,
2025 (DTR).
[9] Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12 Detailed
Test Report Evidence WLC-40, Version 1.1, April 6, 2025 (DTRE1).
[10] Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12 Detailed
Test Report Evidence WLC-CL, Version 1.1, April 6, 2025 (DTRE2).
[11] Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12
Evaluation Technical Report, Version 1.2, April 2025 (ETR).
[12] Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12
Vulnerability Assessment, Version 1.1, April 6, 2025 (VA).
[13] Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and Access Points 17.12 CC
Configuration Guide, Version 0.9, April 6, 2025 (AGD).