Visitors escorted and monitored
Why it matters
CMMC 2.0 PE.L1-3.10.3 (NIST 800-171r2 3.10.3) requires that visitors to facilities where FCI is processed or stored are escorted and monitored. Unescorted visitors in areas containing workstations, servers, or printed FCI can observe screens, photograph documents, or access unlocked machines without any technical barrier. This control has no software implementation — it is a procedural and physical control assessed through facility inspection. Even when this check is automatically skipped in a code audit, the absence of visitor management procedures is a direct CMMC assessment finding during a physical review.
Severity rationale
Info severity because visitor escort controls are outside code-audit scope and always skipped — the gap surfaces during physical C3PAO assessment, not code inspection.
Remediation
Add visitor management procedures to the SECURITY.md physical security section. These documented procedures are reviewed during CMMC formal assessments as evidence of policy:
## Visitor Policy (PE.L1-3.10.3)
- All visitors must sign in at reception with government-issued ID
- Visitor badges issued and visibly worn throughout the visit
- Visitors escorted by an authorized employee in all secure areas
- Visitor access limited to areas necessary for their stated purpose
- Visitor log retained for a minimum of 90 days
Store the visitor log — physical or digital — where it can be produced on request during a C3PAO assessment.
DetectionPro
The detection method for this pattern is part of AuditBuffet Pro.
The full method (what to look for, pass and fail conditions, and how results get reported) ships inside the CMMC Level 1 Readiness Audit. The pattern definition, severity rationale, and remediation remain openly licensed under CC-BY-4.0.
External references
- cmmc:2.0 · PE.L1-3.10.3 — Escort Visitors
- nist:rev2 · SP-800-171 3.10.3 — Escort visitors and monitor visitor activity
Taxons
History
- 2026-04-18·v1.0.0·Initial import from gov-cmmc-level-1·automated