Is there a way to compare changes between Benchmark older and newer versions?


Product Name

CIS Benchmarks

Product Version

All

Date

Nov 22, 2021



 

Problem

Is an “easy way” or any documentation that would show the differences between minor Benchmark versions ,such as what was added/removed?

 

Solution - Manual comparison of Benchmarks

There is no exact way to place two Benchmarks side by side and see the differences (excepting something to the effect of opening up both Benchmarks side by side with the scroll lock via a preview app.)

However, at the end of every minor Benchmark release there is an ‘Appendix: Change History’. The Change History lists out every change that has been implemented since the previous version.

  1. Log into CIS Workbench

  2. Navigate to the specific technology Community i.e. CIS Microsoft Windows Benchmarks

  3. Select Benchmarks in the left of the page

  4. Download the PDF version of the specific Benchmark and version

  5. Check the Appendix: Change History section

For example, if you started with the newest minor version of a CIS Windows Server 2019 Benchmark v1.2.1 and the CIS Windows Server 2019 Benchmark v1.2.0 you would refer to the Change Log Appendix at the end of the v1.2.1 Benchmark .PDF or .docx. Using this Appendix you can see what changed between 1.2.1 and 1.2.0.

Major revisions to a Benchmark, such as moving from v1.0.0 to v2.0.0 will not contain a Change Appendix as the Recommendation numbers may have changed or may no longer align to the previous major Benchmark version.

If you want to get more details on specific changes you can join the specific CIS WorkBench community and research more information on those changes

Keywords; Benchmarks compare versions

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