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VA Technical Reference Model v 24.7

Drupal

General Information

Technologies must be operated and maintained in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines. More information on the proper use of the TRM can be found on the TRM Proper Use Tab/Section.

Website:	Go to site
Description:	Drupal is an open-source content management software. This technology allows the use of reusable components and customized software for managing web content to reduce the overhead associated with common activities performed in web development. Core component features include user account registration and maintenance, menu management, Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds, taxonomy, page layout customization, and system administration. This entry covers the Desktop Edition of this technology and not any mobile versions. Please note that the implementation of mobile technology applications that operate on Mobile Operating Systems must be reviewed and approved by the Mobile Technology and Endpoint Security Engineering Team: http://vaww.eie.va.gov/SysDesign/CS/MT/default.aspx
Technology/Standard Usage Requirements:	Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.
Section 508 Information:	This technology has not been assessed by the Section 508 Office. The Implementer of this technology has the responsibility to ensure the version deployed is 508-compliant. Section 508 compliance may be reviewed by the Section 508 Office and appropriate remedial action required if necessary. For additional information or assistance regarding Section 508, please contact the Section 508 Office at Section508@va.gov.
Decision:	View Decisions

Decision Source:	TRM Mgmt Group
Decision Process:	One-VA TRM v23.1
Decision Date:	01/17/2023 at 17:42:12 UTC
Aliases:	Drupal Core
Introduced By:	TRM Request
Vendor Name:	Drupal

Vendor Release Information

The Vendor Release table provides the known releases for the TRM Technology, obtained from the vendor (or from the release source).

Version	Release Date	Vendor End of Life Date
6.x	08/19/2015	02/24/2016
7.x	08/19/2015	11/01/2023
8.x	11/19/2015	11/17/2021
9.x	06/03/2020	11/01/2023
10.x	12/15/2022

Current Decision Matrix (01/11/2023)

Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.

The VA Decision Matrix displays the current and future VA IT position regarding different releases of a TRM entry. These decisions are based upon the best information available as of the most current date. The consumer of this information has the responsibility to consult the organizations responsible for the desktop, testing, and/or production environments to ensure that the target version of the technology will be supported. Any major.minor version that is not listed in the VA Decision Matrix is considered unapproved for use.

Legend:

White	Approved: The technology/standard has been approved for use.
Yellow	Approved w/Constraints: The technology/standard can be used within the specified constraints located below the decision matrix in the footnote[1] and on the General tab.
Gray	Unapproved: This technology or standard can be used only if a POA&M review is conducted and signed by the Authorizing Official Designated Representative (AODR) as designated by the Authorizing Official (AO) or designee and based upon a recommendation from the POA&M Compliance Enforcement, has been granted to the project team or organization that wishes to use the technology.
Orange	Divest: VA has decided to divest itself on the use of the technology/standard. As a result, all projects currently utilizing the technology/standard must plan to eliminate their use of the technology/standard. Additional information on when the entry is projected to become unapproved may be found on the Decision tab for the specific entry.
Black	Prohibited: The technology/standard is not (currently) permitted to be used under any circumstances.
Blue	Planning/Evaluation Constraint:The period of time this technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. If a customer would like to use this technology, please work with your local or Regional OI&T office and contact the appropriate evaluation office displayed in the notes below the decision matrix. The Local or Regional OI&T office should submit an inquiry to the TRM if they require further assistance or if the evaluating office is not listed in the notes below.

Release/Version Information:

VA decisions for specific versions may include a ‘.x’ wildcard, which denotes a decision that pertains to a range of multiple versions.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 7.x would cover any version of 7.(Anything) - 7.(Anything). However, a 7.4.x decision would cover any version of 7.4.(Anything), but would not cover any version of 7.5.x or 7.6.x on the TRM.

VA decisions for specific versions may include ‘+’ symbols; which denotes that the decision for the version specified also includes versions greater than what is specified but is not to exceed or affect previous decimal places.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 12.6.4+ would cover any version that is greater than 12.6.4, but would not exceed the .6 decimal ie: 12.6.401 is ok, 12.6.5 is ok, 12.6.9 is ok, however 12.7.0 or 13.0 is not.

<Past

CY2020

CY2021

CY2022

Future>

Release

6.x

Unapproved

7.x

Approved w/Constraints
[1, 4, 6, 7, 9]

Divest
[1, 4, 6, 7, 9]

Approved w/Constraints
[1, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13]

Approved w/Constraints
[1, 4, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16]

8.x

Approved w/Constraints
[1, 4, 6, 7, 9]

Divest
[1, 4, 6, 7, 9]

Approved w/Constraints
[1, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13]

Unapproved

9.x

Unapproved

Divest
[1, 4, 6, 7, 9]

Approved w/Constraints
[1, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13]

Approved w/Constraints
[1, 4, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16]

10.x

Unapproved

Decision Constraints


[1]	Due to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) identified security vulnerabilities, extra vigilance should be applied to ensure the versions remain properly patched to mitigate known and future vulnerabilities. The local ISO can provide assistance in reviewing the NIST vulnerabilities.

[2]	As of April 23, 2015, per the Deputy CIO of Architecture, Strategy and Design (ASD), all technologies in use by the VA require an assessment by the VA Section 508 office. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 is a federal law that sets the guidelines for technology accessibility. A VA Section 508 assessment of this technology has not been completed at the time of publication. Therefore, as of April 23, 2015 only users of this technology who have deployed the technology to the production environment, or have project design and implementation plans approved, may continue to operate this technology. In the case of a project that has implemented, or been approved for a specific site or number of users, and that project needs to expand operations to other sites or to an increased user base, it may do so as long as the project stays on the existing version of the technology that was approved or implemented as of April 22, 2015. Use of this technology in all other cases is prohibited.

[3]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[4]	Users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Office (ISO) or local OIT representative for permission to download and use this software. Downloaded software must always be scanned for viruses prior to installation to prevent adware or malware. Freeware may only be downloaded directly from the primary site that the creator of the software has advertised for public download and user or development community engagement. Users should note, any attempt by the installation process to install any additional, unrelated software is not approved and the user should take the proper steps to decline those installations.

[5]	Per the May 5th, 2015 memorandum from the VA Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) FIPS 140-2 Validate Full Disk Encryption (FOE) for Data at Rest in Database Management Systems (DBMS) and in accordance with Federal requirements and VA policy, database management must use Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 compliant encryption to protect the confidentiality and integrity of VA information at rest at the application level. If FIPS 140-2 encryption at the application level is not technically possible, FIPS 140-2 compliant full disk encryption (FOE) must be implemented on the hard drive where the DBMS resides. Appropriate access enforcement and physical security control must also be implemented. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500 and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards. It is the responsibility of the system owner to work with the local CIO (or designee) and Information Security Officer (ISO) to ensure that a compliant DBMS technology is selected and that if needed, mitigating controls are in place and documented in a System Security Plan (SSP).

[6]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[7]	Per the May 5th, 2015 memorandum from the VA Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) FIPS 140-2 Validate Full Disk Encryption (FOE) for Data at Rest in Database Management Systems (DBMS) and in accordance with Federal requirements and VA policy, database management must use Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 compliant encryption to protect the confidentiality and integrity of VA information at rest at the application level. If FIPS 140-2 encryption at the application level is not technically possible, FIPS 140-2 compliant full disk encryption (FOE) must be implemented on the hard drive where the DBMS resides. Appropriate access enforcement and physical security control must also be implemented. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500 and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards. It is the responsibility of the system owner to work with the local CIO (or designee) and Information Security Officer (ISO) to ensure that a compliant DBMS technology is selected and that if needed, mitigating controls are in place and documented in a System Security Plan (SSP).

[8]	This product can be configured with a MySQL Database which currently has TRM constraints for intranet use only due to its many known security issues. If MySQL is selected for use with this product, these factors must be considered especially when an instance of this product will be considered a Moderate or High Risk system. See the MySQL Database TRM entry for more details. Drupal and its subsequent modules can be configured with different databases. The user must only use TRM-approved databases.

[9]	This product can be configured with a MySQL Database which currently has TRM constraints for intranet use only due to its many known security issues. If MySQL is selected for use with this product, these factors must be considered especially when an instance of this product will be considered a Moderate or High-Risk system. See the MySQL Database TRM entry for more details. Drupal and its subsequent modules can be configured with different databases. The user must only use TRM-approved databases.

[10]	This product can be configured with a MySQL Database which currently has TRM constraints limiting its use to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) only and intranet use only due to its many known security issues. If MySQL is selected for use with this product, these factors must be considered especially when an instance of this product will be considered a Moderate or High-Risk system. See the MySQL Database TRM entry for more details. Drupal and its subsequent modules can be configured with different databases. The user must only use TRM-approved databases. Users must ensure that Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and PostgreSQL are implemented within VA-approved baselines.

[11]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[12]	Per the May 5th, 2015 memorandum from the VA Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) FIPS 140-2 Validate Full Disk Encryption (FOE) for Data at Rest in Database Management Systems (DBMS) and in accordance with Federal requirements and VA policy, database management must use Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 compliant encryption to protect the confidentiality and integrity of VA information at rest at the application level. If FIPS 140-2 encryption at the application level is not technically possible, FIPS 140-2 compliant full disk encryption (FOE) must be implemented on the hard drive where the DBMS resides. Appropriate access enforcement and physical security control must also be implemented. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500 and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards. It is the responsibility of the system owner to work with the local CIO (or designee) and Information Security Officer (ISO) to ensure that a compliant DBMS technology is selected and that if needed, mitigating controls are in place and documented in a System Security Plan (SSP).

[13]	This product can be configured with a PostgreSQL Database, which currently has TRM constraints limiting its use to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) only due to its many known security issues on other platforms. If PostgreSQL is selected for use with this product, these factors must be considered especially when an instance of this product will be considered a Moderate or High-Risk system. See PostgreSQL Database TRM entry for more details.

[14]	Users must ensure that Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Structured Query Language (SQL) Server, Oracle Database, and MongoDB Enterprise Advanced are implemented with VA-approved baselines. (refer to the ‘Category’ tab under ‘Runtime Dependencies’) Users must not utilize the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol, as it is unapproved for use on the TRM. Users must not utilize the Maria Database (DB) Server or Opera Desktop technologies, as they are unapproved for use on the TRM.

[15]	If this product uses a MySQL database, the product must be configured with a commercial edition of the MySQL Database, which currently has TRM constraints limiting its use for intranet and non-sensitive data only due to its many known security issues. If a commercial edition of MySQL is selected for use with this product, these factors must be considered especially when an instance of this product will be considered a Moderate or High-Risk system. See MySQL Database – Commercial Edition TRM entry for more details.

[16]	This technology has received one or more VA security bulletins that provide specific guidance on vulnerability patching and mitigation. It is the responsibility of VA system owners to ensure that the appropriate mitigations are taken to address all known and future discovered vulnerabilities with this product. See the Reference tab for more information on security bulletins related to this product.

Note:

At the time of writing, version 10.0.0 is the most current version, released 12/15/2022.

The following reference(s) are associated with this entry:
Type	Name	Source	Description
Vendor Provided*	Drupal Security Advisories	Publicly Available	This website points to the security advisories posted by the Drupal security team.
Best Practice	Drupal Best Practices	Publicly Available	This website points to Drupal`s guidelines and suggestions for setting up a Drupal site.
Other	Drupal Core Modules	Publicly Available	This website points to the a list of existing core Drupal modules that come with the initial install.
Vendor Provided*	Releases for Drupal Core	Publicly Available	This website points to the release history of core Drupal.
Vendor Provided*	System Requirements	Publicly Available	This website points to the system requirements of core Drupal.
Vendor Provided*	Releases for Drupal Core		Release notes for Drupal.
*NOTE: Vendor provided information is subject to the accuracy of the manufacturer.

Technology Components

Note: This list may not be complete. No component, listed or unlisted, may be used outside of the technology in which it is released. The usage decision for a component is found in the Decision and Decision Constraints.
Name	Description
Aggregator	The Aggregator module is a feed reader that is included in Drupal core. When enabled, the Aggregator module can fetch syndicated content from other websites.
Ban	Ban enables banning of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.
Block	Block controls the boxes that are displayed around the main content of a Drupal website.
Blog	The Blog module (a core module in Drupal 7 and earlier) allows authorized users to maintain a blog.
Blog API	This module allows users to post content using applications that support Extensible Markup Language, remote procedure calls (XML-RPC) for blog application programming interfaces (APIs).
Book	Book is a core module of Drupal that is not enabled by default. A book is a set of pages tied together in a hierarchical sequence.
Breakpoint	Breakpoint keeps track of the height, width, and resolution breakpoints for responsive design.
CKEditor	CKEditor provides a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor.
Color	The Color module allows users with the Administer site configuration permission to change the color scheme of themes that have been built to be compatible with it.
Comment	The Comment module in Drupal allows users to comment on many types of site content, as allowed by the site administrator.
Configuration Manager	The Configuration Manager Drupal module allows site administrators to modify configurations.
Contact	The Contact module allows site visitors to send emails to other authenticated users and to the site administrator.
Content Translation	Content Translation allows content to be translated into different languages.
Contextual Links (contextual)	This module provides contextual links to perform actions related to elements on a page.
Dashboard	Dashboard gives administrators a customizable overview of important site information.
Database Logging (dblog)	The Database Logging Drupal module logs and records system events to the database. Formerly known as Watchdog.
Datetime	This module allows users to implement a datetime field.
Email Field	Email defines a simple e-mail field type.
Entity API	Entity provides an API for managing entities like nodes and users.
Entity Reference	Entity Reference provides a field that can reference other entities.
Entity Translation	Entity Translation allows users to translate content entities.
Field	Field module is an internal developer application programming interface (API).
Field SQL Storage	Field SQL Storage stores field data in an Structured Query Language (SQL) database.
Field UI	The Field UI module provides an administrative user interface (UI) for attaching and managing fields.
File	The File module enables users to upload and attach files to content and to manage these uploads if they have the appropriate permissions. This module is responsible for validating file content and managing uploaded files. It also provides options for displaying file content.
File Uploads	File Uploads allows users to upload and attach files to content.
Filter	The Filter core module allows users to configure formats for text input for their website.
Forum	Forum enables threaded discussions about general topics.
Help	The core Help module supports Drupal`s built-in help system. Its Help landing page appears by default in the administrative Graphical User Interface (GUI) of a site.
History	History records which user has read which content.
Hypertext Application Language (HAL)	HAL serializes entities using Hypertext Application Language (HAL)
Image	The Image module (in core as of Drupal 7 only) allows users to display and manipulate images on their website.
Layout Builder	The Layout module manages page layouts for content presentation.
Link	The Link module defines simple link field types.
List	List defines list field types. List can also be used with Options to create selection lists.
Locale	Locale adds language handling functionality and enables the translation of the user interface to languages other than English.
Markup Language	The Markup Language module adds language handling functionality to Drupal.
Menu	The Menu module provides an interface to control and customize the powerful menu system that comes with Drupal.
Menu Link	Menu Link enables users to create menu links.
Multilingual	Multilingual allows content to be translated into different languages.
Node	Node allows content to be submitted to the site and displayed on pages.
Open ID	The OpenID module adds a feature to the User login block and displays a new link allowing a user to sign in using OpenID.
Options	The Options module defines selection, check box, and radio button widgets for text and numeric fields.
Overlay	Overlay displays the Drupal administration interface in an overlay.
Path	The core Path module lets users optionally create Uniform Resource Locator (URL) aliases for your Drupal pages.
PHP Filter	The PHP filter core module adds the ability to include Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) code in posts.
Ping	Ping alerts other sites when the user`s site has been updated.
Poll	Poll allows the site to capture votes on different topics in the form of multiple choice questions.
Profile	Profile supports configurable user profiles.
Quick Edit	This module provides in-place content editing functionality for fields.
Resource Description Framework (RDF)	Resource Description Framework (RDF) enriches Drupal content with metadata to let other applications (e.g. search engines, aggregators) better understand its relationships and attributes.
Rest	Rest allows Web Services to be available on a user`s site.Web Services make it possible for other applications to read and update information on a site via the Web.
Search	Search enables site-wide keyword searching.
Serialization	Serialization provides a service for (de)serializing data to/from formats such as JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) and Extensible Markup Language (XML).
Shortcut	Shortcut allows users to manage customizable lists of shortcut links.
Statistics	The Statistics module shows users how often a given page is viewed, who viewed it, the previous page the user visited (referrer URL), and when it was viewed.
Syslog	The Syslog module logs events by sending messages to the logging facility of the web server`s operating system.
System	The system module provides system-wide defaults for running jobs at particular times, storing (caching) web pages to improve efficiency, and performing other essential tasks.
Taxonomy	Taxonomy enables the categorization of content.
Telephone	Telephone defines a field type for telephone numbers.
Testing	Testing provides a framework for unit and functional testing.
Text	Text defines simple text field types.
Text Editor	Editor adds bindings for client-side "text editors" to text formats.
Throttle	Throttle handles the auto-throttling mechanism, to control site congestion.
Toolbar	Toolbar provides a toolbar that shows the top-level administration menu items and links from other modules.
Tour	Tour provides guided tours of the site interface.
Tracker	The Tracker core module displays a site`s most recently added or updated content.
Trigger	Trigger enables actions to be fired on certain system events, such as when new content is created.
Unlimited Number	Unlimited Number adds a custom render element and field widget allowing the user to choose "Unlimited" or a number value.
Update status	The Update manager (Drupal 7) and Update status (Drupal 6) modules periodically check for new versions of the site`s software (including contributed modules and themes), and alert users to available updates.
User	The User module allows users to register, log in, and log out.
Views	The Views module is a query builder that allows the creation of complex reports and lists.
Views UI	Views User Interface (UI) provides a UI for the Views module.
XML-RPC	XMLRPC enables eXtensible Markup Language - Remote Procedure Call (XML-RPC) functionality.


Collaboration and Electronic Workplace Collaboration Software	Content Management

- The information contained on this page is accurate as of the Decision Date (01/17/2023 at 17:42:12 UTC).

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VA Technical Reference Model v 24.7

General Information

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Current Decision Matrix (01/11/2023)

Decision Constraints

References

Technology Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

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Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

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Comparable Technologies:

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VA Technical Reference Model v 24.7

General Information

Vendor Release Information

Current Decision Matrix (01/11/2023)

Decision Constraints

References

Technology Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Open Source

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

Adoption Risks

Architectural Benefits

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