Re: CC request for interpretation: TSF required during maintenance mode?

["NIAP Interpretations Board" <ccevs-nib@nist.gov>]

There must be a distinction between "operational" and "maintenance" modes 
because the CC uses distinct terms. There can be multiple operational 
modes and multiple maintenance modes. In general, the NIB feels that a 
particular mode is a "maintenance" mode if one or more of the SFPs is 
"offline", i.e., not enforced. This could be the state while the characteristics of 
a policy are being modified such that suspension of enforcement is 
necessary, or it could be a state where the policy may be inconsistent 
(internally or with some other policy) and must be amended before its 
enforcement can resume. The ST author may define a mode as 
"maintenance" or "operational", and the evaluator may accept or challenge 
the definition.

A secure state is one in which the SFPs cannot be violated. This occurs 
when all SFPs are operational and being enforced; it also occurs when 
unauthorized users are denied access to the system while the enforcement 
of one or more policies is suspended. As with modes, the ST author may 
define a state as secure, and the evaluator may accept or challenge the 
definition.