access control function

A procedural or technical capability — whether a software routine, an administrative role, or a system component — that implements and enforces an access control policy by evaluating requests from subjects against authorization rules and producing a permit or deny outcome. A security administration function specifies the authorization database that acts as an input to the access control function, meaning the phrase denotes the enforcement side of the access control pipeline, distinct from the policy-definition and audit sides. Authority documents such as NIST SP 800-53 use it in separation-of-duties contexts — for example, requiring that personnel who administer access control functions do not also administer audit functions — confirming that it names an identifiable, separable operational or technical role rather than the whole discipline of access control.

Advisory only. A term this product ships is defined by an authority document, not by a search result.