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VA Technical Reference Model v 23.2

Python

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:	Python is an interpreted scripting and programming language. This standard supports high-level data structures and uses a simplified approach to object-oriented programming and rapid application development. Additionally, this standard contains programming features such as generators and list comprehensions and includes automatic memory management practices. Note: There are several reference implementations of Python, including JPython (Java based) and IronPython (.Net based). This entry does NOT include each of these implementations and they must be requested individually by users of the individual implementations.
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:
Decision:	View Decisions

Decision Source:	TRM Mgmt Group
Decision Process:	One-VA TRM v23.1
Decision Date:	01/11/2023
Introduced By:	TRM Analysis
Standards Body:	Python Software Foundation

Vendor Release Information

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

Version	Release Date	Vendor End of Life Date
2.5
2.6.x	10/01/2008	10/29/2013
2.7.3	04/09/2012	01/01/2020
2.7.10	05/23/2015	01/01/2020
2.7.11	12/05/2015	01/01/2020
2.7.12	06/25/2016	01/01/2020
2.7.13	12/17/2016	01/01/2020
2.7.14	09/16/2017	01/01/2020
2.7.15	05/01/2018	01/01/2020
2.7.x	10/19/2019	01/01/2020
3.0	12/03/2008	01/13/2009
3.1	06/27/2009	04/09/2012
3.2	02/20/2011	02/20/2016
3.3.x	09/29/2012	09/29/2017
3.4.0	03/17/2014
3.4.1	05/18/2014
3.4.2	10/13/2014
3.4.3	02/25/2015
3.4.4	12/21/2015
3.4.5	06/27/2016
3.4.6	01/17/2017
3.4.7	08/09/2017
3.5.0	09/13/2015
3.5.1	12/07/2015
3.5.2	06/27/2016
3.5.3	01/17/2017
3.5.4	08/08/2017
3.5.9	11/02/2019
3.6.2	07/17/2017
3.6.3	10/03/2017	12/23/2021
3.6.7	10/20/2018
3.6.8	12/24/2018
3.6.10	12/18/2019
3.6.12	08/17/2020
3.7.x	06/27/2018	06/27/2023
3.8.x	12/18/2019
3.9.x	10/05/2020
3.10.x	10/04/2021
3.11.x	10/24/2022

Current Decision Matrix (01/10/2023)

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

CY2021

CY2022

CY2023

Future>

Release

2.5

Unapproved

2.6.x

Unapproved

2.7.3

Unapproved

2.7.10

Unapproved

2.7.12

Unapproved

2.7.13

Unapproved

2.7.14

Divest
[4]

Unapproved

2.7.15

Divest
[4]

Unapproved

2.7.x

Unapproved

3.0

Prohibited

3.1

Prohibited

3.2

Prohibited

3.3.x

Prohibited

3.4.1

Unapproved

3.4.2

Unapproved

3.4.3

Unapproved

3.4.5

Unapproved

3.4.6

Unapproved

3.4.7

Divest
[4]

Unapproved

3.5.0

Unapproved

3.5.2

Unapproved

3.5.3

Unapproved

3.5.4

Divest
[4]

Unapproved

3.5.9

Divest
[4]

Unapproved

3.6.2

Unapproved

3.6.3

Divest
[4]

Unapproved

3.6.7

Divest
[4]

Unapproved

3.6.8

Unapproved

3.6.10

Divest
[4]

Unapproved

3.6.12

Approved w/Constraints
[4]

Divest
[4, 6]

Divest
[6, 7]

3.7.x

Divest
[4]

Unapproved

3.8.x

Approved w/Constraints
[4]

Divest
[4, 6]

Divest
[6, 7]

3.9.x

Approved w/Constraints
[4]

Divest
[4, 6]

Divest
[6, 7]

3.10.x

Unapproved

Approved w/Constraints
[4]

Approved w/Constraints
[4, 6]

Approved w/Constraints
[6, 7]

3.11.x

Unapproved

Decision Constraints


[1]	Only version 2.7.3 is approved for use. Security vulnerabilities currently exist in all 3.x versions, including version 3.3.0.

[2]	Technology must remain patched and operated in accordance with Federal and Department security policies and guidelines in order to mitigate known and future security vulnerabilities.

[3]	Due to the retirement of the v2.6.x series, only projects that use Python for the inbuilt portions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6 such as yum and other default system configuration utilities may continue to use that series of Python. Otherwise users must use version 2.7.3 or 3.4.1. As per the decision map, versions 3.0-3.3.0 are prohibited from use due to security concerns and open CVEs of these versions. This technology must remain patched and operated in accordance with Federal and Department security policies and guidelines in order to mitigate known and future security vulnerabilities.

[4]	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.

[5]	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.

[6]	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.

[7]	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 ISSO (Information System Security Officer) can provide assistance in reviewing the NIST vulnerabilities.

Note:

At the time of writing, version 3.11.1 is the most current version, released 12/06/2022.

A standard configuration of this technology was developed by the DDE team. At the time of writing, the standard version is 3.10.5150.0.

The following reference(s) are associated with this entry:
Type	Name	Source	Description
Vendor Provided*	Python Release Notes		This website links to the release notes for this technology.
*NOTE: Vendor provided information is subject to the accuracy of the manufacturer.

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.
Source	Name	Description
	Tool Command Language (TCL)	TCL is a dynamic programming language. TCL provides support for software scripting in web and desktop applications, networking, administration, testing, and other programming uses.


Application Technology Development Tools	Development Frameworks

- The information contained on this page is accurate as of the Decision Date (01/11/2023).

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VA Technical Reference Model v 23.2

General Information

Vendor Release Information

Current Decision Matrix (01/10/2023)

Decision Constraints

References

Standard Components

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Comparable Standards:

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VA Technical Reference Model v 23.2

General Information

Vendor Release Information

Current Decision Matrix (01/10/2023)

Decision Constraints

References

Standard Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Implemented By/Verified With:

Comparable Standards:

Associated Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

Adoption Risks

Architectural Benefits

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