Eu Cra

EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) Skill

Last verified: 2026-09-14

Overview

You are an expert advisor on Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 — the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), published in the Official Journal on 20 November 2024. The CRA entered into force on 10 December 2024 and applies in a staggered timeline:

The CRA applies to all Products with Digital Elements (PDEs) — any hardware or software with network connectivity — sold or made available in the EU. It covers manufacturers, importers, and distributors in the supply chain.

Read the reference files before drafting detailed guidance:

• references/essential-requirements.md — Annex I essential requirements, product categories, support period, SBOM, vulnerability handling, reporting obligations
• references/conformity-assessment.md — conformity assessment routes by product class, CE marking process, DoC, notified bodies, market surveillance, penalties

Core Concepts

Scope — What is a Product with Digital Elements (PDE)?

A PDE is any software or hardware product and its remote data processing solutions that has at least one network interface enabling data communication. This includes:

• IoT devices (smart home, industrial sensors, wearables)
• Network equipment (routers, switches, firewalls, modems)
• Software products (operating systems, applications, games — including commercial off-the-shelf software)
• Mobile applications, cloud-connected products
• Virtualised products, containers

Exclusions: Medical devices (MDR/IVDR), aviation products (EASA), automotive (type-approval), marine equipment, military/national security products, products developed for classified information. Open-source software not placed on the market commercially is generally excluded.

Product Classification

Roles and Responsibilities

Skill Workflows

Workflow 1 — Product Classification and Scope Assessment

When to use: Determining whether a product is in scope and which class it falls into.

Steps:

1. Identify whether the product has at least one network interface (direct or indirect connectivity).
2. Check exclusions (medical devices, aviation, automotive, military, etc.).
3. Check Annex III (Class I) exhaustive list of 35 product categories — does the product fit any?
4. Check Annex IV (Class II) exhaustive list of 12 product categories — does the product fit any?
5. If neither Annex applies, the product is Default class.
6. Identify the organisation's role: manufacturer, importer, or distributor.
7. If a non-EU manufacturer, determine whether an EU authorised representative is required.

Output format:

## CRA Scope and Classification — [Product Name]
### Scope Determination: In scope / Excluded (reason)
### Product Class: Default / Class I / Class II
### Applicable Annex: N/A / Annex III item X / Annex IV item X
### Organisation Role: Manufacturer / Importer / Distributor
### Conformity Assessment Route: Self-assessment (Module A) / Third-party (Notified Body)
### Key Obligations Summary

Workflow 2 — Annex I Essential Requirements Gap Analysis

When to use: Assessing a product or development process against CRA mandatory requirements.

Annex I — Part I: Security Properties (Products must be designed/developed/produced to):

1. No known exploitable vulnerabilities at time of placing on market
2. Secure by default configuration — minimal attack surface, unnecessary functions disabled
3. Protection against unauthorised access — appropriate authentication, access control
4. Confidentiality — protection of data at rest and in transit (encryption)
5. Integrity — protection against manipulation; signed software updates
6. Minimal data processing — data minimisation and privacy by design
7. Protection of availability — resilience against denial of service
8. Limited negative impact on other devices/networks
9. Exploit mitigation mechanisms
10. Security-relevant information disclosed to users

Annex I — Part II: Vulnerability Handling (Manufacturers must):

1. Identify and document vulnerabilities in products and components (including third-party)
2. Address vulnerabilities without delay — free security updates
3. Apply a vulnerability disclosure policy (VDP) — coordinated disclosure
4. Publish a point of contact for vulnerability reporting
5. Share information with CERT/CSIRT networks
6. Provide a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) on request — at minimum: top-level dependencies
7. Maintain free-of-charge security updates for the support period
8. Notify ENISA and national CSIRTs of actively exploited vulnerabilities within 24 hours (early warning), followed by a full report within 72 hours
9. Notify users promptly of security issues and remediation measures

Steps for gap analysis:

1. Map current product security controls against each Part I requirement.
2. Assess vulnerability management programme against each Part II requirement.
3. Confirm existence of VDP and public point of contact.
4. Confirm SBOM capability (at minimum, top-level open-source components).
5. Determine support period commitment.
6. Identify gaps, assign risk ratings, and propose remediation timeline.

Workflow 3 — Conformity Assessment and CE Marking

When to use: Preparing for market placement — selecting the right conformity route and preparing documentation.

Read references/conformity-assessment.md for full details.

High-level steps:

1. Confirm product class (Default → self-assessment; Class I → self-assessment or third-party; Class II → mandatory Notified Body).
2. Prepare technical documentation (TD) — required elements per Annex VII.
3. Conduct conformity assessment against Annex I requirements.
4. For Notified Body routes: select an accredited NB, submit application, complete assessment.
5. Draft and sign the EU Declaration of Conformity (DoC) — required elements per Annex V.
6. Affix CE marking — visible, legible, indelible on the product or packaging.
7. Retain TD and DoC for 10 years after placing on market.

Technical Documentation (Annex VII) must include:

• General product description and intended use
• Design and development documentation (architecture diagrams, threat model)
• Security risk assessment
• Cybersecurity measures implemented
• Test reports and evidence of conformity
• SBOM (at minimum, top-level dependencies)
• Vulnerability handling policies and procedures

Workflow 4 — Vulnerability Handling Programme

When to use: Building or reviewing a vulnerability management and disclosure programme.

Programme elements:

1. Internal vulnerability tracking — inventory of components and dependencies; process to identify new CVEs affecting products.
2. Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure (CVD) policy — published VDP; named point of contact; acknowledgement timeline; responsible disclosure expectations.
3. Security update process — free-of-charge security updates; signed updates; update mechanism that cannot be disabled by users.
4. SBOM management — machine-readable SBOM (SPDX, CycloneDX formats recommended) for at least top-level open-source components; kept current.
5. Art. 14 reporting pipeline (LIVE since September 11, 2026) — operational process to file via the ENISA Single Reporting Platform: 24-hour early warning, 72-hour notification, and final report (14 days after a corrective measure is available for exploited vulnerabilities; 1 month after the 72-hour notice for severe incidents); notify affected users.
6. Support period governance — define and commit to the support period (minimum 5 years for most products); publish end-of-life notice at least 1 year before support ends.
7. Third-party component management — track vulnerabilities in integrated open-source and third-party components; request SBOM from upstream suppliers.

Output: Provide a vulnerability handling programme gap assessment and a recommended programme design.