VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Security Technical Implementation Guide
Rules, Groups, and Values defined within the XCCDF Benchmark
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The vCenter Server must set the distributed port group Forged Transmits policy to "Reject".
If the virtual machine operating system changes the Media Access Control (MAC) address, the operating system can send frames with an impersonated source MAC address at any time. This allows an oper...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must set the distributed port group Media Access Control (MAC) Address Change policy to "Reject".
If the virtual machine operating system changes the MAC address, it can send frames with an impersonated source MAC address at any time. This allows it to stage malicious attacks on the devices in ...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must set the distributed port group Promiscuous Mode policy to "Reject".
When promiscuous mode is enabled for a virtual switch, all virtual machines connected to the port group have the potential of reading all packets across that network, meaning only the virtual machi...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must configure all port groups to a value other than that of the native virtual local area network (VLAN).
ESXi does not use the concept of native VLAN. Frames with VLAN specified in the port group will have a tag, but frames with VLAN not specified in the port group are not tagged and therefore will en...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must not configure VLAN Trunking unless Virtual Guest Tagging (VGT) is required and authorized.
When a port group is set to VLAN Trunking, the vSwitch passes all network frames in the specified range to the attached virtual machines without modifying the virtual local area network (VLAN) tags...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must not configure all port groups to virtual local area network (VLAN) values reserved by upstream physical switches.
Certain physical switches reserve certain VLAN IDs for internal purposes and often disallow traffic configured to these values. For example, Cisco Catalyst switches typically reserve VLANs 1001 to ...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must configure the "vpxuser" auto-password to be changed every 30 days.
By default, vCenter will change the "vpxuser" password automatically every 30 days. Ensure this setting meets site policies. If it does not, configure it to meet password aging policies. Note: It...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must be isolated from the public internet but must still allow for patch notification and delivery.
vCenter and the embedded Lifecycle Manager system must never have a direct route to the internet. Despite this, updates and patches sourced from VMware on the internet must be delivered in a timely...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must use unique service accounts when applications connect to vCenter.
To not violate nonrepudiation (i.e., deny the authenticity of who is connecting to vCenter), when applications need to connect to vCenter they must use unique service accounts.Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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SRG-APP-000358
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The vCenter server must be configured to send events to a central log server.
vCenter server generates volumes of security-relevant application-level events. Examples include logins, system reconfigurations, system degradation warnings, and more. To ensure these events are a...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must configure the vSAN Datastore name to a unique name.
A vSAN Datastore name by default is "vsanDatastore". If more than one vSAN cluster is present in vCenter, both datastores will have the same name by default, potentially leading to confusion and ma...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must disable Username/Password and Windows Integrated Authentication.
All forms of authentication other than Common Access Card (CAC) must be disabled. Password authentication can be temporarily reenabled for emergency access to the local Single Sign-On (SSO) account...Rule Low Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must restrict access to cryptographic permissions.
These permissions must be reserved for cryptographic administrators where virtual machine encryption and/or vSAN encryption is in use. Catastrophic data loss can result from poorly administered cry...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must have Mutual Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) configured for vSAN Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) targets.
When enabled, vSphere performs bidirectional authentication of both the iSCSI target and host. When not authenticating both the iSCSI target and host, the potential exists for a man-in-the-middle a...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must use secure Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAPS) when adding an LDAP identity source.
LDAP is an industry standard protocol for querying directory services such as Active Directory. This protocol can operate in clear text or over a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must use a limited privilege account when adding a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) identity source.
When adding an LDAP identity source to vSphere Single Sign-On (SSO), the account used to bind to Active Directory must be minimally privileged. This account only requires read rights to the base do...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must limit membership to the "SystemConfiguration.BashShellAdministrators" Single Sign-On (SSO) group.
vCenter SSO integrates with PAM in the underlying Photon operating system so members of the "SystemConfiguration.BashShellAdministrators" SSO group can log on to the operating system without needin...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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The vCenter Server must limit membership to the "TrustedAdmins" Single Sign-On (SSO) group.
The vSphere "TrustedAdmins" group grants additional rights to administer the vSphere Trust Authority feature. To force accountability and nonrepudiation, the SSO group "TrustedAdmins" must be seve...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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SRG-APP-000516
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vCenter task and event retention must be set to at least 30 days.
vCenter tasks and events contain valuable historical actions, useful in troubleshooting availability issues and for incident forensics. While vCenter events are sent to central log servers in real ...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
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vCenter Native Key Providers must be backed up with a strong password.
The vCenter Native Key Provider feature was introduced in U2 and acts as a key provider for encryption-based capabilities, such as encrypted virtual machines without requiring an external KMS solut...Rule Medium Severity -
The vCenter Server must use TLS 1.2, at a minimum, to protect the confidentiality of sensitive data during electronic dissemination using remote access.
Using older unauthorized versions or incorrectly configuring protocol negotiation makes the gateway vulnerable to known and unknown attacks that exploit vulnerabilities in this protocol. Satisfies...Rule High Severity -
The vCenter Server must enforce the limit of three consecutive invalid login attempts by a user.
By limiting the number of failed login attempts, the risk of unauthorized system access via user password guessing, otherwise known as brute forcing, is reduced. Limits are imposed by locking the a...Rule Medium Severity -
The vCenter Server must display the Standard Mandatory DOD Notice and Consent Banner before login.
Display of the DOD-approved use notification before granting access to the application ensures privacy and security notification verbiage used is consistent with applicable federal laws, Executive ...Rule Medium Severity -
The vCenter Server must require multifactor authentication.
Without the use of multifactor authentication, the ease of access to privileged functions is greatly increased. Multifactor authentication requires using two or more factors to achieve authentica...Rule Medium Severity
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