VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Security Technical Implementation Guide
Rules, Groups, and Values defined within the XCCDF Benchmark
-
SRG-APP-000516
Group -
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
Group -
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
Group -
The vCenter Server must only send NetFlow traffic to authorized collectors.
The distributed virtual switch can export NetFlow information about traffic crossing the switch. NetFlow exports are not encrypted and can contain information about the virtual network, making it e...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
Group -
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
Group -
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
Group -
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
Group -
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
Group -
The vCenter Server must configure the "vpxuser" password to meet length policy.
The "vpxuser" password default length is 32 characters. Ensure this setting meets site policies; if not, configure to meet password length policies. Longer passwords make brute-force password atta...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
Group -
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 Low Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
Group -
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
Group -
The vCenter Server must protect the confidentiality and integrity of transmitted information by isolating Internet Protocol (IP)-based storage traffic.
Virtual machines might share virtual switches and virtual local area networks (VLAN) with the IP-based storage configurations. IP-based storage includes vSAN, Internet Small Computer System Interf...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000358
Group -
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
Group -
The vCenter Server must disable or restrict the connectivity between vSAN Health Check and public Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) by use of an external proxy server.
The vSAN Health Check is able to download the HCL from VMware to check compliance against the underlying vSAN Cluster hosts. To ensure the vCenter server is not directly downloading content from th...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
Group -
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
Group -
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 Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
Group -
SRG-APP-000516
Group -
SRG-APP-000516
Group -
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
Group -
The vCenter Server must have new Key Encryption Keys (KEKs) reissued at regular intervals for vSAN encrypted datastore(s).
The KEK for a vSAN encrypted datastore is generated by the Key Management Server (KMS) and serves as a wrapper and lock around the Disk Encryption Key (DEK). The DEK is generated by the host and is...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
Group -
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
Group -
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
Group -
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
Group -
SRG-APP-000516
Group -
The vCenter server must have task and event retention 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
Group -
The vCenter server Native Key Provider must be backed up with a strong password.
The vCenter Native Key Provider feature was introduced in 7.0 U2 and acts as a key provider for encryption-based capabilities such as encrypted virtual machines without requiring an external KMS so...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
Group -
The vCenter server must require authentication for published content libraries.
In the vSphere Client, you can create a local or a subscribed content library. By using content libraries, you can store and manage content in one vCenter Server instance. Alternatively, you can di...Rule Medium Severity -
SRG-APP-000516
Group
Node 2
The content of the drawer really is up to you. It could have form fields, definition lists, text lists, labels, charts, progress bars, etc. Spacing recommendation is 24px margins. You can put tabs in here, and can also make the drawer scrollable.