The ESXi host must enforce the exclusive running of executables from approved VIBs.
An XCCDF Rule
Description
<VulnDiscussion>The "execInstalledOnly" advanced ESXi boot option, when set to TRUE, guarantees that the VMkernel executes only those binaries that have been packaged as part of a signed VIB. While this option is effective on its own, it can be further enhanced by telling the Secure Boot to check with the TPM to make sure that the boot process does not proceed unless this setting is enabled. This further protects against malicious offline changes to ESXi configuration to disable the "execInstalledOnly" option.</VulnDiscussion><FalsePositives></FalsePositives><FalseNegatives></FalseNegatives><Documentable>false</Documentable><Mitigations></Mitigations><SeverityOverrideGuidance></SeverityOverrideGuidance><PotentialImpacts></PotentialImpacts><ThirdPartyTools></ThirdPartyTools><MitigationControl></MitigationControl><Responsibility></Responsibility><IAControls></IAControls>
- ID
- SV-258798r933455_rule
- Severity
- Medium
- References
- Updated
Remediation - Manual Procedure
From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters.
Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Advanced System Settings.
Click "Edit". Select the "VMkernel.Boot.execInstalledOnly" value and configure it to "true".