8.2.6 Prevent unauthorized removal, connection, and modification of devices

Information


Prevent unauthorized removal, connection, and modification of devices.

*Rationale*

Normal users and processes - that is, users and processes without root or administrator
privileges within virtual machines have the capability to connect or disconnect devices,
such as network adaptors and CD-ROM drives, as well as the ability to modify device
settings. In general, you should use the virtual machine settings editor or configuration
editor to remove any unneeded or unused hardware devices. However, you might want to
use the device again, so removing it is not always a good solution. In that case, you can
prevent a user or running process in the virtual machine from connecting or disconnecting
a device from within the guest operating system, as well as modifying devices, by adding
the following parameters.By default, a rogue user with non-administrator privileges in a virtual machine can-. Connect a disconnected CD-ROM drive and access sensitive information on the
media left in the drive. Disconnect a network adapter to isolate the virtual machine from its network, which is a denial of service. Modify settings on a device.

Solution

To implement the recommended configuration state, run the following PowerCLI
command-# Add the setting to all VMs
Get-VM | New-AdvancedSetting -Name 'isolation.device.edit.disable' -value $true

Impact-Device interaction is blocked inside the guest OS using VMware tools.

Default Value-
The prescribed state is not the default state.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/902

Item Details

Category: ACCESS CONTROL

References: 800-53|AC-6(10)

Plugin: VMware

Control ID: 1883cc75460e3261d32b67d8d6ca054cf99a21b0840e8a4d62c73a26f0aec3fc