8.7.3 Do not send host information to guests

Information

Configure VMware Tools to disable host info from being sent to guests.

*Rationale*

By enabling a VM to get detailed information about the physical host, an adversary could
potentially use this information to inform further attacks on the host. If set to TRUE, a VM
can obtain detailed information about the physical host. The default value for the
parameter is FALSE. This setting should not be TRUE unless a particular VM requires this
information for performance monitoring.

Solution

To implement the recommended configuration state, run the following PowerCLI
command-# Add the setting to all VMs
Get-VM | New-AdvancedSetting -Name 'tools.guestlib.enableHostInfo' -value $false

Impact-You cannot retrieve performance information about the host from inside the guest virtual
machine, there are times when this can be useful for troubleshooting.

Default Value-The prescribed state is the default state.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/145

Item Details

Category: SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION

References: 800-53|SC-4

Plugin: VMware

Control ID: 3fa261863bebb6b443e4550a0bcbe718e8d0651ed9878a5d0e788a8f52bbd83f