8.4.14 (L2) Ensure Guest Host Interaction Tray Icon is disabled

Information

The Guest Host Interaction Tray Icon feature should be disabled if it is not needed.

Some VMX parameters don't apply on vSphere because VMware virtual machines work on vSphere and hosted virtualization platforms such as Workstation and Fusion. The code paths for these features are not implemented in ESXi. Explicitly disabling these features, such as the Guest Host Interaction Tray Icon feature, reduces the potential for vulnerabilities because it reduces the number of ways in which a guest can affect the host. Note that these are referenced for organizations that insist any documented setting, regardless of whether it is implemented in code or not, must have a value.

Solution

To set this configuration utilize the vSphere interface as follows:

- Select the VM then select Actions followed by Edit Settings
- Click on the VM Options tab then expand Advanced
- Click on EDIT CONFIGURATION
- Click on ADD CONFIGURATION PARAMS then input isolation.tools.ghi.trayicon.disable with a value of TRUE
- Click OK then OK again.

To disable the Guest Host Interaction Tray Icon feature, run the following PowerCLI command:

# Add the setting to all VMs
Get-VM | New-AdvancedSetting -Name "isolation.tools.ghi.trayicon.disable" -value $true

Impact:

Some automated tools and processes may cease to function.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/15334

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-6, 800-53|CM-7, CSCv7|9.2

Plugin: VMware

Control ID: b5b5b66ca7246176753976a79b5893d9d6f716e7e9c3b0923ae5248ce376d824