7.4 (L1) Virtual machines should deactivate 3D graphics features when not required

Information

Due to performance reasons, modern graphic rendering is done within a dedicated graphic processing unit (GPU). Virtual machines can use the host-based GPU for such operations as well. Such dedicated hardware is typically accessed by using complex APIs like OpenGL and DirectX. This hardware-based 3D acceleration should be disabled if it is not needed.

Security flaws within APIs can lead to serious security breaches like memory corruption, denial of service, and remote code execution.

Solution

The following PowerCLI command may be used:

Get-VM -Name $VM | Get-AdvancedSetting mks.enable3d | Set-AdvancedSetting -Value FALSE

Impact:

GPU and Virtual Desktops may require this functionality.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/15784

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

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

Plugin: VMware

Control ID: 1a964128c03604caa5ff81b40603952cfc2bb7d579a0f49fef72ce07920da359