VMCH-70-000016 - Unauthorized removal, connection, and modification of devices must be prevented on the virtual machine (VM).

Information

In a virtual machine, users and processes without root or administrator privileges can connect or disconnect devices, such as network adaptors and CD-ROM drives, and can modify device settings. Use the virtual machine settings editor or configuration editor to remove unneeded or unused hardware devices. To use the device again, prevent a user or running process in the virtual machine from connecting, disconnecting, or modifying a device from within the guest operating system.

By default, a rogue user with nonadministrator privileges in a virtual machine can:

1. Connect a disconnected CD-ROM drive and access sensitive information on the media left in the drive.
2. Disconnect a network adaptor to isolate the virtual machine from its network, which is a denial of service.
3. Modify settings on a device.

Solution

From the vSphere Client, right-click the Virtual Machine and go to Edit Settings >> VM Options >> Advanced >> Configuration Parameters >> Edit Configuration.

Find the 'isolation.device.connectable.disable' value and set it to 'true'.

If the setting does not exist, add the Name and Value setting at the bottom of screen.

Note: The VM must be powered off to configure the advanced settings through the vSphere Client. Therefore, it is recommended to configure these settings with PowerCLI as this can be done while the VM is powered on. Settings do not take effect via either method until the virtual machine is cold started, not rebooted.

or

From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host or vCenter server, run the provided commands as shown below.

If the setting does not exist, run:

Get-VM 'VM Name' | New-AdvancedSetting -Name isolation.device.connectable.disable -Value true

If the setting exists, run:

Get-VM 'VM Name' | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name isolation.device.connectable.disable | Set-AdvancedSetting -Value true

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_VMW_vSphere_7-0_Y24M01_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-6b., CAT|II, CCI|CCI-000366, Rule-ID|SV-256464r886435_rule, STIG-ID|VMCH-70-000016, Vuln-ID|V-256464

Plugin: VMware

Control ID: ff5665689ce558e14a0aa99b9338d9fd9243ae803e0ebca07f1ff025ac304e3a