VMCH-70-000023 - All 3D features on the virtual machine (VM) must be disabled when not required.

Information

For performance reasons, it is recommended that 3D acceleration be disabled on virtual machines that do not require 3D functionality (e.g., most server workloads or desktops not using 3D applications).

Solution

For each virtual machine do the following:

From the vSphere Client, right-click the virtual machine and go to 'Edit Settings'.

Expand the 'Video card' and uncheck the 'Enable 3D Support' checkbox.

Click 'OK'.

or

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

If the setting does not exist, run:

Get-VM 'VM Name' | New-AdvancedSetting -Name mks.enable3d -Value false

If the setting exists, run:

Get-VM 'VM Name' | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name mks.enable3d | Set-AdvancedSetting -Value false

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.

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|III, CCI|CCI-000366, Rule-ID|SV-256471r919035_rule, STIG-ID|VMCH-70-000023, Vuln-ID|V-256471

Plugin: VMware

Control ID: 542f8bd1c17e8c876b8912a76a00020b84e1d77a9598e045374c93393f829e24