VMCH-65-000008 - HGFS file transfers must be disabled on the virtual machine.

Information

Setting isolation.tools.hgfsServerSet.disable to true disables registration of the guest's HGFS server with the host. APIs that use HGFS to transfer files to and from the guest operating system, such as some VIX commands, will not function. An attacker could potentially use this to transfer files inside the guest OS.

Solution

From the vSphere Web Client right-click the Virtual Machine and go to Edit Settings >> VM Options >> Advanced >> Configuration Parameters >> Edit Configuration. Find the isolation.tools.hgfsServerSet.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 Web Client so it is recommended to configure these settings with PowerCLI as it 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 following command:

If the setting does not exist, run:

Get-VM 'VM Name' | New-AdvancedSetting -Name isolation.tools.hgfsServerSet.disable -Value true

If the setting exists, run:

Get-VM 'VM Name' | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name isolation.tools.hgfsServerSet.disable | Set-AdvancedSetting -Value true

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_VMW_vSphere_6-5_Y21M07_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-7, CAT|II, CCI|CCI-000366, Rule-ID|SV-104407r1_rule, STIG-ID|VMCH-65-000008, Vuln-ID|V-94577

Plugin: VMware

Control ID: 15b150a9783d57822ecf3a22b8de6cfc163e187b9a7ea2b11dc63e48c488f839