VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance PostgreSQL Security Technical Implementation Guide

Overview

Version	Date	Finding Count (20)			Downloads
1	2023-10-29	CAT I (High): 2	CAT II (Med): 18	CAT III (Low): 0	Excel	JSON	XML

STIG Description
This Security Technical Implementation Guide is published as a tool to improve the security of Department of Defense (DOD) information systems. The requirements are derived from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 800-53 and related documents. Comments or proposed revisions to this document should be sent via email to the following address: disa.stig_spt@mail.mil.

Available Profiles

Classified	Public	Sensitive
I - Mission Critical Classified	I - Mission Critical Public	I - Mission Critical Sensitive	II - Mission Support Classified	II - Mission Support Public	II - Mission Support Sensitive	III - Administrative Classified	III - Administrative Public	III - Administrative Sensitive

Findings (MAC III - Administrative Sensitive)

Finding ID	Severity	Title	Description
V-259177	High	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must enforce authorized access to all PKI private keys stored/utilized by PostgreSQL.	The DOD standard for authentication is DOD-approved PKI certificates. PKI certificate-based authentication is performed by requiring the certificate holder to cryptographically prove possession of...
V-259176	High	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must encrypt passwords for user authentication.	The DOD standard for authentication is DOD-approved PKI certificates. Authentication based on User ID and Password may be used only when it is not possible to employ a PKI certificate and...
V-259168	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service configuration files must not be accessible by unauthorized users.	Without the capability to restrict which roles and individuals can select which events are audited, unauthorized personnel may be able to prevent or interfere with the auditing of critical...
V-259169	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must generate audit records.	Under some circumstances, it may be useful to monitor who/what is reading privilege/permission/role information. Therefore, it must be possible to configure auditing to do this. Database...
V-259185	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must off-load audit data to a separate log management facility.	Information stored in one location is vulnerable to accidental or incidental deletion or alteration. Off-loading is a common process in information systems with limited audit storage...
V-259179	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must write log entries to disk prior to returning operation success or failure.	Failure to a known secure state helps prevent a loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability in the event of a failure of the information system or a component of the system. Preserving...
V-259167	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must enable "pgaudit" to provide audit record generation capabilities.	Without the capability to generate audit records, it would be difficult to establish, correlate, and investigate the events relating to an incident or identify those responsible for one. Audit...
V-259182	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must use Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) for log timestamps.	If time stamps are not consistently applied and there is no common time reference, it is difficult to perform forensic analysis. Time stamps generated by PostgreSQL must include date and time....
V-259183	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must log all connection attempts.	For completeness of forensic analysis, it is necessary to track successful and failed attempts to log on to PostgreSQL. Setting "log_connections" to "on" will cause each attempted connection to...
V-259180	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must provide nonprivileged users with minimal error information.	Any DBMS or associated application providing too much information in error messages on the screen or printout risks compromising the data and security of the system. The structure and content of...
V-259181	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must have log collection enabled.	Without the ability to centrally manage the content captured in the audit records, identification, troubleshooting, and correlation of suspicious behavior would be difficult and could lead to a...
V-259166	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must limit the number of concurrent sessions.	Database management includes the ability to control the number of users and user sessions utilizing a database management system (DBMS). Unlimited concurrent connections to the DBMS could allow a...
V-259184	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must log all client disconnections.	Disconnection may be initiated by the user or forced by the system (as in a timeout) or result from a system or network failure. To the greatest extent possible, all disconnections must be...
V-259178	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must maintain the authenticity of communications sessions by guarding against man-in-the-middle attacks that guess at Session ID values.	One class of man-in-the-middle, or session hijacking, attack involves the adversary guessing at valid session identifiers based on patterns in identifiers already known. The preferred technique...
V-259173	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must not load unused database components, software, and database objects.	Information systems are capable of providing a wide variety of functions and services. Some of the functions and services, provided by default, may not be necessary to support essential...
V-259172	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must be configured to protect log files from unauthorized access.	If audit data were to become compromised, then competent forensic analysis and discovery of the true source of potentially malicious system activity is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. In...
V-259171	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must produce logs containing sufficient information to establish what type of events occurred.	Information system auditing capability is critical for accurate forensic analysis. Without establishing what type of event occurred, it would be difficult to establish, correlate, and investigate...
V-259170	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must initiate session auditing upon startup.	Session auditing is for use when a user's activities are under investigation. To be sure of capturing all activity during those periods when session auditing is in use, it needs to be in operation...
V-259175	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must require authentication on all connections.	To assure accountability and prevent unauthenticated access, organizational users must be identified and authenticated to prevent potential misuse and compromise of the system. Organizational...
V-259174	Medium	The vCenter PostgreSQL service must be configured to use an authorized port.	In order to prevent unauthorized connection of devices, unauthorized transfer of information, or unauthorized tunneling (i.e., embedding of data types within data types), organizations must...