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The vCenter UI service cookies must have "http-only" flag set.


Overview

Finding ID Version Rule ID IA Controls Severity
V-259122 VCUI-80-000129 SV-259122r935270_rule Medium
Description
Cookies are a common way to save session state over the HTTP(S) protocol. If attackers can compromise session data stored in a cookie, they are better able to launch an attack against the server and its applications. When a cookie is tagged with the "HttpOnly" flag, it tells the browser this particular cookie should only be accessed by the originating server. Any attempt to access the cookie from client script is strictly forbidden.
STIG Date
VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance User Interface (UI) Security Technical Implementation Guide 2023-10-29

Details

Check Text ( C-62862r935268_chk )
At the command prompt, run the following command:

# xmllint --format /usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/conf/web.xml | sed 's/xmlns=".*"//g' | xmllint --xpath '/web-app/session-config/cookie-config/http-only' -

Expected result:

true

If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-62771r935269_fix)
Navigate to and open:

/usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/conf/web.xml

Navigate to the node and configure the as follows:


30

true
true



Restart the service with the following command:

# vmon-cli --restart vsphere-ui