The system must not use independent, nonpersistent disks.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
ESXI5-VM-000010	ESXI5-VM-000010	ESXI5-VM-000010_rule		High

Description
The security issue with nonpersistent disk mode is that successful attackers, with a simple shutdown or reboot, might undo or remove any traces that they were ever on the machine. To safeguard against this risk, production virtual machines should be set to use either persistent disk mode or non-persistent disk mode; additionally, ensure that activity within the VM is logged remotely on a separate server, such as a syslog server or equivalent Windows-based event collector. Without a persistent record of activity on a VM, administrators might never know whether they have been attacked or hacked.

Description

The security issue with nonpersistent disk mode is that successful attackers, with a simple shutdown or reboot, might undo or remove any traces that they were ever on the machine. To safeguard against this risk, production virtual machines should be set to use either persistent disk mode or non-persistent disk mode; additionally, ensure that activity within the VM is logged remotely on a separate server, such as a syslog server or equivalent Windows-based event collector. Without a persistent record of activity on a VM, administrators might never know whether they have been attacked or hacked.

STIG	Date
VMware ESXi v5 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2013-01-15

Details

Check Text ( C-ESXI5-VM-000010_chk )
Temporarily disable Lockdown Mode and enable the ESXi Shell via the vSphere Client. Open the vSphere/VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client and log in with appropriate credentials. If connecting to vCenter Server, click on the desired host. Click the Configuration tab. Click Software, Security Profile, Services, Properties, ESXi Shell, and Options, respectively. Start the ESXi Shell service, where/as required. As root, log in to the ESXi Shell and locate the VM's vmx file. # find / \| grep vmx Check the VM's ".vmx" file for the correct " = " pair. keyword = scsiX:Y.mode (X and Y >= 0) keyval = persistent # grep "^" If the above command return is either empty or does not reflect the above keyword and keyval value(s), this is a finding. Re-enable Lockdown Mode on the host.

Check Text ( C-ESXI5-VM-000010_chk )

Temporarily disable Lockdown Mode and enable the ESXi Shell via the vSphere Client.

Open the vSphere/VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client and log in with appropriate credentials.
If connecting to vCenter Server, click on the desired host.
Click the Configuration tab.
Click Software, Security Profile, Services, Properties, ESXi Shell, and Options, respectively.
Start the ESXi Shell service, where/as required.

As root, log in to the ESXi Shell and locate the VM's vmx file.
# find / | grep vmx

Check the VM's ".vmx" file for the correct " = " pair.
keyword = scsiX:Y.mode (X and Y >= 0)
keyval = persistent
# grep "^"

If the above command return is either empty or does not reflect the above keyword and keyval value(s), this is a finding.

Re-enable Lockdown Mode on the host.

Fix Text (F-ESXI5-VM-000010_fix)
Configure the VM with the correct " = " pair. To edit a powered-down virtual machine's .vmx file, first remove it from vCenter Server's inventory. Manual additions to the .vmx file from ESXi will be overwritten by any registered entries stored in the vCenter Server database. Make a backup copy of the .vmx file. If the edit breaks the virtual machine, it can be rolled back to the original version of the file. Open the vSphere/VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client and log in with appropriate credentials. If connecting to vCenter Server, click on the desired host. Click the Configuration tab. Click Storage. Right-click on the appropriate datastore and click Browse Datastore. Navigate to the folder named after the virtual machine, and locate the .vmx file. Right-click the .vmx file and click Remove from inventory. Temporarily disable Lockdown Mode and enable the ESXi Shell via the vSphere Client. Open the vSphere/VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client and log in with appropriate credentials. If connecting to vCenter Server, click on the desired host. Click the Configuration tab. Click Software, Security Profile, Services, Properties, ESXi Shell, and Options, respectively. Start the ESXi Shell service, where/as required. As root, log in to the ESXi host and locate the VM's vmx file. # find / \| grep vmx Add the following to the VM's vmx file. keyword = "keyval" Where: keyword = scsiX:Y.mode (X and Y >= 0) keyval = persistent Re-enable Lockdown Mode on the host. Re-register the VM with the vCenter Server: Open the vSphere/VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client and log in with appropriate credentials. If connecting to vCenter Server, click on the desired host. Click the Configuration tab. Click Storage. Right-click on the appropriate datastore and click Browse Datastore. Navigate to the folder named after the virtual machine, and locate the .vmx file. Right-click the .vmx file and click Add to inventory. The Add to Inventory wizard opens. Continue to follow the wizard to add the virtual machine.

Fix Text (F-ESXI5-VM-000010_fix)

Configure the VM with the correct " = " pair.

To edit a powered-down virtual machine's .vmx file, first remove it from vCenter Server's inventory. Manual additions to the .vmx file from ESXi will be overwritten by any registered entries stored in the vCenter Server database. Make a backup copy of the .vmx file. If the edit breaks the virtual machine, it can be rolled back to the original version of the file.

Open the vSphere/VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client and log in with appropriate credentials.
If connecting to vCenter Server, click on the desired host.
Click the Configuration tab.
Click Storage.
Right-click on the appropriate datastore and click Browse Datastore.
Navigate to the folder named after the virtual machine, and locate the .vmx file.
Right-click the .vmx file and click Remove from inventory.

Temporarily disable Lockdown Mode and enable the ESXi Shell via the vSphere Client.

Open the vSphere/VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client and log in with appropriate credentials.
If connecting to vCenter Server, click on the desired host.
Click the Configuration tab.
Click Software, Security Profile, Services, Properties, ESXi Shell, and Options, respectively.
Start the ESXi Shell service, where/as required.

As root, log in to the ESXi host and locate the VM's vmx file.
# find / | grep vmx

Add the following to the VM's vmx file.
keyword = "keyval"

Where:
keyword = scsiX:Y.mode (X and Y >= 0)
keyval = persistent

Re-enable Lockdown Mode on the host.

Re-register the VM with the vCenter Server:
Open the vSphere/VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client and log in with appropriate credentials.
If connecting to vCenter Server, click on the desired host.
Click the Configuration tab.
Click Storage.
Right-click on the appropriate datastore and click Browse Datastore.
Navigate to the folder named after the virtual machine, and locate the .vmx file.
Right-click the .vmx file and click Add to inventory. The Add to Inventory wizard opens.
Continue to follow the wizard to add the virtual machine.