The operating system must automatically audit account modification.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
SRG-OS-000239-ESXI5-PNF	SRG-OS-000239-ESXI5-PNF	SRG-OS-000239-ESXI5-PNF_rule		Medium

Description
Once an attacker establishes initial access to a system, they often attempt to create a persistent method of re-establishing access. One way to accomplish this is for the attacker to simply modify an existing account. Auditing of account modification is one method and best practice for mitigating this risk. A comprehensive account management process will ensure an audit trail which documents the modification of user accounts and, as required, notifies appropriate individuals. Permanent not a finding - Auditing cannot be configured/implemented like a typical UNIX system. Auditing is turned on by default, as is logging. Syslog is the best way to ensure all access is logged. Access is limited to privileged roles only. In lockdown mode (required), only the vpxuser proxy has access.

Description

Once an attacker establishes initial access to a system, they often attempt to create a persistent method of re-establishing access. One way to accomplish this is for the attacker to simply modify an existing account. Auditing of account modification is one method and best practice for mitigating this risk. A comprehensive account management process will ensure an audit trail which documents the modification of user accounts and, as required, notifies appropriate individuals. Permanent not a finding - Auditing cannot be configured/implemented like a typical UNIX system. Auditing is turned on by default, as is logging. Syslog is the best way to ensure all access is logged. Access is limited to privileged roles only. In lockdown mode (required), only the vpxuser proxy has access.

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

Details

Check Text ( C-SRG-OS-000239-ESXI5-PNF_chk )
ESXi supports this requirement and cannot be configured to be out of compliance. This is a permanent not a finding.

Fix Text (F-SRG-OS-000239-ESXI5-PNF_fix)
This requirement is permanent not a finding. No fix is required.