Informational messages from the virtual machine to the VMX file must be limited on the virtual machine.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-237094	VMCH-65-000036	SV-237094r640119_rule		Low

Description
The configuration file containing these name-value pairs is limited to a size of 1MB. If not limited, VMware tools in the guest OS are capable of sending a large and continuous data stream to the host. This 1MB capacity should be sufficient for most cases, but this value can change if necessary. The value can be increased if large amounts of custom information are being stored in the configuration file. The default limit is 1MB.

Description

The configuration file containing these name-value pairs is limited to a size of 1MB. If not limited, VMware tools in the guest OS are capable of sending a large and continuous data stream to the host. This 1MB capacity should be sufficient for most cases, but this value can change if necessary. The value can be increased if large amounts of custom information are being stored in the configuration file. The default limit is 1MB.

STIG	Date
VMware vSphere 6.5 Virtual Machine Security Technical Implementation Guide	2021-09-22

Details

Check Text ( C-40313r640117_chk )
From the vSphere Web Client right-click the Virtual Machine and go to Edit Settings >> VM Options >> Advanced >> Configuration Parameters >> Edit Configuration. Verify the tools.setinfo.sizeLimit value is set to 1048576. or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host or vCenter server, run the following command: Get-VM "VM Name" \| Get-AdvancedSetting -Name tools.setinfo.sizeLimit If the virtual machine advanced setting tools.setinfo.sizeLimit does not exist or is not set to 1048576, this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-40313r640117_chk )

From the vSphere Web Client right-click the Virtual Machine and go to Edit Settings >> VM Options >> Advanced >> Configuration Parameters >> Edit Configuration. Verify the tools.setinfo.sizeLimit value is set to 1048576.

or

From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host or vCenter server, run the following command:

Get-VM "VM Name" | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name tools.setinfo.sizeLimit

If the virtual machine advanced setting tools.setinfo.sizeLimit does not exist or is not set to 1048576, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-40276r640118_fix)
From the vSphere Web Client right-click the Virtual Machine and go to Edit Settings >> VM Options >> Advanced >> Configuration Parameters >> Edit Configuration. Find the tools.setinfo.sizeLimit value and set it to 1048576. 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 tools.setinfo.sizeLimit -Value 1048576 If the setting exists, run: Get-VM "VM Name" \| Get-AdvancedSetting -Name tools.setinfo.sizeLimit \| Set-AdvancedSetting -Value 1048576

Fix Text (F-40276r640118_fix)

From the vSphere Web Client right-click the Virtual Machine and go to Edit Settings >> VM Options >> Advanced >> Configuration Parameters >> Edit Configuration. Find the tools.setinfo.sizeLimit value and set it to 1048576. 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 tools.setinfo.sizeLimit -Value 1048576

If the setting exists, run:

Get-VM "VM Name" | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name tools.setinfo.sizeLimit | Set-AdvancedSetting -Value 1048576