vSphere UI must protect cookies from cross-site scripting (XSS).

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-256781	VCUI-70-000004	SV-256781r889342_rule		Medium

Description
Cookies are a common way to save session state over the HTTP(S) protocol. If an attacker 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. Satisfies: SRG-APP-000001-WSR-000002, SRG-APP-000439-WSR-000154

Description

Cookies are a common way to save session state over the HTTP(S) protocol. If an attacker 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. Satisfies: SRG-APP-000001-WSR-000002, SRG-APP-000439-WSR-000154

STIG	Date
VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance UI Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-06-15

Details

Check Text ( C-60456r889340_chk )
At the command prompt, run the following command: # xmllint --format /usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/conf/context.xml \| xmllint --xpath '/Context/@useHttpOnly' - Expected result: useHttpOnly="true" If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-60399r889341_fix)
Navigate to and open: /usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/conf/context.xml Add the following configuration to the node: useHttpOnly="true" Example: Restart the service with the following command: # vmon-cli --restart vsphere-ui