vSphere UI must set the secure flag for cookies.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-256809	VCUI-70-000032	SV-256809r889426_rule		Medium

Description
The secure flag is an option that can be set by the application server when sending a new cookie to the user within an HTTP response. The purpose of the secure flag is to prevent cookies from being observed by unauthorized parties due to the transmission of a cookie in clear text. By setting the secure flag, the browser will prevent the transmission of a cookie over an unencrypted channel. vSphere UI is configured to only be accessible over a Transport Layer Security (TLS) tunnel, but this cookie flag is still a recommended best practice.

Description

The secure flag is an option that can be set by the application server when sending a new cookie to the user within an HTTP response. The purpose of the secure flag is to prevent cookies from being observed by unauthorized parties due to the transmission of a cookie in clear text. By setting the secure flag, the browser will prevent the transmission of a cookie over an unencrypted channel. vSphere UI is configured to only be accessible over a Transport Layer Security (TLS) tunnel, but this cookie flag is still a recommended best practice.

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

Details

Check Text ( C-60484r889424_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/secure' - Expected result: true If the output of the command does not match the expected result, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-60427r889425_fix)
Navigate to and open: /usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/conf/web.xml Navigate to the /// node and configure it as follows. true true Restart the service with the following command: # vmon-cli --restart vsphere-ui