The virtual machine (VM) guest operating system must be locked when the last console connection is closed.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-256470	VMCH-70-000022	SV-256470r886453_rule		Medium

Description
When accessing the VM console, the guest operating system must be locked when the last console user disconnects, limiting the possibility of session hijacking. This setting only applies to Windows-based VMs with VMware tools installed.

STIG	Date
VMware vSphere 7.0 Virtual Machine Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-06-22

Details

Check Text ( C-60145r886451_chk )
From the vSphere Client, select the Virtual Machine, right-click, and go to Edit Settings >> VM Options tab >> Advanced >> Configuration Parameters >> Edit Configuration. Find the "tools.guest.desktop.autolock" value and verify it is set to "true". 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.guest.desktop.autolock If the virtual machine advanced setting "tools.guest.desktop.autolock" does not exist or is not set to "true", this is a finding. If the VM is not Windows-based, this is not a finding.

Check Text ( C-60145r886451_chk )

From the vSphere Client, select the Virtual Machine, right-click, and go to Edit Settings >> VM Options tab >> Advanced >> Configuration Parameters >> Edit Configuration.

Find the "tools.guest.desktop.autolock" value and verify it is set to "true".

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.guest.desktop.autolock

If the virtual machine advanced setting "tools.guest.desktop.autolock" does not exist or is not set to "true", this is a finding.

If the VM is not Windows-based, this is not a finding.

Fix Text (F-60088r886452_fix)
From the vSphere Client, select the Virtual Machine, right-click and go to Edit Settings >> VM Options tab >> Advanced >> Configuration Parameters >> Edit Configuration. Find or create the "tools.guest.desktop.autolock" value and set it to "true". Note: The VM must be powered off to modify the advanced settings through the vSphere Client. It is recommended to configure these settings with PowerCLI as this can be done while the VM is powered on. In this case, the modified settings will not take effect until a cold boot of the VM. or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host or vCenter server, run the provided commands as shown below. If the setting does not exist, run: Get-VM "VM Name" \| New-AdvancedSetting -Name tools.guest.desktop.autolock -Value true If the setting exists, run: Get-VM "VM Name" \| Get-AdvancedSetting -Name tools.guest.desktop.autolock \| Set-AdvancedSetting -Value true

Fix Text (F-60088r886452_fix)

From the vSphere Client, select the Virtual Machine, right-click and go to Edit Settings >> VM Options tab >> Advanced >> Configuration Parameters >> Edit Configuration.

Find or create the "tools.guest.desktop.autolock" value and set it to "true".

Note: The VM must be powered off to modify the advanced settings through the vSphere Client. It is recommended to configure these settings with PowerCLI as this can be done while the VM is powered on. In this case, the modified settings will not take effect until a cold boot of the VM.

or

From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host or vCenter server, run the provided commands as shown below.

If the setting does not exist, run:

Get-VM "VM Name" | New-AdvancedSetting -Name tools.guest.desktop.autolock -Value true

If the setting exists, run:

Get-VM "VM Name" | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name tools.guest.desktop.autolock | Set-AdvancedSetting -Value true