Log size must be configured properly on the virtual machine (VM).

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-256474	VMCH-70-000026	SV-256474r886465_rule		Medium

Description
The ESXi hypervisor maintains logs for each individual VM by default. These logs contain information including but not limited to power events, system failure information, tools status and activity, time sync, virtual hardware changes, vMotion migrations, and machine clones. By default, the size of these logs is unlimited, and they are only rotated on vMotion or power events. This can cause storage issues at scale for VMs that do not vMotion or power cycle often.

Description

The ESXi hypervisor maintains logs for each individual VM by default. These logs contain information including but not limited to power events, system failure information, tools status and activity, time sync, virtual hardware changes, vMotion migrations, and machine clones. By default, the size of these logs is unlimited, and they are only rotated on vMotion or power events. This can cause storage issues at scale for VMs that do not vMotion or power cycle often.

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

Details

Check Text ( C-60149r886463_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 "log.rotateSize" value and verify it is set to "2048000". 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 log.rotateSize If the virtual machine advanced setting "log.rotateSize" does not exist or is not set to "2048000", this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-60149r886463_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 "log.rotateSize" value and verify it is set to "2048000".

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 log.rotateSize

If the virtual machine advanced setting "log.rotateSize" does not exist or is not set to "2048000", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-60092r886464_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 the "log.rotateSize" value and set it to "2048000". 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 log.rotateSize -Value 2048000 If the setting exists, run: Get-VM "VM Name" \| Get-AdvancedSetting -Name log.rotateSize \| Set-AdvancedSetting -Value 2048000

Fix Text (F-60092r886464_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 the "log.rotateSize" value and set it to "2048000".

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 log.rotateSize -Value 2048000

If the setting exists, run:

Get-VM "VM Name" | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name log.rotateSize | Set-AdvancedSetting -Value 2048000