Virtual machines (VMs) must limit informational messages from the virtual machine to the VMX file.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-258709	VMCH-80-000196	SV-258709r959010_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 operating system 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 operating system 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 8.0 Virtual Machine Security Technical Implementation Guide	2024-07-11

Details

Check Text ( C-62449r933186_chk )
For each virtual machine do the following: From the vSphere Client, right-click the Virtual Machine and go to Edit Settings >> Advanced Parameters. 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" is not set to "1048576", this is a finding. If the virtual machine advanced setting "tools.setinfo.sizeLimit" does not exist, this is not a finding.

Check Text ( C-62449r933186_chk )

For each virtual machine do the following:

From the vSphere Client, right-click the Virtual Machine and go to Edit Settings >> Advanced Parameters.

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" is not set to "1048576", this is a finding.

If the virtual machine advanced setting "tools.setinfo.sizeLimit" does not exist, this is not a finding.

Fix Text (F-62358r933187_fix)
For each virtual machine do the following: From the vSphere Client, right-click the Virtual Machine and go to Edit Settings >> Advanced Parameters. Find the "tools.setinfo.sizeLimit" value and set it to "1048576". If the setting does not exist no action is needed. 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 \| Set-AdvancedSetting -Value 1048576 Note: The VM must be powered off to configure the advanced settings through the vSphere Client. Therefore, it is recommended to configure these settings with PowerCLI as this 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.

Fix Text (F-62358r933187_fix)

For each virtual machine do the following:

From the vSphere Client, right-click the Virtual Machine and go to Edit Settings >> Advanced Parameters.

Find the "tools.setinfo.sizeLimit" value and set it to "1048576".

If the setting does not exist no action is needed.

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 | Set-AdvancedSetting -Value 1048576

Note: The VM must be powered off to configure the advanced settings through the vSphere Client. Therefore, it is recommended to configure these settings with PowerCLI as this 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.