Virtual machines (VMs) must not be able to obtain host information from the hypervisor.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-258711	VMCH-80-000198	SV-258711r959010_rule		Medium

Description
If enabled, a VM can obtain detailed information about the physical host. The default value for the parameter is FALSE. This setting should not be TRUE unless a particular VM requires this information for performance monitoring. An adversary could use this information to inform further attacks on the host.

STIG	Date
VMware vSphere 8.0 Virtual Machine Security Technical Implementation Guide	2024-07-11

Details

Check Text ( C-62451r933192_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.guestlib.enableHostInfo" value is set to "false". 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.guestlib.enableHostInfo If the virtual machine advanced setting "tools.guestlib.enableHostInfo" is not set to "false", this is a finding. If the virtual machine advanced setting "tools.guestlib.enableHostInfo" does not exist, this is not a finding.

Check Text ( C-62451r933192_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.guestlib.enableHostInfo" value is set to "false".

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.guestlib.enableHostInfo

If the virtual machine advanced setting "tools.guestlib.enableHostInfo" is not set to "false", this is a finding.

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

Fix Text (F-62360r933193_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.guestlib.enableHostInfo" value and set it to "false". 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.guestlib.enableHostInfo \| Set-AdvancedSetting -Value false 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-62360r933193_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.guestlib.enableHostInfo" value and set it to "false".

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.guestlib.enableHostInfo | Set-AdvancedSetting -Value false

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.