Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded USB devices.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-258726	VMCH-80-000213	SV-258726r959010_rule		Medium

Description
Ensure no device is connected to a virtual machine if it is not required. For example, floppy, serial, and parallel ports are rarely used for virtual machines in a data center environment, and CD/DVD drives are usually connected only temporarily during software installation.

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

Details

Check Text ( C-62466r933237_chk )
For each virtual machine do the following: From the vSphere Client, right-click the Virtual Machine and go to "Edit Settings". Review the VM's hardware and verify no USB devices exist. or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host or vCenter server, run the following commands: Get-VM \| Where {$_.ExtensionData.Config.Hardware.Device.DeviceInfo.Label -match "usb"} Get-VM \| Get-UsbDevice If a virtual machine has any USB devices or USB controllers present, this is a finding. If USB smart card readers are used to pass smart cards through the VM console to a VM, the use of a USB controller and USB devices for that purpose is not a finding.

Check Text ( C-62466r933237_chk )

For each virtual machine do the following:

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

Review the VM's hardware and verify no USB devices exist.

or

From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host or vCenter server, run the following commands:

Get-VM | Where {$_.ExtensionData.Config.Hardware.Device.DeviceInfo.Label -match "usb"}
Get-VM | Get-UsbDevice

If a virtual machine has any USB devices or USB controllers present, this is a finding.

If USB smart card readers are used to pass smart cards through the VM console to a VM, the use of a USB controller and USB devices for that purpose is not a finding.

Fix Text (F-62375r933238_fix)
For each virtual machine do the following: From the vSphere Client, right-click the Virtual Machine and go to "Edit Settings". Select the USB controller, click the circled "X" to remove it, and click "OK". or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host or vCenter server, run the following command: Get-VM "VM Name" \| Get-USBDevice \| Remove-USBDevice Note: This will not remove the USB controller, just any connected devices.

Fix Text (F-62375r933238_fix)

For each virtual machine do the following:

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

Select the USB controller, click the circled "X" to remove it, and click "OK".

or

From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host or vCenter server, run the following command:

Get-VM "VM Name" | Get-USBDevice | Remove-USBDevice

Note: This will not remove the USB controller, just any connected devices.