The system must disable ESXi Shell unless needed for diagnostics or troubleshooting.

From VMware ESXi Server 5.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Associated with: CCI-000366

SV-51111r1_rule The system must disable ESXi Shell unless needed for diagnostics or troubleshooting.

Vulnerability discussion

The ESXi Shell is an interactive command line environment available locally from the DCUI or remotely via SSH. Activities performed from the ESXi Shell bypass vCenter RBAC and audit controls. The ESXi shell should only be turned on when needed to troubleshoot/resolve problems that cannot be fixed through the vSphere client.

Check content

From the vSphere Client, select the host then select "Configuration >> Security Profiles". In the Services section select "Properties". Select the "ESXi Shell" and click Options. Verify the ESXi Shell is set to "Start and stop manually". If the ESXi Shell service startup policy is not set to "Start and stop manually", this is a finding.

Fix text

From the vSphere Client, select the host then select "Configuration >> Security Profiles". In the Services section select "Properties". Select the "ESXi Shell" and click Options. Stop the ESXi Shell and select the option to "Start and stop manually".

Pro Tips

Lavender hyperlinks in small type off to the right (of CSS class id, if you view the page source) point to globally unique URIs for each document and item. Copy the link location and paste anywhere you need to talk unambiguously about these things.

You can obtain data about documents and items in other formats. Simply provide an HTTP header Accept: text/turtle or Accept: application/rdf+xml.