Virtual switch VLANs must be fully documented and have only the required VLANs.

From VMware ESXi Server 5.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Part of ESXI5-VMNET

Associated with: CCI-000366

SV-51217r1_rule Virtual switch VLANs must be fully documented and have only the required VLANs.

Vulnerability discussion

When defining a physical switch port for trunk mode, only specified VLANs must be configured on the VLAN trunk link. The risk with not fully documenting all VLANs on the vSwitch is that it is possible that a physical trunk port might be configured without needed VLANs, or with unneeded VLANs, potentially enabling an administrator to either accidentally or maliciously connect a VM to an unauthorized VLAN.

Check content

Both standard and distributed vSwitch configurations can be viewed in the vSphere Client. For vSwitch: Home>> Inventory>> Hosts and Clusters, then select an ESXi host in Inventory panel on left. In the Configuration tab, Hardware window, under Networking, select each vSwitch, and for each port group on the vSwitch, verify and record the VLAN IDs used. For dvSwitches, go to Home>> Inventory>> Networking and for each dvSwitch in the inventory, and for each dvPortGroup in each dvSwitch, select Edit Settings>> Policies>> VLAN and verify the recorded VLAN IDs. If the system VLAN IDs do not match the VLAN IDs on record, this is a finding.

Fix text

Both standard and distributed vSwitch configurations can be viewed in the vSphere Client. For vSwitch: Home>> Inventory>> Hosts and Clusters, then select an ESXi host in Inventory panel on left. In the Configuration tab, Hardware window, under Networking, select each vSwitch, and for each port group on the vSwitch, verify and record the VLAN IDs used. For dvSwitches, go to Home>> Inventory>> Networking and for each dvSwitch in the inventory, and for each dvPortGroup in each dvSwitch, select Edit Settings>> Policies>> VLAN and record all VLAN IDs.

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.

Powered by sagemincer