The operating system must terminate the network connection associated with a communications session at the end of the session or after an organization-defined time period of inactivity.

From VMware ESXi Server 5.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Associated with: CCI-001133

SV-51263r2_rule The operating system must terminate the network connection associated with a communications session at the end of the session or after an organization-defined time period of inactivity.

Vulnerability discussion

If ESXi Shell is enabled on the host and a user neglects to initiate an SSH session the idle connection will remain available indefinitely increasing the potential for someone to gain privileged access to the host.

Check content

From the vSphere client select the host and click "Configuration >> Advanced Settings". Select "UserVars.ESXiShellTimeOut" parameter and verify it is set to a value not to exceed 900 seconds (15 minutes). A value of 0 disables the ESXi Shell timeout. If the "UserVars.ESXiShellTimeOut" parameter is set to a value less than 1 or greater than 900, this is a finding.

Fix text

From the vSphere client select the host and click "Configuration >> Advanced Settings". Select UserVars.ESXiShellTimeOut parameter and configure it to a value not to exceed 900 seconds (15 minutes). A value of 0 disables the ESXi Shell timeout.

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