All physical switch ports must be configured with spanning tree disabled.

From VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0 Security Technical Implementation Guide

Part of SRG-OS-000480-VMM-002000

Associated with: CCI-000366

SV-77793r1_rule All physical switch ports must be configured with spanning tree disabled.

Vulnerability discussion

Since VMware virtual switches do not support STP, the ESXi host-connected physical switch ports must have portfast configured if spanning tree is enabled to avoid loops within the physical switch network. If these are not set, potential performance and connectivity issues might arise.

Check content

Note: This check refers to an entity outside the physical scope of the ESXi server system. The configuration of upstream physical switches must be documented to ensure that spanning tree protocol is disabled and/or portfast is configured for all physical ports connected to ESXi hosts. Inspect the documentation and verify that the documentation is updated on a regular basis and/or whenever modifications are made to either ESXi hosts or the upstream physical switches. Alternatively, log in to the physical switch and verify that spanning tree protocol is disabled and/or portfast is configured for all physical ports connected to ESXi hosts. If the physical switch's spanning tree protocol is not disabled or portfast is not configured for all physical ports connected to ESXi hosts, this is a finding.

Fix text

Note: This fix refers to an entity outside the scope of the ESXi server system. Document the upstream physical switch configuration for spanning tree protocol disablement and/or portfast configuration for all physical ports connected to ESXi hosts. Log in to the physical switch(es) and disable spanning tree protocol and/or configure portfast for all physical ports connected to ESXi hosts. Update the documentation on a regular basis or whenever modifications are made to either ESXi hosts or the upstream physical switches.

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