Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to try the versions listed here.

InSpec/CINC Auditor 6.6.0
SAF CLI 1.4.0
STIG Viewer 2.17
An NSX 4.x environment. The environment used in these examples has 1 T0 Gateway configured with BGP to an upstream router and 1 T1 Gateway deployed.

Assumptions

Commands are being ran from a Linux machine. Windows will also work but paths and commands may need to be adjusted from the examples.
The DOD Compliance and Automation repository downloaded and extracted to /usr/share/stigs.
CINC Auditor is used in lieu of InSpec. If InSpec is used replace cinc-auditor with inspec when running commands.

Auditing NSX

Important

The example commands below are specific to the product version and the supported STIG content for the version you are running. Select the example command tabs for the version in your environment.

Generate API Session Token

This profile uses Session-Based authentication to authenticate with NSX for auditing. A session token and cookie must be generated and provided an input for the profile. This can be generated in various ways via curl, tools like Postman, etc. For more information see the NSX API Documentation.

Note: If the user is a remote user, append “@domain” to the username, for example, “joe@example.com”. The domain must match a domain for a configured VIDM identity source or a configured LDAP identity source.

Curl example:

curl -k -i -X POST -d 'j_username=admin&j_password=C3.UwJ7TTK1P' https://10.215.77.149/api/session/create

# Example response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
set-cookie: JSESSIONID=A6903A10F3AE7EB328F12EAF796053F5; Path=/; Secure; HttpOnly; SameSite=Lax
x-xsrf-token: ead781b8-0e0c-456f-a04a-584e9ae2e45a
cache-control: no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate
pragma: no-cache
expires: 0
x-xss-protection: 1; mode=block
x-frame-options: SAMEORIGIN
x-content-type-options: nosniff
content-type: application/json
content-length: 107
date: Thu, 29 Jun 2023 21:39:58 GMT
strict-transport-security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains
content-security-policy: frame-src 'self' blob:; frame-ancestors 'self'
server: envoy

{"roles":[{"role":"superusers","permissions":["read-api","read-write-api","read-cli","read-write-cli"]}]}

curl -k -i -X POST -d 'j_username=admin&j_password=C3.UwJ7TTK1P' https://10.215.77.149/api/session/create

# Example response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
set-cookie: JSESSIONID=A6903A10F3AE7EB328F12EAF796053F5; Path=/; Secure; HttpOnly; SameSite=Lax
x-xsrf-token: ead781b8-0e0c-456f-a04a-584e9ae2e45a
cache-control: no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate
pragma: no-cache
expires: 0
x-xss-protection: 1; mode=block
x-frame-options: SAMEORIGIN
x-content-type-options: nosniff
content-type: application/json
content-length: 107
date: Thu, 29 Jun 2023 21:39:58 GMT
strict-transport-security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains
content-security-policy: frame-src 'self' blob:; frame-ancestors 'self'
server: envoy

{"roles":[{"role":"superusers","permissions":["read-api","read-write-api","read-cli","read-write-cli"]}]}

Update profile inputs

Included in the vmware-nsx-4.x-stig-baseline is an example inputs file with variables relevant to NSX. This is used to provide InSpec with values specific to the environment being audited.

Open the inputs file for editing.

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/nsx/4.x/v1r1-stig/inspec/vmware-nsx-4.x-stig-baseline/

# Edit the inputs file
vi inputs-nsx-4.x-example.yml

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/nsx/4.x/v1r1-srg/inspec/vmware-nsx-4.x-stig-baseline/

# Edit the inputs file
vi inputs-nsx-4.x-example.yml

Update the inputs as shown below with values relevant to your environment. Specifically nsxManager,sessionToken,sessionCookieId,syslogServers,sftpServer,ntpServers,ntpServers,and nsxtVersion at a minimum. The other inputs are optional depending on your environment.

# General
# NSX Manager IP or FQDN
nsxManager: '10.1.2.3'
# Session token generated for access to NSX. Example ead781b8-0e0c-456f-a04a-584e9ae2e45a
sessionToken: ''
# Session cookie id generated for access to NSX. Example 'JSESSIONID=2A165FCF851CA50FCD038DFC8E770038'
sessionCookieId: ''
# Manager
# Provide a list of authorized users and their roles to validate assigned permissions in NSX. The default local users and their roles are provided as an example. This currently only validates roles assigned to all of NSX and not to Projects or other scopes.
authorizedPermissions:
  admin:
    role: 'Enterprise Admin'
  audit:
    role: 'Auditor'
  guestuser1:
    role: 'Auditor'
  guestuser2:
    role: 'Auditor'
# Enter the environment specific syslog server vCenter should be forwarding logs to.
syslogServers:
  - 'loginsight.test.com'
# Enter the environment specific time servers.
ntpServers:
  - 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
  - 'time-b-g.nist.gov'
# Enter latest NSX version. Example '4.1.1.0'
nsxtVersion: '4.2.0.0'
# Enter an array of T0 Gateways that are approved to have multicast enabled.
t0multicastlist: []
# Enter an array of T0 Gateways interfaces that are approved to have multicast enabled.
t0mcinterfacelist: []
# Enter an array of T0 Gateways that are approved to have DHCP enabled.
t0dhcplist: []
# Enter an array of T1 Gateways that are approved to have DHCP enabled.
t1dhcplist: []
# Enter an array of T1 Gateways that are approved to have multicast enabled.
t1multicastlist: []

# NSX Manager IP or FQDN
nsxManager: ''
# Session token generated for access to NSX
sessionToken: ''
# Session cookie id generated for access to NSX. Example 'JSESSIONID=2A165FCF851CA50FCD038DFC8E770038'
sessionCookieId: ''
# Manager
# Enter the environment specific syslog server vCenter should be forwarding logs to.
syslogServers:
  - 'loginsight.test.com'
# Enter the environment specific time servers.
ntpServer1: 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
ntpServer2: 'time-b-g.nist.gov'
# Enter latest NSX version. Example '4.1.1.0'
nsxtVersion: '4.1.1.0'
# Enter an array of T0 Gateways that are approved to have multicast enabled.
t0multicastlist: []
# Enter an array of T0 Gateways interfaces that are approved to have multicast enabled.
t0mcinterfacelist: []
# Enter an array of T0 Gateways that are approved to have DHCP enabled.
t0dhcplist: []
# Enter an array of T1 Gateways that are approved to have DHCP enabled.
t1dhcplist: []
# Enter an array of T1 Gateways that are approved to have multicast enabled.
t1multicastlist: []

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning all NSX components, specifying an inputs file, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file.

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/nsx/4.x/v1r1-stig/inspec/vmware-nsx-4.x-stig-baseline/

# Run the audit
cinc-auditor exec . --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file inputs-nsx-4.x-example.yml --reporter=cli json:/tmp/reports/MyNSXReport.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  ×  NT1F-4X-000020: The NSX Tier-1 Gateway Firewall must be configured to send traffic log entries to a central audit server. (1 failed)
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/policy/api/v1/search?query=( resource_type:TransportNode AND node_deployment_info.resource_type:EdgeNode ) status is expected to cmp == 200
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/api/v1/transport-nodes/a40c4ea4-16a1-11ee-8640-000c296f3e4c/node/services/syslog/exporters status is expected to cmp == 200
     ×  No syslog servers are configured on Edge Node: rlakey-svc.nsxedge-ob-21981742-1-stigtest is expected not to cmp == []

     expected: []
          got: []

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

  ↺  NT1F-4X-000027: The NSX Tier-1 Gateway Firewall must be configured to inspect traffic at the application layer. (1 skipped)
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s status is expected to cmp == 200
     ↺  This check is a manual or policy based check and must be reviewed manually.


Profile:   VMware NSX 4.x Tier-1 Gateway Router STIG InSpec Profile (VMware NSX 4.x Tier-1 Gateway Router STIG InSpec Profile)
Version:   1.1
Target:    local://
Target ID: e45dd517-9256-59e3-8503-3351c863444c

  ↺  NT1R-4X-000016: The NSX Tier-1 Gateway must be configured to have all inactive interfaces removed. (1 skipped)
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s status is expected to cmp == 200
     ↺  This is a manual check. Review T1 interfaces and determine if any existing interfaces are orphaned and should be removed.
  ✔  NT1R-4X-000027: The NSX Tier-1 Gateway must be configured to have the DHCP service disabled if not in use.
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s status is expected to cmp == 200
     ✔  {"tier0_path"=>"/infra/tier-0s/Tier0Gateway1", "failover_mode"=>"NON_PREEMPTIVE", "enable_standby_relocation"=>false, "route_advertisement_types"=>["TIER1_CONNECTED", "TIER1_STATIC_ROUTES"], "route_advertisement_rules"=>[{"name"=>"Rule 1", "subnets"=>["192.168.1.0/24", "192.168.2.0/24"], "prefix_operator"=>"GE", "action"=>"PERMIT"}], "force_whitelisting"=>false, "default_rule_logging"=>false, "disable_firewall"=>false, "ipv6_profile_paths"=>["/infra/ipv6-ndra-profiles/default", "/infra/ipv6-dad-profiles/default"], "pool_allocation"=>"ROUTING", "advanced_config"=>{"traffic_back_to_source"=>false, "centralized_mode_enabled"=>false}, "resource_type"=>"Tier1", "id"=>"Tier1Gateway1", "display_name"=>"Tier1Gateway1", "description"=>"Tier1-1 created through automation", "path"=>"/infra/tier-1s/Tier1Gateway1", "relative_path"=>"Tier1Gateway1", "parent_path"=>"/infra", "remote_path"=>"", "unique_id"=>"4f4dd7f0-30d7-4dff-8e9b-14524d6284a1", "realization_id"=>"4f4dd7f0-30d7-4dff-8e9b-14524d6284a1", "owner_id"=>"f1a08ebb-158a-4bed-908d-14cd342e4f9a", "marked_for_delete"=>false, "overridden"=>false, "_create_time"=>1688059851013, "_create_user"=>"admin", "_last_modified_time"=>1688059851013, "_last_modified_user"=>"admin", "_system_owned"=>false, "_protection"=>"NOT_PROTECTED", "_revision"=>0} ["dhcp_config_paths"] is expected to equal nil
  ↺  NT1R-4X-000102: The NSX Tier-1 Gateway must be configured to advertise a hop limit of at least 32 in Router Advertisement messages for IPv6 stateless auto-configuration deployments. (1 skipped)
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/policy/api/v1/infra/global-config status is expected to cmp == 200
     ↺  IPv6 Forwarding is not enabled. This is Not Applicable.
  ✔  NT1R-4X-000107: The NSX Tier-1 Gateway must be configured to have multicast disabled if not in use.
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s status is expected to cmp == 200
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s/Tier1Gateway1/locale-services/Tier1LocalServices-1/multicast status is expected to cmp == 404


Profile Summary: 21 successful controls, 30 control failures, 10 controls skipped
Test Summary: 162 successful, 57 failures, 12 skipped

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/nsx/4.x/v1r1-srg/inspec/vmware-nsx-4.x-stig-baseline/

# Run the audit
cinc-auditor exec . --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file inputs-nsx-4.x-example.yml --reporter=cli json:/tmp/reports/MyNSXReport.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  ×  NT1F-4X-000020: The NSX Tier-1 Gateway Firewall must be configured to send traffic log entries to a central audit server. (1 failed)
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/policy/api/v1/search?query=( resource_type:TransportNode AND node_deployment_info.resource_type:EdgeNode ) status is expected to cmp == 200
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/api/v1/transport-nodes/a40c4ea4-16a1-11ee-8640-000c296f3e4c/node/services/syslog/exporters status is expected to cmp == 200
     ×  No syslog servers are configured on Edge Node: rlakey-svc.nsxedge-ob-21981742-1-stigtest is expected not to cmp == []

     expected: []
          got: []

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

  ↺  NT1F-4X-000027: The NSX Tier-1 Gateway Firewall must be configured to inspect traffic at the application layer. (1 skipped)
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s status is expected to cmp == 200
     ↺  This check is a manual or policy based check and must be reviewed manually.


Profile:   VMware NSX 4.x Tier-1 Gateway Router STIG InSpec Profile (VMware NSX 4.x Tier-1 Gateway Router STIG InSpec Profile)
Version:   1.1
Target:    local://
Target ID: e45dd517-9256-59e3-8503-3351c863444c

  ↺  NT1R-4X-000016: The NSX Tier-1 Gateway must be configured to have all inactive interfaces removed. (1 skipped)
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s status is expected to cmp == 200
     ↺  This is a manual check. Review T1 interfaces and determine if any existing interfaces are orphaned and should be removed.
  ✔  NT1R-4X-000027: The NSX Tier-1 Gateway must be configured to have the DHCP service disabled if not in use.
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s status is expected to cmp == 200
     ✔  {"tier0_path"=>"/infra/tier-0s/Tier0Gateway1", "failover_mode"=>"NON_PREEMPTIVE", "enable_standby_relocation"=>false, "route_advertisement_types"=>["TIER1_CONNECTED", "TIER1_STATIC_ROUTES"], "route_advertisement_rules"=>[{"name"=>"Rule 1", "subnets"=>["192.168.1.0/24", "192.168.2.0/24"], "prefix_operator"=>"GE", "action"=>"PERMIT"}], "force_whitelisting"=>false, "default_rule_logging"=>false, "disable_firewall"=>false, "ipv6_profile_paths"=>["/infra/ipv6-ndra-profiles/default", "/infra/ipv6-dad-profiles/default"], "pool_allocation"=>"ROUTING", "advanced_config"=>{"traffic_back_to_source"=>false, "centralized_mode_enabled"=>false}, "resource_type"=>"Tier1", "id"=>"Tier1Gateway1", "display_name"=>"Tier1Gateway1", "description"=>"Tier1-1 created through automation", "path"=>"/infra/tier-1s/Tier1Gateway1", "relative_path"=>"Tier1Gateway1", "parent_path"=>"/infra", "remote_path"=>"", "unique_id"=>"4f4dd7f0-30d7-4dff-8e9b-14524d6284a1", "realization_id"=>"4f4dd7f0-30d7-4dff-8e9b-14524d6284a1", "owner_id"=>"f1a08ebb-158a-4bed-908d-14cd342e4f9a", "marked_for_delete"=>false, "overridden"=>false, "_create_time"=>1688059851013, "_create_user"=>"admin", "_last_modified_time"=>1688059851013, "_last_modified_user"=>"admin", "_system_owned"=>false, "_protection"=>"NOT_PROTECTED", "_revision"=>0} ["dhcp_config_paths"] is expected to equal nil
  ↺  NT1R-4X-000102: The NSX Tier-1 Gateway must be configured to advertise a hop limit of at least 32 in Router Advertisement messages for IPv6 stateless auto-configuration deployments. (1 skipped)
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/policy/api/v1/infra/global-config status is expected to cmp == 200
     ↺  IPv6 Forwarding is not enabled. This is Not Applicable.
  ✔  NT1R-4X-000107: The NSX Tier-1 Gateway must be configured to have multicast disabled if not in use.
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s status is expected to cmp == 200
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.215.77.149/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s/Tier1Gateway1/locale-services/Tier1LocalServices-1/multicast status is expected to cmp == 404


Profile Summary: 21 successful controls, 30 control failures, 10 controls skipped
Test Summary: 162 successful, 57 failures, 12 skipped

Convert the results to CKL

If a STIG Viewer CKL file is needed then the results from the scans can be converted to CKL with the SAF CLI.

# Converting the scan results from the prior section to CKL
saf convert hdf2ckl -i /tmp/reports/MyNSXReport.json -o /tmp/reports/MyNSXReport.ckl --hostname 10.215.77.149 --fqdn 10.215.77.149 --ip 10.215.77.149 --mac 00:00:00:00:00:00

Opening the CKL file in STIG Viewer will look like the screenshot below. Note the InSpec results are included in the Finding Details pane.
STIG Viewer Checklist

1.2 - Remediate NSX 4.x

Remediating NSX 4.x for STIG Compliance

Overview

Remediating NSX 4.x for STIG compliance involves configuring the NSX Managers, DFW, and any gateways deployed.

To remediate NSX, Ansible is the automation tool used to interact with the NSX REST API.

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to try the versions listed here.

Ansible 2.14.2
Install JMESPath for community.general.json_query collection.
An NSX 4.x environment. The environment used in these examples has 1 T0 Gateway configured with BGP to an upstream router and 1 T1 Gateway deployed.
An account with sufficient privileges to configure NSX.

Assumptions

Commands are being ran from a Linux machine.
The DOD Compliance and Automation repository downloaded and extracted to /usr/share/stigs.
Ansible installed and all playbook dependencies resolved as provided in the requirements.yml file in each playbook. Install with ansible-galaxy roles install -r requirements.yml.

Important Considerations

Warning

Please read carefully before proceeding! Some NSX STIG controls can be very impactful to your environment if care is not taken during implementation especially in a brownfield scenario. For example, changing the default DFW rule to deny traffic without first creating rules to allow authorized traffic. Before running it is highly advised to have a backups taken and verified.

Below is a table of controls selected for consideration but all controls should be examined for impact before implementing.

These can be turned on/off by with a variable that must be set to true as a condition for these tasks to run. See Update vars file for more details.

STIG ID	Title	Notes
NDFW-4X-000015	The NSX Distributed Firewall must limit the effects of packet flooding types of denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.
NDFW-4X-000016	The NSX Distributed Firewall must deny network communications traffic by default and allow network communications traffic by exception.	Ensure DFW rules are created to allow authorized traffic.
NDFW-4X-000029	The NSX Distributed Firewall must configure SpoofGuard to restrict it from accepting outbound packets that contain an illegitimate address in the source address.	Develop an operational plan to manage Spoofguard and identity workloads multiple IPs, etc, that may have issues.
NDFW-4X-000034	The NSX Distributed Firewall must configure an IP Discovery profile to disable trust on every use methods.	Develop an operational plan to manage Spoofguard and identity workloads multiple IPs, etc, that may have issues.
NT0F-4X-000015	The NSX Tier-0 Gateway Firewall must manage excess bandwidth to limit the effects of packet flooding types of denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.
NT0F-4X-000016	The NSX Tier-0 Gateway Firewall must deny network communications traffic by default and allow network communications traffic by exception.	Ensure gateway firewall rules are created to allow authorized traffic.
NT0R-4X-000013	The NSX Tier-0 Gateway must be configured to disable Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) on all interfaces that are not required to support multicast routing.	Ensure any gateways that are authorized to enable multicast are listed in the vars file.
NT0R-4X-000027	The NSX Tier-0 Gateway must be configured to have the DHCP service disabled if not in use.	Ensure any gateways that are authorized to enable DHCP are listed in the vars file.
NT0R-4X-000107	The NSX Tier-0 Gateway must be configured to have multicast disabled if not in use.	Ensure any gateways that are authorized to enable multicast are listed in the vars file.
NT1F-4X-000015	The NSX Tier-1 Gateway Firewall must manage excess bandwidth to limit the effects of packet flooding types of denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.
NT1F-4X-000016	The NSX Tier-1 Gateway Firewall must deny network communications traffic by default and allow network communications traffic by exception.	Ensure gateway firewall rules are created to allow authorized traffic.
NT1R-4X-000027	The NSX Tier-1 Gateway must be configured to have the DHCP service disabled if not in use.	Ensure any gateways that are authorized to enable DHCP are listed in the vars file.
NT1R-4X-000107	The NSX Tier-1 Gateway must be configured to have multicast disabled if not in use.	Ensure any gateways that are authorized to enable multicast are listed in the vars file.

Also not all controls are covered by the Ansible playbook and may require manual remediation.

Remediating NSX

Important

The example commands below are specific to the product version and the supported STIG content for the version you are running. Select the example command tabs for the version in your environment.

To remediate NSX we have provided an Ansible playbook that will target an NSX Manager over the REST API and configure any non-compliant controls.

Generate API Session Token

Curl example:

curl -k -i -X POST -d 'j_username=admin&j_password=C3.UwJ7TTK1P' https://10.215.77.149/api/session/create

# Example response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
set-cookie: JSESSIONID=A6903A10F3AE7EB328F12EAF796053F5; Path=/; Secure; HttpOnly; SameSite=Lax
x-xsrf-token: ead781b8-0e0c-456f-a04a-584e9ae2e45a
cache-control: no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate
pragma: no-cache
expires: 0
x-xss-protection: 1; mode=block
x-frame-options: SAMEORIGIN
x-content-type-options: nosniff
content-type: application/json
content-length: 107
date: Thu, 29 Jun 2023 21:39:58 GMT
strict-transport-security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains
content-security-policy: frame-src 'self' blob:; frame-ancestors 'self'
server: envoy

{"roles":[{"role":"superusers","permissions":["read-api","read-write-api","read-cli","read-write-cli"]}]}

curl -k -i -X POST -d 'j_username=admin&j_password=C3.UwJ7TTK1P' https://10.215.77.149/api/session/create

# Example response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
set-cookie: JSESSIONID=A6903A10F3AE7EB328F12EAF796053F5; Path=/; Secure; HttpOnly; SameSite=Lax
x-xsrf-token: ead781b8-0e0c-456f-a04a-584e9ae2e45a
cache-control: no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate
pragma: no-cache
expires: 0
x-xss-protection: 1; mode=block
x-frame-options: SAMEORIGIN
x-content-type-options: nosniff
content-type: application/json
content-length: 107
date: Thu, 29 Jun 2023 21:39:58 GMT
strict-transport-security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains
content-security-policy: frame-src 'self' blob:; frame-ancestors 'self'
server: envoy

{"roles":[{"role":"superusers","permissions":["read-api","read-write-api","read-cli","read-write-cli"]}]}

Update vars file

In order to run the playbook, environment specific values need to be provided. An example vars file vars-nsx-4x-example.yml is provided.

In order to run the playbook, environment specific values need to be provided. An example vars file vars-nsx-4x-example.yml is provided and values need to be updated for the var_nsx_manager, var_jsession_id, var_session_token, var_ntp_server1, var_ntp_server2 variables at a minimum.

Open the inputs file for editing.

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/nsx/4.x/v1r1-stig/ansible/vmware-nsx-4.x-stig-ansible-hardening

# Edit the inputs file
vi vars-nsx-4x-example.yml

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/nsx/4.x/v1r1-srg/ansible/vmware-nsx-4.x-stig-ansible-hardening

# Edit the inputs file
vi vars-nsx-4x-example.yml

Update the variables as shown below with values relevant to your environment. Specifically var_nsx_manager, var_jsession_id, var_session_token, var_ntp_server1, var_ntp_server2 variables at a minimum.

# Connection information
var_nsx_manager: '10.180.98.230'
var_jsession_id: 'JSESSIONID=BDE1B5A54690B453F8968293D3C8A1E4'
var_session_token: '1d140509-ee7c-4cbf-9c22-9efdef982631'

# Manager
var_ntp_server1: 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
var_ntp_server2: 'time-b-g.nist.gov'

# DFW
# NDFW-4X-000004
run_dfw_enable_rule_logging: true
# NDFW-4X-000015
run_dfw_flood_protection: true
# NDFW-4X-000016
run_dfw_default_rule_action: false
var_dfw_default_rule_action: 'DROP'
# NDFW-4X-000029
run_dfw_spoofguard_profile: true
# NDFW-4X-000034
run_dfw_ip_discovery_profile: false

# T0 Firewall
# NT0F-4X-000016
run_t0fw_default_rule_action: false
var_t0fw_default_rule_action: 'DROP'

# T0 Router
# NT0R-4X-000013
run_t0rtr_disable_pim_on_interfaces: false
# array of t0 interface ids that should have PIM enabled
var_t0rtr_gateway_interfaces_with_multicast_enabled:
  - Tier0Interface1
# NT0R-4X-000027
run_t0rtr_disable_dhcp: false
# array of t0 ids that should have dhcp enabled
var_t0rtr_gateways_with_dhcp_enabled: []
# NT0R-4X-000107
run_t0rtr_disable_multicast: true
# array of t0 ids that should have multicast enabled
var_t0rtr_gateways_with_multicast_enabled:
  - Tier0Gateway1

# T1 Firewall
# NT1F-4X-000016
run_t1fw_default_rule_action: true
var_t1fw_default_rule_action: 'DROP'

# T1 Router
# NT1R-4X-000027
run_t1rtr_disable_dhcp: true
# array of t1 ids that should have dhcp enabled
var_t1rtr_gateways_with_dhcp_enabled: []
# NT1R-4X-000107
run_t1rtr_disable_multicast: true
# array of t1 ids that should have multicast enabled
var_t1rtr_gateways_with_multicast_enabled:
  - Tier1Gateway1

# Example vars file
# Connection information
var_nsx_manager: '10.180.98.230'
var_jsession_id: 'JSESSIONID=BDE1B5A54690B453F8968293D3C8A1E4'
var_session_token: '1d140509-ee7c-4cbf-9c22-9efdef982631'

# Manager
var_ntp_server1: 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
var_ntp_server2: 'time-b-g.nist.gov'

# DFW
# NDFW-4X-000004
run_dfw_enable_rule_logging: true
# NDFW-4X-000015
run_dfw_flood_protection: true
# NDFW-4X-000016
run_dfw_default_rule_action: false
var_dfw_default_rule_action: 'DROP'
# NDFW-4X-000029
run_dfw_spoofguard_profile: true
# NDFW-4X-000034
run_dfw_ip_discovery_profile: false

# T0 Firewall
# NT0F-4X-000016
run_t0fw_default_rule_action: false
var_t0fw_default_rule_action: 'DROP'

# T0 Router
# NT0R-4X-000013
run_t0rtr_disable_pim_on_interfaces: false
# array of t0 interface ids that should have PIM enabled
var_t0rtr_gateway_interfaces_with_multicast_enabled:
  - Tier0Interface1
# NT0R-4X-000027
run_t0rtr_disable_dhcp: false
# array of t0 ids that should have dhcp enabled
var_t0rtr_gateways_with_dhcp_enabled: []
# NT0R-4X-000107
run_t0rtr_disable_multicast: true
# array of t0 ids that should have multicast enabled
var_t0rtr_gateways_with_multicast_enabled:
  - Tier0Gateway1

# T1 Firewall
# NT1F-4X-000016
run_t1fw_default_rule_action: true
var_t1fw_default_rule_action: 'DROP'

# T1 Router
# NT1R-4X-000027
run_t1rtr_disable_dhcp: true
# array of t1 ids that should have dhcp enabled
var_t1rtr_gateways_with_dhcp_enabled: []
# NT1R-4X-000107
run_t1rtr_disable_multicast: true
# array of t1 ids that should have multicast enabled
var_t1rtr_gateways_with_multicast_enabled:
  - Tier1Gateway1

Running the playbook

To run all of the NSX controls, follow the example below.

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/nsx/4.x/v1r1-stig/ansible/vmware-nsx-4.x-stig-ansible-hardening

# Run the playbook
ansible-playbook playbook.yml -v --extra-vars @vars-nsx-4x-example.yml

# Output example
PLAY [NSX 4.x Remediation Automation] ***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

TASK [dfw : NDFW-4X-000016 - Find DFW default layer 3 rule] ***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [127.0.0.1] => {"cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": false, "connection": "close", "content_type": "application/json", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Mon, 10 Jul 2023 16:49:52 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "json": {"_create_time": 1688751880285, "_create_user": "system", "_last_modified_time": 1689007787614, "_last_modified_user": "admin", "_protection": "NOT_PROTECTED", "_revision": 1, "_system_owned": false, "action": "ALLOW", "destination_groups": ["ANY"], "destinations_excluded": false, "direction": "IN_OUT", "disabled": false, "display_name": "default-layer3-rule", "id": "default-layer3-rule", "ip_protocol": "IPV4_IPV6", "is_default": true, "logged": true, "marked_for_delete": false, "origin_site_id": "9d96be5a-afca-498c-8c04-8ca4514f7b40", "overridden": false, "owner_id": "9d96be5a-afca-498c-8c04-8ca4514f7b40", "parent_path": "/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section", "path": "/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default-layer3-rule", "profiles": ["ANY"], "realization_id": "aa423bd5-1ab7-41b0-958c-aa101f264df6", "relative_path": "default-layer3-rule", "remote_path": "", "resource_type": "Rule", "rule_id": 2, "scope": ["ANY"], "sequence_number": 2147483647, "services": ["ANY"], "source_groups": ["ANY"], "sources_excluded": false, "unique_id": "aa423bd5-1ab7-41b0-958c-aa101f264df6"}, "msg": "OK (unknown bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "server": "envoy", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains", "transfer_encoding": "chunked", "url": "https://10.180.98.230/policy/api/v1/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default-layer3-rule", "vary": "Accept-Encoding", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff", "x_envoy_upstream_service_time": "20", "x_frame_options": "SAMEORIGIN", "x_nsx_requestid": "1b66a182-4959-4cbf-8438-ec304ce83c7b", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

TASK [dfw : NDFW-4X-000016 - Update DFW default layer 3 rule action to desired value] *********************************************************************************************************************************
changed: [127.0.0.1] => {"cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": true, "connection": "close", "content_length": "0", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Mon, 10 Jul 2023 16:49:54 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "msg": "OK (0 bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "server": "envoy", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains", "url": "https://10.180.98.230/policy/api/v1/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default-layer3-rule", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff", "x_envoy_upstream_service_time": "69", "x_frame_options": "SAMEORIGIN", "x_nsx_requestid": "ce242eda-7340-4097-a72c-ff10ae72c4e8", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/nsx/4.x/v1r1-srg/ansible/vmware-nsx-4.x-stig-ansible-hardening

# Run the playbook
ansible-playbook playbook.yml -v --extra-vars @vars-nsx-4x-example.yml

# Output example
PLAY [NSX 4.x Remediation Automation] ***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

TASK [dfw : NDFW-4X-000016 - Find DFW default layer 3 rule] ***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [127.0.0.1] => {"cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": false, "connection": "close", "content_type": "application/json", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Mon, 10 Jul 2023 16:49:52 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "json": {"_create_time": 1688751880285, "_create_user": "system", "_last_modified_time": 1689007787614, "_last_modified_user": "admin", "_protection": "NOT_PROTECTED", "_revision": 1, "_system_owned": false, "action": "ALLOW", "destination_groups": ["ANY"], "destinations_excluded": false, "direction": "IN_OUT", "disabled": false, "display_name": "default-layer3-rule", "id": "default-layer3-rule", "ip_protocol": "IPV4_IPV6", "is_default": true, "logged": true, "marked_for_delete": false, "origin_site_id": "9d96be5a-afca-498c-8c04-8ca4514f7b40", "overridden": false, "owner_id": "9d96be5a-afca-498c-8c04-8ca4514f7b40", "parent_path": "/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section", "path": "/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default-layer3-rule", "profiles": ["ANY"], "realization_id": "aa423bd5-1ab7-41b0-958c-aa101f264df6", "relative_path": "default-layer3-rule", "remote_path": "", "resource_type": "Rule", "rule_id": 2, "scope": ["ANY"], "sequence_number": 2147483647, "services": ["ANY"], "source_groups": ["ANY"], "sources_excluded": false, "unique_id": "aa423bd5-1ab7-41b0-958c-aa101f264df6"}, "msg": "OK (unknown bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "server": "envoy", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains", "transfer_encoding": "chunked", "url": "https://10.180.98.230/policy/api/v1/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default-layer3-rule", "vary": "Accept-Encoding", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff", "x_envoy_upstream_service_time": "20", "x_frame_options": "SAMEORIGIN", "x_nsx_requestid": "1b66a182-4959-4cbf-8438-ec304ce83c7b", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

TASK [dfw : NDFW-4X-000016 - Update DFW default layer 3 rule action to desired value] *********************************************************************************************************************************
changed: [127.0.0.1] => {"cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": true, "connection": "close", "content_length": "0", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Mon, 10 Jul 2023 16:49:54 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "msg": "OK (0 bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "server": "envoy", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains", "url": "https://10.180.98.230/policy/api/v1/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default-layer3-rule", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff", "x_envoy_upstream_service_time": "69", "x_frame_options": "SAMEORIGIN", "x_nsx_requestid": "ce242eda-7340-4097-a72c-ff10ae72c4e8", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

A more conservative and preferred approach is to target any non-compliant controls or run each component separately allowed you to perform any functional testing in between.

# Providing the tag "dfw" will instruct the playbook to only run the dfw role. This tag can be seen in each roles task/main.yml file.
> ansible-playbook playbook.yml -v --extra-vars @vars-nsx-4.x-example.yml --tags dfw

# Providing the tag " NDFW-4X-000004" will instruct the playbook to only run task tagged with the STIG ID of  NDFW-4X-000004.
> ansible-playbook playbook.yml -v --extra-vars @vars-nsx-4.x-example.yml --tags NDFW-4X-000004

# Providing the tag "dfw" will instruct the playbook to only run the dfw role. This tag can be seen in each roles task/main.yml file.
> ansible-playbook playbook.yml -v --extra-vars @vars-nsx-4.x-example.yml --tags dfw

# Providing the tag " NDFW-4X-000004" will instruct the playbook to only run task tagged with the STIG ID of  NDFW-4X-000004.
> ansible-playbook playbook.yml -v --extra-vars @vars-nsx-4.x-example.yml --tags NDFW-4X-000004

1.3 - Audit NSX-T 3.x

Auditing NSX-T 3.x for STIG Compliance

Overview

Auditing NSX-T 3.x for STIG compliance involves scanning the NSX Managers, DFW, and any gateways deployed.

To audit NSX-T using InSpec we utilize the local transport to connect via the REST API and query it’s configuration.

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to try the versions listed here.

The vmware-nsxt-3.x-stig-baseline profile downloaded.
InSpec/Cinc Auditor 5.22.3
SAF CLI 1.2.20
STIG Viewer 2.17
An NSX-T 3.x environment. 3.2.3 was used in these examples with 1 T0 Gateway configured with BGP to an upstream router and 1 T1 Gateway deployed.

Auditing NSX-T

Generate API Session Token

Curl example

curl -k -i -X POST -d 'j_username=admin&j_password=replacethis' https://10.43.173.83/api/session/create

# Example response
HTTP/1.1 200
Set-Cookie: JSESSIONID=6A0F43FCD07947BB21890CDA05DF26C0; Path=/; Secure; HttpOnly
X-XSRF-TOKEN: fe3d6167-09d5-4302-b6cd-be2e20947d58
Cache-Control: no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate
Pragma: no-cache
Expires: 0
Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000 ; includeSubDomains
X-XSS-Protection: 1; mode=block
X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN
X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 107
Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2023 17:15:07 GMT
Server: NSX

{"roles":[{"role":"superusers","permissions":["read-api","read-write-api","read-cli","read-write-cli"]}]}

Update profile inputs

Included in the vmware-nsxt-3.x-stig-baseline is an example inputs-nsxt-3.x.yml file with the following inputs relevant to NSX-T.

Update the inputs as shown below with values relevant to your environment.

# General
# NSX Manager IP or FQDN
nsxManager: '10.43.173.83'
# Session token generated for access to NSX
sessionToken: 'fe3d6167-09d5-4302-b6cd-be2e20947d58'
# Session cookie id generated for access to NSX. Example 'JSESSIONID=2A165FCF851CA50FCD038DFC8E770038'
sessionCookieId: 'JSESSIONID=6A0F43FCD07947BB21890CDA05DF26C0'
# Manager
# Enter the environment specific syslog server vCenter should be forwarding logs to.
syslogServers:
  - 'loginsight.test.com'
  - 'loginsight2.test.com'
# Enter the environment specific time servers.
ntpServer1: 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
ntpServer2: 'time-b-g.nist.gov'
# Enter latest NSX version. Example '3.2.3.0'
nsxtVersion: '3.2.3.0'
# Enter an array of T0 Gateways that are approved to have multicast enabled.
t0multicastlist: []
# Enter an array of T0 Gateways interfaces that are approved to have multicast enabled.
t0mcinterfacelist: []
# Enter an array of T0 Gateways that are approved to have DHCP enabled.
t0dhcplist: []
# Enter an array of T1 Gateways that are approved to have DHCP enabled.
t1dhcplist: []
# Enter an array of T1 Gateways that are approved to have multicast enabled.
t1multicastlist: []

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning all NSX components, specifying an inputs file, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file.

# Note this command is being ran from the root of the profile folder. Update paths as needed if running from a different location.
> inspec exec . --show-progress --input-file inputs-nsxt-3.x.yml --reporter=cli json:/mnt/c/Inspec/Reports/MyNSX3Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  ×  T1FW-3X-000036: The NSX-T Tier-1 Gateway Firewall must configure SpoofGuard to block outbound IP packets that contain illegitimate packet attributes. (6 failed)
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.43.173.83/api/v1/logical-switches status is expected to cmp == 200
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.43.173.83/policy/api/v1/search?query=( resource_type:SpoofGuardProfile AND unique_id:fad98876-d7ff-11e4-b9d6-1681e6b88ec1 ) status is expected to cmp == 200
     ×  JSON content address_binding_allowlist is expected to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got: false

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

     ×  JSON content address_binding_whitelist is expected to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got: false

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.43.173.83/policy/api/v1/search?query=( resource_type:SpoofGuardProfile AND unique_id:fad98876-d7ff-11e4-b9d6-1681e6b88ec1 ) status is expected to cmp == 200
     ×  JSON content address_binding_allowlist is expected to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got: false

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

     ×  JSON content address_binding_whitelist is expected to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got: false

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.43.173.83/policy/api/v1/search?query=( resource_type:SpoofGuardProfile AND unique_id:fad98876-d7ff-11e4-b9d6-1681e6b88ec1 ) status is expected to cmp == 200
     ×  JSON content address_binding_allowlist is expected to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got: false

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

     ×  JSON content address_binding_whitelist is expected to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got: false

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)



Profile:   VMware NSX-T Tier 1 Gateway RTR STIG InSpec Profile (VMware NSX-T Tier 1 Gateway RTR STIG InSpec Profile)
Version:   1.1
Target:    local://
Target ID: 91850cb0-e902-5c20-9e21-05288aec4f93

  ↺  T1RT-3X-000016: The NSX-T Tier-1 Gateway must be configured to have all inactive interfaces removed. (1 skipped)
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.43.173.83/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s status is expected to cmp == 200
     ↺  This is a manual check. Review T1 interfaces and determine if any existing interfaces are orphaned and should be removed.
  ✔  T1RT-3X-000027: The NSX-T Tier-1 Gateway must be configured to have the DHCP service disabled if not in use.
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.43.173.83/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s status is expected to cmp == 200
     ✔  {"tier0_path"=>"/infra/tier-0s/Tier0Gateway1", "failover_mode"=>"NON_PREEMPTIVE", "enable_standby_relocation"=>false, "route_advertisement_types"=>["TIER1_CONNECTED", "TIER1_STATIC_ROUTES"], "route_advertisement_rules"=>[{"name"=>"Rule 1", "subnets"=>["192.168.1.0/24", "192.168.2.0/24"], "prefix_operator"=>"GE", "action"=>"PERMIT"}], "force_whitelisting"=>false, "default_rule_logging"=>false, "disable_firewall"=>false, "ipv6_profile_paths"=>["/infra/ipv6-ndra-profiles/default", "/infra/ipv6-dad-profiles/default"], "pool_allocation"=>"ROUTING", "advanced_config"=>{"traffic_back_to_source"=>false}, "resource_type"=>"Tier1", "id"=>"Tier1Gateway1", "display_name"=>"Tier1Gateway1", "description"=>"Tier1-1 created through automation", "path"=>"/infra/tier-1s/Tier1Gateway1", "relative_path"=>"Tier1Gateway1", "parent_path"=>"/infra", "unique_id"=>"74a2d444-07e6-49c9-bdb8-973c1ad81524", "realization_id"=>"74a2d444-07e6-49c9-bdb8-973c1ad81524", "marked_for_delete"=>false, "overridden"=>false, "_create_time"=>1688661706117, "_create_user"=>"admin", "_last_modified_time"=>1688661706117, "_last_modified_user"=>"admin", "_system_owned"=>false, "_protection"=>"NOT_PROTECTED", "_revision"=>0} ["dhcp_config_paths"] is expected to equal nil
  ↺  T1RT-3X-000034: The NSX-T Tier-1 Gateway must be configured to enforce a Quality-of-Service (QoS) policy to limit the effects of packet flooding denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. (1 skipped)
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.43.173.83/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s status is expected to cmp == 200
     ↺  This is a manual check. Review that QoS policies support traffic priorities specified by the Combatant Commands/Services/Agencies needed to ensure sufficient capacity for mission-critical traffic.
  ✔  T1RT-3X-000084: The NSX-T Tier-1 Gateway must be configured to have multicast disabled if not in use.
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.43.173.83/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s status is expected to cmp == 200
     ✔  HTTP GET on https://10.43.173.83/policy/api/v1/infra/tier-1s/Tier1Gateway1/locale-services/Tier1LocalServices-1/multicast status is expected to cmp == 404


Profile Summary: 24 successful controls, 35 control failures, 12 controls skipped
Test Summary: 176 successful, 60 failures, 15 skipped

Convert the results to CKL

If a STIG Viewer CKL file is needed then the results from the scans can be converted to CKL with the SAF CLI.

# Converting the scan results from the prior section to CKL
saf convert hdf2ckl -i C:\inspec\Reports\MyNSX3Report.json -o C:\inspec\Reports\MyNSX3Report.ckl --hostname 10.43.173.83 --fqdn 10.43.173.83 --ip 10.43.173.83 --mac 00:00:00:00:00:00

Opening the CKL file in STIG Viewer will look like the screenshot below. Note the InSpec results are included in the Finding Details pane.
STIG Viewer Checklist

1.4 - Remediate NSX-T 3.x

Remediating NSX-T 3.x for STIG Compliance

Overview

Remediating NSX-T 3.x for STIG compliance involves configuring the NSX Managers, DFW, and any gateways deployed.

To remediate NSX-T, Ansible is the automation tool used to interact with the NSX-T REST API.

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to try the versions listed here.

The vmware-nsxt-3.x-stig-ansible-hardening playbook downloaded.
Ansible 2.14.4
Install JMESPath for community.general.json_query collection.
An NSX-T 3.x environment. 3.2.3 was used in this example.
An account with sufficient privileges to configure NSX-T.

Important Considerations

Please read carefully before proceeding!

Some NSX-T STIG controls can be very impactful to your environment if care is not taken during implementation especially in a brownfield scenario. For example, changing the default DFW rule to deny traffic without first creating rules to allow authorized traffic.

Below is a table of controls selected for consideration but all controls should be examined for impact before implementing.

These can be turned on/off by with a variable that must be set to true as a condition for these tasks to run. See Update vars file for more details.

STIG ID	Title	Notes
TDFW-3X-000019	The NSX-T Distributed Firewall must block outbound traffic containing denial-of-service (DoS) attacks to protect against the use of internal information systems to launch any DoS attacks against other networks or endpoints.
TDFW-3X-000021	The NSX-T Distributed Firewall must deny network communications traffic by default and allow network communications traffic by exception (i.e., deny all, permit by exception).	Ensure DFW rules are created to allow authorized traffic.
TDFW-3X-000036	The NSX-T Distributed Firewall must configure SpoofGuard to block outbound IP packets that contain illegitimate packet attributes.	Develop an operational plan to manage Spoofguard and identity workloads multiple IPs, etc, that may have issues.
T0FW-3X-000019	The NSX-T Tier-0 Gateway Firewall must block outbound traffic containing denial-of-service (DoS) attacks to protect against the use of internal information systems to launch any DoS attacks against other networks or endpoints.
T0FW-3X-000021	The NSX-T Tier-0 Gateway Firewall must deny network communications traffic by default and allow network communications traffic by exception (i.e., deny all, permit by exception).	Ensure gateway firewall rules are created to allow authorized traffic.
T0FW-3X-000036	The NSX-T Tier-0 Gateway Firewall must configure SpoofGuard to block outbound IP packets that contain illegitimate packet attributes.	Develop an operational plan to manage Spoofguard and identity workloads multiple IPs, etc, that may have issues.
T1FW-3X-000019	The NSX-T Tier-1 Gateway Firewall must block outbound traffic containing denial-of-service (DoS) attacks to protect against the use of internal information systems to launch any DoS attacks against other networks or endpoints.
T1FW-3X-000021	The NSX-T Tier-1 Gateway Firewall must deny network communications traffic by default and allow network communications traffic by exception (i.e., deny all, permit by exception).	Ensure gateway firewall rules are created to allow authorized traffic.
T1FW-3X-000036	The NSX-T Tier-1 Gateway Firewall must configure SpoofGuard to block outbound IP packets that contain illegitimate packet attributes.	Develop an operational plan to manage Spoofguard and identity workloads multiple IPs, etc, that may have issues.

Also not all controls are covered by the Ansible playbook and may require manual remediation.

Remediating NSX-T

To remediate NSX-T we have provided an Ansible playbook that will target an NSX-T Manager over the REST API and configure any non-compliant controls.

Since Ansible can only be ran from Linux based systems, the examples below are being ran on an Ubuntu 22.04 WSL2 instance on Windows 11 for reference.

Generate API Session Token

This playbook uses Session-Based authentication to authenticate with NSX for remediation. A session token and cookie must be generated and provided an input for the profile. This can be generated in various ways via curl, tools like Postman, etc. For more information see the NSX API Documentation.

Curl example

curl -k -i -X POST -d 'j_username=admin&j_password=replacethis' https://10.43.173.83/api/session/create

# Example response
HTTP/1.1 200
Set-Cookie: JSESSIONID=6A0F43FCD07947BB21890CDA05DF26C0; Path=/; Secure; HttpOnly
X-XSRF-TOKEN: fe3d6167-09d5-4302-b6cd-be2e20947d58
Cache-Control: no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate
Pragma: no-cache
Expires: 0
Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000 ; includeSubDomains
X-XSS-Protection: 1; mode=block
X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN
X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 107
Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2023 17:15:07 GMT
Server: NSX

{"roles":[{"role":"superusers","permissions":["read-api","read-write-api","read-cli","read-write-cli"]}]}

Update vars file

In order to run the playbook, environment specific values need to be provided. An example vars file vars-nsxt-3.x-example.yml is provided and values need to be updated for the var_nsx_manager, var_jsession_id, var_session_token, var_ntp_server1, var_ntp_server2 variables at a minimum.

# Manager variables
# NSX Manager IP or FQDN
var_nsx_manager: '10.43.173.83'
# Session cookie id generated for access to NSX. Example 'JSESSIONID=2A165FCF851CA50FCD038DFC8E770038'
var_jsession_id: 'JSESSIONID=77EE4288C048073598F50493167A881A'
# Session token generated for access to NSX
var_session_token: 'cabda93b-f2e9-406d-bcfa-ec56b9a07bce'
# Enter the environment specific time servers.
var_ntp_server1: 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
var_ntp_server2: 'time-b-g.nist.gov'

## Set to true/false to enable or disable controls
# DFW
# TDFW-3X-000002
run_dfw_unpublished_rules: true
# TDFW-3X-000005
run_dfw_rule_logging: true
# TDFW-3X-000019-28
run_dfw_floodprotprof: true
# TDFW-3X-000021 !!Caution if set to true this will set the default DFW rule to DROP!!
run_dfw_default_rule_action: false
var_dfw_default_rule_action_desired: "DROP"
# TDFW-3X-000026
run_dfw_syslog: true
# TDFW-3X-000036
run_dfw_spoofguard_prof: false
# TDFW-3X-000042
run_dfw_verify_time_based_rules: true

# Manager
# TNDM-3X-000012 TNDM-3X-000041
run_mgr_auth_policy: true
# TNDM-3X-000052 TNDM-3X-000080 TNDM-3X-000101
run_mgr_api_session_timeout: true
run_mgr_cli_timeout: true
# TNDM-3X-000068
run_mgr_ntp_servers: true
# TNDM-3X-000069
run_mgr_timezone: true
# TNDM-3X-000083
run_service_log_levels: true
# TNDM-3X-000098
run_mgr_disable_ceip_acceptance: true
# TNDM-3X-000099
run_mgr_disable_ssh: true
# TNDM-3X-000100
run_mgr_disable_local_accounts: true
# TNDM-3X-000103
run_mgr_enable_fips_for_lbs: true

# T0FW
# T0FW-3X-000002
run_t0fw_unpublished_rules: true
# T0FW-3X-000006
run_t0fw_rule_logging: true
# T0FW-3X-000011
run_t0fw_syslog_tls: true
# T0FW-3X-000019-28
run_t0fw_floodprotprof: true
# T0FW-3X-000021
run_t0fw_default_rule_action: false
var_t0fw_default_rule_action_desired: "DROP"
# T0FW-3X-000030
run_t0fw_gwfw_rules: true
# T0FW-3X-000036
run_t0fw_spoofguard_prof: false

# T0RT
# T0RT-3X-000003
run_t0rt_bgp_reject_advertisements: true
# T0RT-3X-000013
run_t0rt_gateway_interface_pim_multicast: true
# array of t0 interface ids that should have multicast enabled
var_t0rt_gateway_interfaces_with_multicast_enabled: []
# T0RT-3X-000016
run_t0rt_remove_inactive_interfaces: true
# T0RT-3X-000027
run_t0rt_disable_dhcp: true
# array of t0 ids that should have dhcp enabled
var_t0rt_gateways_with_dhcp_enabled: []
# T0RT-3X-000034
run_t0rt_qos_segment_profile: true
# T0RT-3X-000038
run_t0rt_restrict_traffic: true
# T0RT-3X-000051
run_t0rt_gateway_urpf: true
# T0RT-3X-000054
run_t0rt_auth_routing_protocols: true
# T0RT-3X-000055
run_t0rt_uniq_key_per_as: true
# T0RT-3X-000064,65,66
run_t0rt_gateway_icmp: true
# T0RT-3X-000067
run_t0rt_bgp_nbr_maxroutes: true
var_t0rt_upd_bgp_nbr_route_filter_max_routes: 200
# T0RT-3X-000084
run_t0rt_loopback_source_ibgp: true
# T0RT-3X-000095
run_t0rt_gateway_bgp_ospf: true
# T0RT-3X-000096
run_t0rt_gateway_multicast: true
# array of t0 ids that should have multicast enabled
var_t0rt_gateways_with_multicast_enabled: []

# T1FW
# T1FW-3X-000002
run_t1fw_unpublished_rules: true
# T1FW-3X-000005-06
run_t1fw_rule_logging: true
# T1FW-3X-000011-26
run_t1fw_syslog_tls: true
# T1FW-3X-000019-28
run_t1fw_floodprotprof: true
# T1FW-3X-000021
run_t1fw_default_rule_action: false
var_t1fw_default_rule_action_desired: "DROP"
# T1FW-3X-000030
run_t1fw_gwfw_rules: true
# T1FW-3X-000036
run_t1fw_spoofguard_prof: false

# T1RT
# T1RT-3X-000016
run_t1rt_remove_inactive_interfaces: true
# T1RT-3X-000027
run_t1rt_disable_dhcp: true
# array of t1 ids that should have dhcp enabled
var_t1rt_gateways_with_dhcp_enabled: []
# T1RT-3X-000034
run_t1rt_qos: true
# T1RT-3X-000084
run_t1rt_gateway_multicast: true
# array of t1 ids that should have multicast enabled
var_t1rt_gateways_with_multicast_enabled: []

Running the playbook

To run all of the NSX-T controls, follow the example below.

# The -k parameter will prompt for password and we are using extra-vars to specify a variable file for the playbook to use. Command assumes it is being ran from the playbook folder.
> ansible-playbook playbook.yml -v --extra-vars @vars-nsxt-3.x-example.yml

# Output example
PLAY [NSX-T 3.x Remediation Automation] ***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

TASK [dfw : Include DFW] ******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
included: /mnt/c/gitlab/vmware-nsxt-3.x-stig-ansible-hardening/roles/dfw/tasks/dfw.yml for 127.0.0.1

TASK [dfw : TDFW-3X-000005 - Find DFW rules without logging enabled excluding the default layer 2 rule] ***********************************************************************************************************************
ok: [127.0.0.1] => {"cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": false, "connection": "close", "content_type": "application/json", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Fri, 07 Jul 2023 01:04:54 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "json": {"cursor": "3", "result_count": 3, "results": [{"action": "ALLOW", "id": "default-layer3-rule", "logged": false, "path": "/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default-layer3-rule", "rule_id": 2, "sequence_number": 2147483647}, {"action": "ALLOW", "id": "default_rule_DHCP", "logged": false, "path": "/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default_rule_DHCP", "rule_id": 4, "sequence_number": 50000}, {"action": "ALLOW", "id": "default_rule_NDP", "logged": false, "path": "/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default_rule_NDP", "rule_id": 3, "sequence_number": 25000}]}, "msg": "OK (unknown bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "server": "NSX", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=31536000 ; includeSubDomains", "transfer_encoding": "chunked", "url": "https://10.43.173.83/policy/api/v1/search?query=(resource_type:Rule%20AND%20logged:false%20AND%20!id:default-layer2-rule%20AND%20parent_path:?infra?domains?default?security-policies*)&included_fields=id,rule_id,logged,path,sequence_number,action", "vary": "accept-encoding", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff", "x_frame_options": "SAMEORIGIN", "x_nsx_requestid": "dfc6dbcf-e0df-4893-ad42-29c7b5a55c40", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

TASK [dfw : TDFW-3X-000005 - Enable logging on DFW rules without logging enabled excluding the default layer 2 rule] **********************************************************************************************************
changed: [127.0.0.1] => (item={'rule_id': 2, 'sequence_number': 2147483647, 'path': '/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default-layer3-rule', 'logged': False, 'action': 'ALLOW', 'id': 'default-layer3-rule'}) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": true, "connection": "close", "content_length": "0", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Fri, 07 Jul 2023 01:04:56 GMT", "elapsed": 1, "expires": "0", "item": {"action": "ALLOW", "id": "default-layer3-rule", "logged": false, "path": "/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default-layer3-rule", "rule_id": 2, "sequence_number": 2147483647}, "msg": "OK (0 bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "server": "NSX", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=31536000 ; includeSubDomains", "url": "https://10.43.173.83/policy/api/v1/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default-layer3-rule", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff", "x_frame_options": "SAMEORIGIN", "x_nsx_requestid": "9d03bce2-d284-46b6-8898-c12d6003f453", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}
changed: [127.0.0.1] => (item={'rule_id': 4, 'sequence_number': 50000, 'path': '/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default_rule_DHCP', 'logged': False, 'action': 'ALLOW', 'id': 'default_rule_DHCP'}) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": true, "connection": "close", "content_length": "0", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Fri, 07 Jul 2023 01:04:57 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "item": {"action": "ALLOW", "id": "default_rule_DHCP", "logged": false, "path": "/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default_rule_DHCP", "rule_id": 4, "sequence_number": 50000}, "msg": "OK (0 bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "server": "NSX", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=31536000 ; includeSubDomains", "url": "https://10.43.173.83/policy/api/v1/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default_rule_DHCP", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff", "x_frame_options": "SAMEORIGIN", "x_nsx_requestid": "16ecd5a7-2b74-4255-8e2e-a16d4c33f076", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}
changed: [127.0.0.1] => (item={'rule_id': 3, 'sequence_number': 25000, 'path': '/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default_rule_NDP', 'logged': False, 'action': 'ALLOW', 'id': 'default_rule_NDP'}) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": true, "connection": "close", "content_length": "0", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Fri, 07 Jul 2023 01:04:57 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "item": {"action": "ALLOW", "id": "default_rule_NDP", "logged": false, "path": "/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default_rule_NDP", "rule_id": 3, "sequence_number": 25000}, "msg": "OK (0 bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "server": "NSX", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=31536000 ; includeSubDomains", "url": "https://10.43.173.83/policy/api/v1/infra/domains/default/security-policies/default-layer3-section/rules/default_rule_NDP", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff", "x_frame_options": "SAMEORIGIN", "x_nsx_requestid": "88ad2a48-7039-41d6-a758-84999467a2b3", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

A more conservative and preferred approach is to target any non-compliant controls or run each component separately allowed you to perform any functional testing in between.

# Providing the tag "dfw" will instruct the playbook to only run the dfw role. This tag can be seen in each roles task/main.yml file.
> ansible-playbook playbook.yml -v --extra-vars @vars-nsxt-3.x-example.yml --tags dfw

# Providing the tag " TDFW-3X-000005" will instruct the playbook to only run task tagged with the STIG ID of  TDFW-3X-000005.
> ansible-playbook playbook.yml -v --extra-vars @vars-nsxt-3.x-example.yml --tags TDFW-3X-000005

2 - vSphere

Performing compliance automation tasks for vSphere.

2.1 - Audit vSphere 8

Auditing vSphere 8 for STIG Compliance

Overview

Auditing vSphere for STIG compliance involves scanning ESXi, Virtual Machines, vCenter, and the vCenter appliance.

When auditing vSphere we will split up tasks between product and appliance based controls which are defined as follows:

Product Control: Configurations that interact with the Product via the User Interface or API that are exposed to administrators. Whether these are Default or Non-Default, the risk of mis-configuration effecting availability of the product is low but could impact how the environment is operated if not assessed.
Appliance Control: Appliance controls deal with the underlying components (databases, web servers, Photon OS, etc) that make up the product. Altering these add risk to product availability if precautionary steps and care in implementation are not taken. Identifying and relying on Default settings in this category makes this category less risky (Default Appliance Controls should be seen as a positive).

To audit vSphere using InSpec we utilize the VMware transport(train-vmware) which connects to vCenter via PowerCLI and performs queries. For the vCenter appliance the auditing is performed via SSH. It is recommended to disable SSH on vCenter after the auditing is complete.

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to try the versions listed here.

Powershell 7.3.4/PowerCLI 13.3 or newer
VMware.Vsphere.SsoAdmin PowerCLI Module 1.3.9 or newer
InSpec/Cinc Auditor 6.6.0
train-vmware 0.2.0
SAF CLI 1.4.0
STIG Viewer 2.17
A vSphere 8.x U1 or newer environment.
An account with sufficient privileges to view SSO configuration in vCenter.
Example distributed switches, VMs, and a content library were created in the testbed to produce audit results for those objects.

Assumptions

Commands are being ran from a Linux machine. Windows will also work but paths and commands may need to be adjusted from the examples.
The DOD Compliance and Automation repository downloaded and extracted to /usr/share/stigs.
CINC Auditor is used in lieu of InSpec. If InSpec is used replace cinc-auditor with inspec when running commands.

Install the custom VMware transport for InSpec

To extend the functionality of the VMware transport that ships with InSpec we have created a custom one that also incorporates the VMware.Vsphere.SsoAdmin module to extend automation coverage to the vCenter SSO STIG controls.

To install the plugin that is included with the vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline profile, do the following:

# Install the custom train-vmware plugin. Update the path to the gem as needed. The command will be the same on Windows and Linux.
> cinc-auditor plugin install /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline/train-vmware-0.2.0.gem

# To verify the installation
> cinc-auditor plugin list

┌────────────────────────────────────────┬─────────┬──────────────┬─────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              Plugin Name               │ Version │     Via      │ ApiVer  │                              Description                               │
├────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────┼─────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ inspec-compliance                      │ 6.6.0   │ core         │ 2       │ Plugin to perform operations with Chef Automate                        │
│ inspec-habitat                         │ 6.6.0   │ core         │ 2       │ Plugin to create/upload habitat package                                │
│ inspec-init                            │ 6.6.0   │ core         │ 2       │ Plugin for scaffolding profile, plugin or a resource                   │
│ inspec-license                         │ 6.6.0   │ core         │ 2       │ Plugin to list user licenses.                                          │
│ inspec-parallel                        │ 6.6.0   │ core         │ 2       │ Plugin to handle parallel InSpec scan operations over multiple targets │
│ inspec-plugin-manager-cli              │ 6.6.0   │ core         │ 2       │ CLI plugin for InSpec                                                  │
│ inspec-reporter-html2                  │ 6.6.0   │ core         │ 2       │ Improved HTML reporter plugin                                          │
│ inspec-reporter-json-min               │ 6.6.0   │ core         │ 2       │ Json-min json reporter plugin                                          │
│ inspec-reporter-junit                  │ 6.6.0   │ core         │ 2       │ JUnit XML reporter plugin                                              │
│ inspec-sign                            │ 6.6.0   │ core         │ 2       │                                                                        │
│ inspec-streaming-reporter-progress-bar │ 6.6.0   │ core         │ 2       │ Displays a real-time progress bar and control title as output          │
│ inspec-supermarket                     │ 6.6.0   │ core         │ 0       │                                                                        │
│ train-aws                              │ 0.2.36  │ gem (system) │ train-1 │ AWS API Transport for Train                                            │
│ train-habitat                          │ 0.2.22  │ gem (system) │ train-1 │ Habitat API Transport for Train                                        │
│ train-kubernetes                       │ 0.1.12  │ gem (system) │ train-1 │ Train Kubernetes                                                       │
│ train-vmware                           │ 0.2.0   │ gem (user)   │ train-1 │ Train Plugin for VMware PowerCLI                                       │
│ train-winrm                            │ 0.2.13  │ gem (system) │ train-1 │ Windows WinRM API Transport for Train                                  │
└────────────────────────────────────────┴─────────┴──────────────┴─────────┴────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
 17 plugin(s) total

Auditing vSphere (Product Controls)

Important

The example commands below are specific to the product version and the supported STIG content for the version you are running. Select the example command tabs for the version in your environment.

Setup environment variables for vCenter connection

Connectivity to vCenter is established via environment variables. Take care to clear your history and close the Powershell session to avoid any credentials left in memory/history.

#Enter Powershell
pwsh

# Note: VISERVER is referencing vCenter and not an ESXi host.
$env:VISERVER='10.186.30.81'
$env:VISERVER_USERNAME='Administrator@vsphere.local'
$env:VISERVER_PASSWORD='password'

Note: If your password has a single ’ in it you must substitute it with ’’’’ for it to be properly escaped all the way through the process.

Auditing ESXi

Update profile inputs

Included in the vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline is an example inputs-example.yml file with variables relevant to ESXi. This is used to provide InSpec with values specific to the environment being audited.

Open the inputs file for editing.

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Edit the inputs file
vi inputs-example.yml

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Edit the inputs file
vi inputs-example.yml

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-srg/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Edit the inputs file
vi inputs-example.yml

Update the inputs as shown below with values relevant to your environment.

# Choose whether to scan a single host, all hosts in a cluster, or all hosts in vCenter.
vmhostName: '10.186.25.26'
cluster: ''
allesxi: false
# Set to true if hosts are joined to active directory for authentication
adJoined: false
# If ESXi is joined to AD, enter the AD group that has administrative access to ESXi.
adAdminGroup: 'MyAdAdminGroup'
# Enter the environment specific syslog server ESXi should be forwarding logs to
syslogServer: 'tcp://log.test.local:514'
# Enter the environment specific time servers.
esxiNtpServers:
  - 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
  - 'time-b-g.nist.gov'
# Enter the environment specific vMotion VLAN Id.
vMotionVlanId: '100'
# Enter the environment specific Management VLAN Id.
mgtVlanId: '101'
# Enter an array of users that should be in the lockdown mode exceptions list.
exceptionUsers:
  - root
  - dcui
# If snmp is used in the environment change to true.
snmpEnabled: 'false'
# Enter the latest build number for ESXi.
esxiBuildNumber: '24022510'

# Choose whether to scan a single host, all hosts in a cluster, or all hosts in vCenter.
vmhostName: '10.186.25.26'
cluster: ''
allesxi: false
# Set to true if hosts are joined to active directory for authentication
adJoined: false
# If ESXi is joined to AD, enter the AD group that has administrative access to ESXi.
adAdminGroup: 'MyAdAdminGroup'
# Enter the environment specific syslog server ESXi should be forwarding logs to
syslogServer: 'tcp://log.test.local:514'
# Enter the environment specific time servers.
esxiNtpServers:
  - 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
  - 'time-b-g.nist.gov'
# Enter the environment specific vMotion VLAN Id.
vMotionVlanId: '100'
# Enter the environment specific Management VLAN Id.
mgtVlanId: '101'
# Enter an array of users that should be in the lockdown mode exceptions list.
exceptionUsers:
  - root
  - dcui
# If snmp is used in the environment change to true.
snmpEnabled: 'false'
# Enter the latest build number for ESXi.
esxiBuildNumber: '22380479'

# Choose whether to scan a single host, all hosts in a cluster, or all hosts in vCenter.
vmhostName: '10.186.25.26'
cluster: ''
allesxi: false
# Set to true if hosts are joined to active directory for authentication
adJoined: false
# If ESXi is joined to AD, enter the AD group that has administrative access to ESXi.
adAdminGroup: 'MyAdAdminGroup'
# Enter the environment specific syslog server ESXi should be forwarding logs to
syslogServer: 'tcp://log.test.local:514'
# Enter the environment specific time servers.
esxiNtpServers:
  - 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
  - 'time-b-g.nist.gov'
# Enter the environment specific vMotion VLAN Id.
vMotionVlanId: '100'
# Enter the environment specific Management VLAN Id.
mgtVlanId: '101'
# Enter an array of users that should be in the lockdown mode exceptions list.
exceptionUsers:
  - root
  - dcui
# If snmp is used in the environment change to true.
snmpEnabled: 'false'
# Enter the latest build number for ESXi.
esxiBuildNumber: '21813344'

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning a single ESXi host attached to the target vCenter, specifying an inputs file, enabling enhanced outcomes in InSpec, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file.

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Run the audit
> cinc-auditor exec ./esxi/ -t vmware:// --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file ./inputs-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/MyESXi8Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [N/A]  ESXI-80-000241: The ESXi host must not use the default Active Directory ESX Admin group.
     [SKIP]  The ESXi host 10.186.25.26 is not joined to AD, so this control is not applicable.
  [PASS]  ESXI-80-000243: The ESXi host must configure a persistent log location for all locally stored logs.
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: $vmhost = Get-VMHost -Name 10.186.25.26; $esxcli = Get-EsxCli -VMHost $vmhost -V2; $esxcli.system.syslog.config.get.Invoke() | Select-Object -ExpandProperty LocalLogOutputIsPersistent stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "true"
  [FAIL]  ESXI-80-000244: The ESXi host must enforce the exclusive running of executables from approved VIBs.
     [FAIL]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VMHost -Name 10.186.25.26 | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name VMkernel.Boot.execInstalledOnly | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got: False

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

  [PASS]  ESXI-80-000245: The ESXi host must use sufficient entropy for cryptographic operations.
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: $vmhost = Get-VMHost -Name 10.186.25.26; $esxcli = Get-EsxCli -VMHost $vmhost -V2; $esxcli.system.settings.kernel.list.invoke()| Where {$_.Name -eq "disableHwrng"} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Configured stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "FALSE"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: $vmhost = Get-VMHost -Name 10.186.25.26; $esxcli = Get-EsxCli -VMHost $vmhost -V2; $esxcli.system.settings.kernel.list.invoke()| Where {$_.Name -eq "entropySources"} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Configured stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "0"
  [PASS]  ESXI-80-000246: The ESXi host must not enable log filtering.
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: $vmhost = Get-VMHost -Name 10.186.25.26; $esxcli = Get-EsxCli -VMHost $vmhost -V2; $esxcli.system.syslog.config.logfilter.get.invoke() | Select-Object -ExpandProperty LogFilteringEnabled stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "false"

Profile Summary: 29 successful controls, 26 control failures, 18 controls not reviewed, 4 controls not applicable, 0 controls have error
Test Summary: 41 successful, 51 failures, 23 skipped

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Run the audit
> cinc-auditor exec ./esxi/ -t vmware:// --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file ./inputs-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/MyESXi8Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [N/A]  ESXI-80-000241: The ESXi host must not use the default Active Directory ESX Admin group.
     [SKIP]  The ESXi host 10.186.25.26 is not joined to AD, so this control is not applicable.
  [PASS]  ESXI-80-000243: The ESXi host must configure a persistent log location for all locally stored logs.
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: $vmhost = Get-VMHost -Name 10.186.25.26; $esxcli = Get-EsxCli -VMHost $vmhost -V2; $esxcli.system.syslog.config.get.Invoke() | Select-Object -ExpandProperty LocalLogOutputIsPersistent stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "true"
  [FAIL]  ESXI-80-000244: The ESXi host must enforce the exclusive running of executables from approved VIBs.
     [FAIL]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VMHost -Name 10.186.25.26 | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name VMkernel.Boot.execInstalledOnly | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got: False

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

  [PASS]  ESXI-80-000245: The ESXi host must use sufficient entropy for cryptographic operations.
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: $vmhost = Get-VMHost -Name 10.186.25.26; $esxcli = Get-EsxCli -VMHost $vmhost -V2; $esxcli.system.settings.kernel.list.invoke()| Where {$_.Name -eq "disableHwrng"} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Configured stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "FALSE"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: $vmhost = Get-VMHost -Name 10.186.25.26; $esxcli = Get-EsxCli -VMHost $vmhost -V2; $esxcli.system.settings.kernel.list.invoke()| Where {$_.Name -eq "entropySources"} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Configured stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "0"
  [PASS]  ESXI-80-000246: The ESXi host must not enable log filtering.
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: $vmhost = Get-VMHost -Name 10.186.25.26; $esxcli = Get-EsxCli -VMHost $vmhost -V2; $esxcli.system.syslog.config.logfilter.get.invoke() | Select-Object -ExpandProperty LogFilteringEnabled stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "false"

Profile Summary: 29 successful controls, 26 control failures, 18 controls not reviewed, 4 controls not applicable, 0 controls have error
Test Summary: 41 successful, 51 failures, 23 skipped

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-srg/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Run the audit
> cinc-auditor exec ./esxi/ -t vmware:// --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file ./inputs-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/MyESXi8Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [N/A]  ESXI-80-000241: The ESXi host must not use the default Active Directory ESX Admin group.
     [SKIP]  The ESXi host 10.186.25.26 is not joined to AD, so this control is not applicable.
  [PASS]  ESXI-80-000243: The ESXi host must configure a persistent log location for all locally stored logs.
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: $vmhost = Get-VMHost -Name 10.186.25.26; $esxcli = Get-EsxCli -VMHost $vmhost -V2; $esxcli.system.syslog.config.get.Invoke() | Select-Object -ExpandProperty LocalLogOutputIsPersistent stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "true"
  [FAIL]  ESXI-80-000244: The ESXi host must enforce the exclusive running of executables from approved VIBs.
     [FAIL]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VMHost -Name 10.186.25.26 | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name VMkernel.Boot.execInstalledOnly | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got: False

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

  [PASS]  ESXI-80-000245: The ESXi host must use sufficient entropy for cryptographic operations.
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: $vmhost = Get-VMHost -Name 10.186.25.26; $esxcli = Get-EsxCli -VMHost $vmhost -V2; $esxcli.system.settings.kernel.list.invoke()| Where {$_.Name -eq "disableHwrng"} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Configured stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "FALSE"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: $vmhost = Get-VMHost -Name 10.186.25.26; $esxcli = Get-EsxCli -VMHost $vmhost -V2; $esxcli.system.settings.kernel.list.invoke()| Where {$_.Name -eq "entropySources"} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Configured stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "0"
  [PASS]  ESXI-80-000246: The ESXi host must not enable log filtering.
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: $vmhost = Get-VMHost -Name 10.186.25.26; $esxcli = Get-EsxCli -VMHost $vmhost -V2; $esxcli.system.syslog.config.logfilter.get.invoke() | Select-Object -ExpandProperty LogFilteringEnabled stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "false"

Profile Summary: 29 successful controls, 26 control failures, 18 controls not reviewed, 4 controls not applicable, 0 controls have error
Test Summary: 41 successful, 51 failures, 23 skipped

Auditing Virtual Machines

Update profile inputs

Included in the vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline is an example inputs-example.yml file with variables relevant to VMs. This is used to provide InSpec with values specific to the environment being audited.

Open the inputs file for editing.

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Edit the inputs file
vi inputs-example.yml

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Edit the inputs file
vi inputs-example.yml

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-srg/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Edit the inputs file
vi inputs-example.yml

Update the inputs as shown below with values relevant to your environment.

# Choose whether to scan a single VM or all VMs in vCenter.
vmName: ""
allvms: true

# Choose whether to scan a single VM or all VMs in vCenter.
vmName: ""
allvms: true

# Choose whether to scan a single VM or all VMs in vCenter.
vmName: ""
allvms: true

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning all VMs in the target vCenter, specifying an inputs file, enabling enhanced outcomes in InSpec, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file.

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Run the audit
cinc-auditor exec ./vm/ -t vmware:// --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file ./inputs-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/MyVMs8Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000207: Virtual machines (VMs) must enable logging.
     [PASS]  VM: stig vm2 is expected to cmp == "true"
     [PASS]  VM: stigvm1 is expected to cmp == "true"
     [PASS]  VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c is expected to cmp == "true"
     [PASS]  VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d is expected to cmp == "true"
     [PASS]  VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 is expected to cmp == "true"
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000208: Virtual machines (VMs) must not use independent, non-persistent disks.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for Non-Persistent Hard Disks is expected not to cmp == "IndependentNonPersistent"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for Non-Persistent Hard Disks is expected not to cmp == "IndependentNonPersistent"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for Non-Persistent Hard Disks is expected not to cmp == "IndependentNonPersistent"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for Non-Persistent Hard Disks is expected not to cmp == "IndependentNonPersistent"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for Non-Persistent Hard Disks is expected not to cmp == "IndependentNonPersistent"
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000209: Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded floppy devices.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for Floppy drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for Floppy drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for Floppy drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for Floppy drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for Floppy drives is expected to be empty
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000210: Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded CD/DVD devices.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for CD/DVD drives is expected to cmp == "false"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for CD/DVD drives is expected to cmp == "false"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for CD/DVD drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for CD/DVD drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for CD/DVD drives is expected to be empty
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000211: Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded parallel devices.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for parallel devices is expected not to match "Parallel"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for parallel devices is expected not to match "Parallel"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for parallel devices is expected not to match "Parallel"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for parallel devices is expected not to match "Parallel"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for parallel devices is expected not to match "Parallel"
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000212: Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded serial devices.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for serial devices is expected not to match "Serial"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for serial devices is expected not to match "Serial"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for serial devices is expected not to match "Serial"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for serial devices is expected not to match "Serial"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for serial devices is expected not to match "Serial"
  [FAIL]  VMCH-80-000213: Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded USB devices. (2 failed)
     [FAIL]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for USB devices is expected not to match "USB"
     expected "IDE 0\r\nIDE 1\r\nPS2 controller 0\r\nPCI controller 0\r\nSIO controller 0\r\nKeyboard \r\nPointing ...er \r\nSCSI controller 0\r\nSATA controller 0\r\nCD/DVD drive 1\r\nHard disk 1\r\nNetwork adapter 1" not to match "USB"

     [FAIL]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for USB devices is expected not to match "USB"
     expected "IDE 0\r\nIDE 1\r\nPS2 controller 0\r\nPCI controller 0\r\nSIO controller 0\r\nKeyboard \r\nPointing ...er \r\nSCSI controller 0\r\nSATA controller 0\r\nCD/DVD drive 1\r\nHard disk 1\r\nNetwork adapter 1" not to match "USB"

     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for USB devices is expected not to match "USB"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for USB devices is expected not to match "USB"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for USB devices is expected not to match "USB"
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000214: Virtual machines (VMs) must disable DirectPath I/O devices when not required.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for PCI passthrough devices is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for PCI passthrough devices is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for PCI passthrough devices is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for PCI passthrough devices is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for PCI passthrough devices is expected to be empty

Profile Summary: 23 successful controls, 2 control failures, 0 controls not reviewed, 0 controls not applicable, 0 controls have error
Test Summary: 121 successful, 4 failures, 0 skipped

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Run the audit
cinc-auditor exec ./vm/ -t vmware:// --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file ./inputs-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/MyVMs8Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000207: Virtual machines (VMs) must enable logging.
     [PASS]  VM: stig vm2 is expected to cmp == "true"
     [PASS]  VM: stigvm1 is expected to cmp == "true"
     [PASS]  VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c is expected to cmp == "true"
     [PASS]  VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d is expected to cmp == "true"
     [PASS]  VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 is expected to cmp == "true"
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000208: Virtual machines (VMs) must not use independent, non-persistent disks.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for Non-Persistent Hard Disks is expected not to cmp == "IndependentNonPersistent"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for Non-Persistent Hard Disks is expected not to cmp == "IndependentNonPersistent"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for Non-Persistent Hard Disks is expected not to cmp == "IndependentNonPersistent"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for Non-Persistent Hard Disks is expected not to cmp == "IndependentNonPersistent"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for Non-Persistent Hard Disks is expected not to cmp == "IndependentNonPersistent"
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000209: Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded floppy devices.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for Floppy drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for Floppy drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for Floppy drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for Floppy drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for Floppy drives is expected to be empty
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000210: Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded CD/DVD devices.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for CD/DVD drives is expected to cmp == "false"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for CD/DVD drives is expected to cmp == "false"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for CD/DVD drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for CD/DVD drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for CD/DVD drives is expected to be empty
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000211: Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded parallel devices.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for parallel devices is expected not to match "Parallel"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for parallel devices is expected not to match "Parallel"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for parallel devices is expected not to match "Parallel"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for parallel devices is expected not to match "Parallel"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for parallel devices is expected not to match "Parallel"
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000212: Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded serial devices.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for serial devices is expected not to match "Serial"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for serial devices is expected not to match "Serial"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for serial devices is expected not to match "Serial"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for serial devices is expected not to match "Serial"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for serial devices is expected not to match "Serial"
  [FAIL]  VMCH-80-000213: Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded USB devices. (2 failed)
     [FAIL]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for USB devices is expected not to match "USB"
     expected "IDE 0\r\nIDE 1\r\nPS2 controller 0\r\nPCI controller 0\r\nSIO controller 0\r\nKeyboard \r\nPointing ...er \r\nSCSI controller 0\r\nSATA controller 0\r\nCD/DVD drive 1\r\nHard disk 1\r\nNetwork adapter 1" not to match "USB"

     [FAIL]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for USB devices is expected not to match "USB"
     expected "IDE 0\r\nIDE 1\r\nPS2 controller 0\r\nPCI controller 0\r\nSIO controller 0\r\nKeyboard \r\nPointing ...er \r\nSCSI controller 0\r\nSATA controller 0\r\nCD/DVD drive 1\r\nHard disk 1\r\nNetwork adapter 1" not to match "USB"

     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for USB devices is expected not to match "USB"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for USB devices is expected not to match "USB"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for USB devices is expected not to match "USB"
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000214: Virtual machines (VMs) must disable DirectPath I/O devices when not required.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for PCI passthrough devices is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for PCI passthrough devices is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for PCI passthrough devices is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for PCI passthrough devices is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for PCI passthrough devices is expected to be empty

Profile Summary: 23 successful controls, 2 control failures, 0 controls not reviewed, 0 controls not applicable, 0 controls have error
Test Summary: 121 successful, 4 failures, 0 skipped

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-srg/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Run the audit
cinc-auditor exec ./vm/ -t vmware:// --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file ./inputs-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/MyVMs8Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000207: Virtual machines (VMs) must enable logging.
     [PASS]  VM: stig vm2 is expected to cmp == "true"
     [PASS]  VM: stigvm1 is expected to cmp == "true"
     [PASS]  VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c is expected to cmp == "true"
     [PASS]  VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d is expected to cmp == "true"
     [PASS]  VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 is expected to cmp == "true"
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000208: Virtual machines (VMs) must not use independent, non-persistent disks.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for Non-Persistent Hard Disks is expected not to cmp == "IndependentNonPersistent"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for Non-Persistent Hard Disks is expected not to cmp == "IndependentNonPersistent"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for Non-Persistent Hard Disks is expected not to cmp == "IndependentNonPersistent"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for Non-Persistent Hard Disks is expected not to cmp == "IndependentNonPersistent"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for Non-Persistent Hard Disks is expected not to cmp == "IndependentNonPersistent"
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000209: Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded floppy devices.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for Floppy drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for Floppy drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for Floppy drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for Floppy drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for Floppy drives is expected to be empty
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000210: Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded CD/DVD devices.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for CD/DVD drives is expected to cmp == "false"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for CD/DVD drives is expected to cmp == "false"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for CD/DVD drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for CD/DVD drives is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for CD/DVD drives is expected to be empty
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000211: Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded parallel devices.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for parallel devices is expected not to match "Parallel"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for parallel devices is expected not to match "Parallel"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for parallel devices is expected not to match "Parallel"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for parallel devices is expected not to match "Parallel"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for parallel devices is expected not to match "Parallel"
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000212: Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded serial devices.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for serial devices is expected not to match "Serial"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for serial devices is expected not to match "Serial"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for serial devices is expected not to match "Serial"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for serial devices is expected not to match "Serial"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for serial devices is expected not to match "Serial"
  [FAIL]  VMCH-80-000213: Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded USB devices. (2 failed)
     [FAIL]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for USB devices is expected not to match "USB"
     expected "IDE 0\r\nIDE 1\r\nPS2 controller 0\r\nPCI controller 0\r\nSIO controller 0\r\nKeyboard \r\nPointing ...er \r\nSCSI controller 0\r\nSATA controller 0\r\nCD/DVD drive 1\r\nHard disk 1\r\nNetwork adapter 1" not to match "USB"

     [FAIL]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for USB devices is expected not to match "USB"
     expected "IDE 0\r\nIDE 1\r\nPS2 controller 0\r\nPCI controller 0\r\nSIO controller 0\r\nKeyboard \r\nPointing ...er \r\nSCSI controller 0\r\nSATA controller 0\r\nCD/DVD drive 1\r\nHard disk 1\r\nNetwork adapter 1" not to match "USB"

     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for USB devices is expected not to match "USB"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for USB devices is expected not to match "USB"
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for USB devices is expected not to match "USB"
  [PASS]  VMCH-80-000214: Virtual machines (VMs) must disable DirectPath I/O devices when not required.
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stig vm2 for PCI passthrough devices is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: stigvm1 for PCI passthrough devices is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-1446f2cc-b6b7-4778-84b7-f73f758dd46c for PCI passthrough devices is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-28a51340-7070-4437-b4b1-a87b7480ac7d for PCI passthrough devices is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Checking the VM: vCLS-b680b5a0-5434-48a0-8420-82c95e5ab481 for PCI passthrough devices is expected to be empty

Profile Summary: 23 successful controls, 2 control failures, 0 controls not reviewed, 0 controls not applicable, 0 controls have error
Test Summary: 121 successful, 4 failures, 0 skipped

Auditing vCenter

Update profile inputs

Included in the vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline is an example inputs-example.yml file with variables relevant to vCenter. This is used to provide InSpec with values specific to the environment being audited.

Open the inputs file for editing.

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Edit the inputs file
vi inputs-example.yml

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Edit the inputs file
vi inputs-example.yml

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-srg/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Edit the inputs file
vi inputs-example.yml

Update the inputs as shown below with values relevant to your environment.

# Enter the environment specific syslog server vCenter should be forwarding logs to.
syslogServers:
  - 'loginsight.vmware.com'
  - 'syslog.server2.com'
# Enter the environment specific time servers.
ntpServers:
  - 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
  - 'time-b-g.nist.gov'
# If an IPfix collector is used enter the IP.
ipfixCollectorAddress: ''
# List any users/groups that should be in the default roles that have crypto permissions. The default users/groups are provided below.
vcCryptoAdmins:
  - 'VSPHERE.LOCAL\Administrator'
  - 'VSPHERE.LOCAL\Administrators'
  - 'VSPHERE.LOCAL\vCLSAdmin'
# List any roles that are approved to have crypto permissions. The default roles are provided below.
vcCryptoRoles:
  - 'Admin'
  - 'NoTrustedAdmin'
  - 'vCLSAdmin'
  - 'vSphereKubernetesManager'
  - 'VMOperatorController'
# Enter any approved users in the bash shell administrators users group
bashShellAdminUsers:
  - 'Administrator'
# Enter any approved group in the bash shell administrators group
bashShellAdminGroups: []
# Enter any approved users in the trusted admin users group
trustedAdminUsers: []
# Enter any approved users in the trusted admin group
trustedAdminGroups: []
# Set to false if file based backups are used via the VAMI
backup3rdParty: false

# Enter the environment specific syslog server vCenter should be forwarding logs to.
syslogServers:
  - 'loginsight.vmware.com'
  - 'syslog.server2.com'
# Enter the environment specific time servers.
ntpServers:
  - 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
  - 'time-b-g.nist.gov'
# If an IPfix collector is used enter the IP.
ipfixCollectorAddress: ''
# List any users/groups that should be in the default roles that have crypto permissions. The default users/groups are provided below.
vcCryptoAdmins:
  - 'VSPHERE.LOCAL\Administrator'
  - 'VSPHERE.LOCAL\Administrators'
  - 'VSPHERE.LOCAL\vCLSAdmin'
# List any roles that are approved to have crypto permissions. The default roles are provided below.
vcCryptoRoles:
  - 'Admin'
  - 'NoTrustedAdmin'
  - 'vCLSAdmin'
  - 'vSphereKubernetesManager'
# Enter any approved users in the bash shell administrators users group
bashShellAdminUsers:
  - 'Administrator'
# Enter any approved group in the bash shell administrators group
bashShellAdminGroups: []
# Enter any approved users in the trusted admin users group
trustedAdminUsers: []
# Enter any approved users in the trusted admin group
trustedAdminGroups: []
# Set to false if file based backups are used via the VAMI
backup3rdParty: false

# Enter the environment specific syslog server vCenter should be forwarding logs to.
syslogServers:
  - 'loginsight.vmware.com'
  - 'syslog.server2.com'
# Enter the environment specific time servers.
ntpServers:
  - 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
  - 'time-b-g.nist.gov'
# If an IPfix collector is used enter the IP.
ipfixCollectorAddress: ''
# List any users/groups that should be in the default roles that have crypto permissions. The default users/groups are provided below.
vcCryptoAdmins:
  - 'VSPHERE.LOCAL\Administrator'
  - 'VSPHERE.LOCAL\Administrators'
  - 'VSPHERE.LOCAL\vCLSAdmin'
# List any roles that are approved to have crypto permissions. The default roles are provided below.
vcCryptoRoles:
  - 'Admin'
  - 'NoTrustedAdmin'
  - 'vCLSAdmin'
  - 'vSphereKubernetesManager'
# Enter any approved users in the bash shell administrators users group
bashShellAdminUsers:
  - 'Administrator'
# Enter any approved group in the bash shell administrators group
bashShellAdminGroups: []
# Enter any approved users in the trusted admin users group
trustedAdminUsers: []
# Enter any approved users in the trusted admin group
trustedAdminGroups: []
# Set to false if file based backups are used via the VAMI
backup3rdParty: false

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning vCenter controls in the target vCenter, specifying an inputs file, enabling enhanced outcomes in InSpec, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file.

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Run the audit
cinc-auditor exec ./vcenter/ -t vmware:// --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file ./inputs-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/MyvCenter8Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [PASS]  VCSA-80-000302: The vCenter Server must reset port configuration when virtual machines are disconnected.
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VDSwitch STIG 1-DVUplinks-40").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VD PG 1").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VD PG 2").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VDSwitch STIG 2-DVUplinks-44").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VD PG 3").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VD PG 4").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
  [FAIL]  VCSA-80-000303: The vCenter Server must disable Secure Shell (SSH) access.
     [FAIL]  True is expected not to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got: True

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

  [FAIL]  VCSA-80-000304: The vCenter Server must enable data in transit encryption for vSAN.
     [FAIL]  PowerCLI Command: $vsanclusterconf = Get-VsanView -Id VsanVcClusterConfigSystem-vsan-cluster-config-system; $vsanclusterconf.VsanClusterGetConfig((Get-Cluster -Name cluster0).ExtensionData.MoRef).DataInTransitEncryptionConfig.Enabled stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got:

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

Profile Summary: 25 successful controls, 22 control failures, 16 controls not reviewed, 3 controls not applicable, 0 controls have error
Test Summary: 136 successful, 26 failures, 20 skipped

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Run the audit
cinc-auditor exec ./vcenter/ -t vmware:// --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file ./inputs-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/MyvCenter8Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [PASS]  VCSA-80-000302: The vCenter Server must reset port configuration when virtual machines are disconnected.
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VDSwitch STIG 1-DVUplinks-40").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VD PG 1").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VD PG 2").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VDSwitch STIG 2-DVUplinks-44").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VD PG 3").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VD PG 4").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
  [FAIL]  VCSA-80-000303: The vCenter Server must disable Secure Shell (SSH) access.
     [FAIL]  True is expected not to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got: True

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

  [FAIL]  VCSA-80-000304: The vCenter Server must enable data in transit encryption for vSAN.
     [FAIL]  PowerCLI Command: $vsanclusterconf = Get-VsanView -Id VsanVcClusterConfigSystem-vsan-cluster-config-system; $vsanclusterconf.VsanClusterGetConfig((Get-Cluster -Name cluster0).ExtensionData.MoRef).DataInTransitEncryptionConfig.Enabled stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got:

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

Profile Summary: 25 successful controls, 22 control failures, 16 controls not reviewed, 3 controls not applicable, 0 controls have error
Test Summary: 136 successful, 26 failures, 20 skipped

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-srg/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Run the audit
cinc-auditor exec ./vcenter/ -t vmware:// --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file ./inputs-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/MyvCenter8Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [PASS]  VCSA-80-000302: The vCenter Server must reset port configuration when virtual machines are disconnected.
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VDSwitch STIG 1-DVUplinks-40").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VD PG 1").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VD PG 2").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VDSwitch STIG 2-DVUplinks-44").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VD PG 3").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VDPortgroup -Name "VD PG 4").ExtensionData.Config.Policy.PortConfigResetAtDisconnect stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "True"
  [FAIL]  VCSA-80-000303: The vCenter Server must disable Secure Shell (SSH) access.
     [FAIL]  True is expected not to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got: True

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

  [FAIL]  VCSA-80-000304: The vCenter Server must enable data in transit encryption for vSAN.
     [FAIL]  PowerCLI Command: $vsanclusterconf = Get-VsanView -Id VsanVcClusterConfigSystem-vsan-cluster-config-system; $vsanclusterconf.VsanClusterGetConfig((Get-Cluster -Name cluster0).ExtensionData.MoRef).DataInTransitEncryptionConfig.Enabled stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got:

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

Profile Summary: 25 successful controls, 22 control failures, 16 controls not reviewed, 3 controls not applicable, 0 controls have error
Test Summary: 136 successful, 26 failures, 20 skipped

Run a combined scan for all vSphere product controls

Instead of running each STIG for product controls separately you can also run all of the vCenter, ESXi, and VM controls for a combined report.

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Run the script
cinc-auditor exec . -t vmware:// --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file ./inputs-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/MyvSphere8Report.json

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Run the script
cinc-auditor exec . -t vmware:// --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file ./inputs-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/MyvSphere8Report.json

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-srg/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline

# Run the audit
cinc-auditor exec . -t vmware:// --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file ./inputs-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/MyvSphere8Report.json

InSpec runner scripts

For accreditation purposes there may be a requirement to produce a CKL file for each ESXi host and/or VM. We have also created a PowerCLI script that acts as a runner for InSpec to loop through a list of hosts or VMs, then produce a json report for each, and if the SAF CLI is installed also create a CKL file.

With this script you can also provide an attestation file that will be applied to the results and incorporated into the CKL file.

Using the ESXi runner script

To use the runner script, do the following:

# Enter Powershell
pwsh

# If not already previously done setup the credential for the vCenter connection.
# Note: VISERVER is referencing vCenter and not an ESXi host.
$env:VISERVER='10.186.30.81'
$env:VISERVER_USERNAME='Administrator@vsphere.local'
$env:VISERVER_PASSWORD='password'

# Navigate to the powercli folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vsphere/powercli

# Run the script
./VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_InSpec_Runner.ps1 -vcenter 10.186.30.81 -reportPath /tmp/reports -inspecPath /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline -inputsfile ./vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-esxi-inspec-runner-inputs-example.yml

# You will be prompted for credentials to vCenter. This is to connect via PowerCLI before running InSpec to collect all of the host names to use as an input to InSpec for each individual host audit.
10:08:10 AM ...Enter credentials to connect to vCenter

PowerShell credential request
Enter credentials for vCenter
User: administrator@vsphere.local
Password for user administrator@vsphere.local: ****************

10:08:23 AM ...Connecting to vCenter Server 10.186.30.81
10:08:26 AM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all ESXi hosts in vCenter: 10.186.30.81
10:08:27 AM ...Validated path for report at C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner
10:08:27 AM ...Report path is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner and report file is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner\VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json
10:08:27 AM ...Running InSpec exec against 10.186.16.13 with inspec exec $inspecPath -t vmware:// --input vmhostName=$name --input-file $inputsFile --show-progress --reporter=json:$reportFile
FFFF...F...*.FF*..FFFFF.**.*.FF*.FFF.F..F*F.**********............F..*F.FF.F*..FFFF**FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.FFFFF**.F...
10:10:06 AM ...Detected saf cli...generating STIG Viewer Checklist for 10.186.16.13
10:10:11 AM ...Report path is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner and report file is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner\VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json
10:10:11 AM ...Running InSpec exec against 10.186.16.134 with inspec exec $inspecPath -t vmware:// --input vmhostName=$name --input-file $inputsFile --show-progress --reporter=json:$reportFile
FFFF...F...*.FF*..FFFFF.**.*.FF*.FFF.F..F*F.**********............F..*F.FF.F*..FFFF**FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.FFFFF**.F...
10:11:51 AM ...Detected saf cli...generating STIG Viewer Checklist for 10.186.16.134
10:11:56 AM ...Report path is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner and report file is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner\VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json
10:11:56 AM ...Running InSpec exec against 10.186.25.26 with inspec exec $inspecPath -t vmware:// --input vmhostName=$name --input-file $inputsFile --show-progress --reporter=json:$reportFile
FFFF...F...*.FF*..FFFFF.**.*.FF*.FFF.F..F*F.**********............F..*F.FF.F*..FFFF**FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.FFFFF**.F...
10:13:26 AM ...Detected saf cli...generating STIG Viewer Checklist for 10.186.25.26
10:13:30 AM ...Disconnecting from vCenter

# Resulting output
ls /tmp/reports

    Directory: /tmp/reports

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            6/7/2023 10:10 AM         473286 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-8-4.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:10 AM         521076 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:11 AM         473364 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-8-4.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:11 AM         521228 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:13 AM         473286 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-8-4.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:13 AM         521082 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json

# If you want to specify a attestation file to incorporate into the CKL results you can add the attestation argument to the command as follows:
./VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_InSpec_Runner.ps1 -vcenter 10.186.30.81 -reportPath /tmp/reports -inspecPath /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline -inputsfile ./vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-esxi-inspec-runner-inputs-example.yml -attestationFile ./vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-esxi-inspec-runner-attestation-example.yml

# Resulting output
ls /tmp/reports

    Directory: /tmp/reports

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            6/7/2023 10:39 AM         473326 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:39 AM         592992 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:39 AM         521084 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-37-15.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:41 AM         473404 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:41 AM         593137 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:40 AM         521230 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-37-15.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:42 AM         473326 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:42 AM         592988 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:42 AM         521082 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-37-15.json

# Enter Powershell
pwsh

# If not already previously done setup the credential for the vCenter connection.
# Note: VISERVER is referencing vCenter and not an ESXi host.
$env:VISERVER='10.186.30.81'
$env:VISERVER_USERNAME='Administrator@vsphere.local'
$env:VISERVER_PASSWORD='password'

# Navigate to the powercli folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-stig/vsphere/powercli

# Run the script
./VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_InSpec_Runner.ps1 -vcenter 10.186.30.81 -reportPath /tmp/reports -inspecPath /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline -inputsfile ./vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-esxi-inspec-runner-inputs-example.yml

# You will be prompted for credentials to vCenter. This is to connect via PowerCLI before running InSpec to collect all of the host names to use as an input to InSpec for each individual host audit.
10:08:10 AM ...Enter credentials to connect to vCenter

PowerShell credential request
Enter credentials for vCenter
User: administrator@vsphere.local
Password for user administrator@vsphere.local: ****************

10:08:23 AM ...Connecting to vCenter Server 10.186.30.81
10:08:26 AM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all ESXi hosts in vCenter: 10.186.30.81
10:08:27 AM ...Validated path for report at C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner
10:08:27 AM ...Report path is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner and report file is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner\VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json
10:08:27 AM ...Running InSpec exec against 10.186.16.13 with inspec exec $inspecPath -t vmware:// --input vmhostName=$name --input-file $inputsFile --show-progress --reporter=json:$reportFile
FFFF...F...*.FF*..FFFFF.**.*.FF*.FFF.F..F*F.**********............F..*F.FF.F*..FFFF**FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.FFFFF**.F...
10:10:06 AM ...Detected saf cli...generating STIG Viewer Checklist for 10.186.16.13
10:10:11 AM ...Report path is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner and report file is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner\VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json
10:10:11 AM ...Running InSpec exec against 10.186.16.134 with inspec exec $inspecPath -t vmware:// --input vmhostName=$name --input-file $inputsFile --show-progress --reporter=json:$reportFile
FFFF...F...*.FF*..FFFFF.**.*.FF*.FFF.F..F*F.**********............F..*F.FF.F*..FFFF**FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.FFFFF**.F...
10:11:51 AM ...Detected saf cli...generating STIG Viewer Checklist for 10.186.16.134
10:11:56 AM ...Report path is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner and report file is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner\VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json
10:11:56 AM ...Running InSpec exec against 10.186.25.26 with inspec exec $inspecPath -t vmware:// --input vmhostName=$name --input-file $inputsFile --show-progress --reporter=json:$reportFile
FFFF...F...*.FF*..FFFFF.**.*.FF*.FFF.F..F*F.**********............F..*F.FF.F*..FFFF**FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.FFFFF**.F...
10:13:26 AM ...Detected saf cli...generating STIG Viewer Checklist for 10.186.25.26
10:13:30 AM ...Disconnecting from vCenter

# Resulting output
ls /tmp/reports

    Directory: /tmp/reports

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            6/7/2023 10:10 AM         473286 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-8-4.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:10 AM         521076 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:11 AM         473364 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-8-4.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:11 AM         521228 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:13 AM         473286 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-8-4.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:13 AM         521082 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json

# If you want to specify a attestation file to incorporate into the CKL results you can add the attestation argument to the command as follows:
./VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_InSpec_Runner.ps1 -vcenter 10.186.30.81 -reportPath /tmp/reports -inspecPath /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-stig/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline -inputsfile ./vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-esxi-inspec-runner-inputs-example.yml -attestationFile ./vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-esxi-inspec-runner-attestation-example.yml

# Resulting output
ls /tmp/reports

    Directory: /tmp/reports

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            6/7/2023 10:39 AM         473326 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:39 AM         592992 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:39 AM         521084 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-37-15.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:41 AM         473404 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:41 AM         593137 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:40 AM         521230 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-37-15.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:42 AM         473326 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:42 AM         592988 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:42 AM         521082 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-37-15.json

# Enter Powershell
pwsh

# If not already previously done setup the credential for the vCenter connection.
# Note: VISERVER is referencing vCenter and not an ESXi host.
$env:VISERVER='10.186.30.81'
$env:VISERVER_USERNAME='Administrator@vsphere.local'
$env:VISERVER_PASSWORD='password'

# Navigate to the powercli folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-srg/vsphere/powercli

# Run the script
./VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_InSpec_Runner.ps1 -vcenter 10.186.30.81 -reportPath /tmp/reports -inspecPath /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-srg/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline -inputsfile ./vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-esxi-inspec-runner-inputs-example.yml

# You will be prompted for credentials to vCenter. This is to connect via PowerCLI before running InSpec to collect all of the host names to use as an input to InSpec for each individual host audit.
10:08:10 AM ...Enter credentials to connect to vCenter

PowerShell credential request
Enter credentials for vCenter
User: administrator@vsphere.local
Password for user administrator@vsphere.local: ****************

10:08:23 AM ...Connecting to vCenter Server 10.186.30.81
10:08:26 AM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all ESXi hosts in vCenter: 10.186.30.81
10:08:27 AM ...Validated path for report at C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner
10:08:27 AM ...Report path is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner and report file is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner\VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json
10:08:27 AM ...Running InSpec exec against 10.186.16.13 with inspec exec $inspecPath -t vmware:// --input vmhostName=$name --input-file $inputsFile --show-progress --reporter=json:$reportFile
FFFF...F...*.FF*..FFFFF.**.*.FF*.FFF.F..F*F.**********............F..*F.FF.F*..FFFF**FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.FFFFF**.F...
10:10:06 AM ...Detected saf cli...generating STIG Viewer Checklist for 10.186.16.13
10:10:11 AM ...Report path is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner and report file is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner\VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json
10:10:11 AM ...Running InSpec exec against 10.186.16.134 with inspec exec $inspecPath -t vmware:// --input vmhostName=$name --input-file $inputsFile --show-progress --reporter=json:$reportFile
FFFF...F...*.FF*..FFFFF.**.*.FF*.FFF.F..F*F.**********............F..*F.FF.F*..FFFF**FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.FFFFF**.F...
10:11:51 AM ...Detected saf cli...generating STIG Viewer Checklist for 10.186.16.134
10:11:56 AM ...Report path is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner and report file is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner\VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json
10:11:56 AM ...Running InSpec exec against 10.186.25.26 with inspec exec $inspecPath -t vmware:// --input vmhostName=$name --input-file $inputsFile --show-progress --reporter=json:$reportFile
FFFF...F...*.FF*..FFFFF.**.*.FF*.FFF.F..F*F.**********............F..*F.FF.F*..FFFF**FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.FFFFF**.F...
10:13:26 AM ...Detected saf cli...generating STIG Viewer Checklist for 10.186.25.26
10:13:30 AM ...Disconnecting from vCenter

# Resulting output
ls /tmp/reports

    Directory: /tmp/reports

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            6/7/2023 10:10 AM         473286 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-8-4.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:10 AM         521076 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:11 AM         473364 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-8-4.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:11 AM         521228 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:13 AM         473286 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-8-4.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:13 AM         521082 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-8-4.json

# If you want to specify a attestation file to incorporate into the CKL results you can add the attestation argument to the command as follows:
./VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_InSpec_Runner.ps1 -vcenter 10.186.30.81 -reportPath /tmp/reports -inspecPath /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-srg/vsphere/inspec/vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-baseline -inputsfile ./vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-esxi-inspec-runner-inputs-example.yml -attestationFile ./vmware-vsphere-8.0-stig-esxi-inspec-runner-attestation-example.yml

# Resulting output
ls /tmp/reports

    Directory: /tmp/reports

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            6/7/2023 10:39 AM         473326 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:39 AM         592992 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:39 AM         521084 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.13-6-7-2023_10-37-15.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:41 AM         473404 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:41 AM         593137 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:40 AM         521230 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.16.134-6-7-2023_10-37-15.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:42 AM         473326 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.ckl
-a---            6/7/2023 10:42 AM         592988 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-37-15_with_Attestations.json
-a---            6/7/2023 10:42 AM         521082 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.186.25.26-6-7-2023_10-37-15.json

Auditing vCenter (Appliance Controls)

Auditing the vCenter appliance is done over SSH which must be enabled for the scan.

Update the default shell for root

The default shell for root must be changed to /bin/bash before running. The appliance shell causes issues with some controls running.

# SSH to vCenter
Connected to service

    * List APIs: "help api list"
    * List Plugins: "help pi list"
    * Launch BASH: "shell"

Command> shell.set --enabled true
Command> shell
Shell access is granted to root
root@sc1-10-182-131-166 [ ~ ]# chsh -s /bin/bash root

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning the vCenter appliance, specifying an inputs file, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file.

Updating the inputs file is not required for this profile but the inputs-vcsa-8.0.yml should be specified because it contains inputs for the Photon profile.

Note: An inputs file is no longer required when running the V2R1 automation or newer for the VCSA scan.

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vcsa/inspec/vmware-vcsa-8.0-stig-baseline

# Run the audit
cinc-auditor exec . -t ssh://root@10.186.30.81 --password 'password' --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/MyVCSA8Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000141: The vCenter UI service example applications must be removed.
     [PASS]  false is expected to cmp == "false"
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000142: The vCenter UI service default ROOT web application must be removed.
     [PASS]  Command: `ls /usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/webapps/ROOT` stdout.strip is expected to cmp == ""
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000143: The vCenter UI service default documentation must be removed.
     [PASS]  false is expected to cmp == "false"
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000151: The vCenter UI service must disable "ALLOW_BACKSLASH".
     [PASS]  is expected to be in nil and "false"
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000152: The vCenter UI service must enable "ENFORCE_ENCODING_IN_GET_WRITER".
     [PASS]  is expected to be in nil and "true"
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000154: The vCenter UI service manager webapp must be removed.
     [PASS]  false is expected to cmp == "false"
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000155: The vCenter UI service host-manager webapp must be removed.
     [PASS]  false is expected to cmp == "false"

Profile Summary: 304 successful controls, 25 control failures, 0 controls skipped
Test Summary: 1240 successful, 80 failures, 0 skipped

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-stig/vcsa/inspec/vmware-vcsa-8.0-stig-baseline

# Run the audit
cinc-auditor exec . -t ssh://root@10.186.30.81 --password 'password' --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file ./inputs-vcsa-8.0.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/MyVCSA8Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000141: The vCenter UI service example applications must be removed.
     [PASS]  false is expected to cmp == "false"
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000142: The vCenter UI service default ROOT web application must be removed.
     [PASS]  Command: `ls /usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/webapps/ROOT` stdout.strip is expected to cmp == ""
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000143: The vCenter UI service default documentation must be removed.
     [PASS]  false is expected to cmp == "false"
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000151: The vCenter UI service must disable "ALLOW_BACKSLASH".
     [PASS]  is expected to be in nil and "false"
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000152: The vCenter UI service must enable "ENFORCE_ENCODING_IN_GET_WRITER".
     [PASS]  is expected to be in nil and "true"
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000154: The vCenter UI service manager webapp must be removed.
     [PASS]  false is expected to cmp == "false"
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000155: The vCenter UI service host-manager webapp must be removed.
     [PASS]  false is expected to cmp == "false"

Profile Summary: 304 successful controls, 25 control failures, 0 controls skipped
Test Summary: 1240 successful, 80 failures, 0 skipped

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-srg/vcsa/inspec/vmware-vcsa-8.0-stig-baseline

# Run the audit
cinc-auditor exec . -t ssh://root@10.186.30.81 --password 'password' --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file ./inputs-vcsa-8.0.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/MyVCSA8Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000141: The vCenter UI service example applications must be removed.
     [PASS]  false is expected to cmp == "false"
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000142: The vCenter UI service default ROOT web application must be removed.
     [PASS]  Command: `ls /usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/webapps/ROOT` stdout.strip is expected to cmp == ""
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000143: The vCenter UI service default documentation must be removed.
     [PASS]  false is expected to cmp == "false"
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000151: The vCenter UI service must disable "ALLOW_BACKSLASH".
     [PASS]  is expected to be in nil and "false"
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000152: The vCenter UI service must enable "ENFORCE_ENCODING_IN_GET_WRITER".
     [PASS]  is expected to be in nil and "true"
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000154: The vCenter UI service manager webapp must be removed.
     [PASS]  false is expected to cmp == "false"
  [PASS]  VCUI-80-000155: The vCenter UI service host-manager webapp must be removed.
     [PASS]  false is expected to cmp == "false"

Profile Summary: 304 successful controls, 25 control failures, 0 controls skipped
Test Summary: 1240 successful, 80 failures, 0 skipped

Convert the results to CKL

If a STIG Viewer CKL file is needed then the results from the scans can be converted to CKL with the SAF CLI.

# Converting the VCSA scan results from the prior section to CKL
saf convert hdf2ckl -i /tmp/reports/MyVCSA8Report.json -o /tmp/reports/MyVCSA8Report.ckl --hostname 10.186.30.81 --fqdn myvcenter.local --ip 10.186.30.81 --mac 00:00:00:00:00:00

Opening the CKL file in STIG Viewer will look like the screenshot below. Note the InSpec results are included in the Finding Details pane.
STIG Viewer Checklist

2.2 - Remediate vSphere 8

Remediating vSphere 8 for STIG Compliance

Overview

Remediating vSphere for STIG compliance involves configuring ESXi, Virtual Machines, vCenter, and the vCenter appliance.

When remediating vSphere we will split up tasks between product and appliance based controls which are defined as follows:

Product Control: Configurations that interact with the Product via the User Interface or API that are exposed to administrators. Whether these are Default or Non-Default, the risk of mis-configuration effecting availability of the product is low but could impact how the environment is operated if not assessed.
Appliance Control: Appliance controls deal with the underlying components (databases, web servers, Photon OS, etc) that make up the product. Altering these add risk to product availability without precautionary steps and care in implementation. Identifying and relying on Default settings in this category makes this category less risky (Default Appliance Controls should be seen as a positive).

To remediate vSphere, PowerCLI is the automation tool used, while for the VCSA we will use Ansible. For the vCenter appliance the remediation is performed via SSH. It is recommended to disable SSH on vCenter after configuration is complete.

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to try the versions listed here.

Powershell 7.3.4/PowerCLI 13.3 or newer
VMware.Vsphere.SsoAdmin PowerCLI Module 1.3.9 or newer
Ansible 2.14.2
A vSphere 8.x U1 or newer environment.
An account with sufficient privileges to configure vSphere.

Assumptions

Commands are being ran from a Linux machine. Windows will also work (for the PowerCLI portions only) but paths and commands may need to be adjusted from the examples.
The DOD Compliance and Automation repository downloaded and extracted to /usr/share/stigs.
Ansible installed and all playbook dependencies resolved as provided in the requirements.yml file in each playbook. Install with ansible-galaxy roles install -r requirements.yml.
The dependent Photon OS Ansible roles(Photon 3.0 for U1 and Photon 4 for U2) installed and available. Verify role installation with ansible-galaxy role list.

Remediate vSphere (Product Controls)

Important

The example commands below are specific to the product version and the supported STIG content for the version you are running. Select the example command tabs for the version in your environment.

Warning

Before running it is highly advised to have a backup of vCenter and/or snapshot available if a rollback is required. For VCSA only the playbook will backup files configured before updates and place them under the /tmp directory in a folder directly on the vCenter appliance.

Create Powershell credential for vCenter connection

The PowerCLI scripts provided use a Powershell Credential stored in a variable to authenticate to vCenter and should be established before attempting to run the scripts.

# Run the following command to generate a credential. Substitute the username as needed in your environment.
pwsh

$vccred = Get-Credential

PowerShell credential request
Enter your credentials.
User: administrator@vsphere.local
Password for user administrator@vsphere.local: ****************

Remediating ESXi product controls

To remediate ESXi hosts we have provided a PowerCLI script that will target a single host or a vSphere cluster based on parameters provided to the script.

Note: There are some controls that cannot be remediated with PowerCLI and are not addressed by this script. The output will indicate that these are manual controls.

Gather environment information

In order to run the script effectively it must be provided with the organizations environment specific information.

Review the below parameters and gather the information needed to run the script:

[CmdletBinding()]
param (
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
  [string]$vcenter,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
  [pscredential]$vccred,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,ParameterSetName="hostname")]
  [string]$hostname,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,ParameterSetName="cluster")]
  [string]$cluster,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Enter the path for the output report. Example /tmp")]
  [string]$reportpath,  
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,
  HelpMessage="Enter the Active Directory Admins group to use for administrative access to ESXi")]
  [string]$esxAdminGroup,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,
  HelpMessage="Enter allowed IP ranges for the ESXi firewall in comma separated format.  For Example "192.168.0.0/16","10.0.0.0/8" ")]
  [string[]]$allowedIPs,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Enter the syslog server for the ESXi server(s). Example tcp://log.domain.local:514")]
  [string]$syslogServer,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Enable this option if VMware vRealize Log Insight is used to manage syslog on the ESXi host(s).")]
  [switch]$logInsight,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,
  HelpMessage="Enter NTP servers.  For Example "10.1.1.1","10.1.1.2" ")]
  [string[]]$ntpServers,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Specify the native VLAN Id configured on the ports going to the ESXi Hosts.  If none is specified the default of 1 will be used.")]
  [string]$nativeVLAN = "1"
)

[CmdletBinding()]
param (
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
  [string]$vcenter,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
  [pscredential]$vccred,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,ParameterSetName="hostname")]
  [string]$hostname,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,ParameterSetName="cluster")]
  [string]$cluster,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Enter the path for the output report. Example /tmp")]
  [string]$reportpath,  
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,
  HelpMessage="Enter the Active Directory Admins group to use for administrative access to ESXi")]
  [string]$esxAdminGroup,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,
  HelpMessage="Enter allowed IP ranges for the ESXi firewall in comma separated format.  For Example "192.168.0.0/16","10.0.0.0/8" ")]
  [string[]]$allowedIPs,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Enter the syslog server for the ESXi server(s). Example tcp://log.domain.local:514")]
  [string]$syslogServer,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Enable this option if VMware vRealize Log Insight is used to manage syslog on the ESXi host(s).")]
  [switch]$logInsight,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,
  HelpMessage="Enter NTP servers.  For Example "10.1.1.1","10.1.1.2" ")]
  [string[]]$ntpServers,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Specify the native VLAN Id configured on the ports going to the ESXi Hosts.  If none is specified the default of 1 will be used.")]
  [string]$nativeVLAN = "1"
)

[CmdletBinding()]
param (
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
  [string]$vcenter,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
  [pscredential]$vccred,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,ParameterSetName="hostname")]
  [string]$hostname,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,ParameterSetName="cluster")]
  [string]$cluster,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Enter the path for the output report. Example /tmp")]
  [string]$reportpath,  
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,
  HelpMessage="Enter the Active Directory Admins group to use for administrative access to ESXi")]
  [string]$esxAdminGroup,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,
  HelpMessage="Enter allowed IP ranges for the ESXi firewall in comma separated format.  For Example "192.168.0.0/16","10.0.0.0/8" ")]
  [string[]]$allowedIPs,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Enter the syslog server for the ESXi server(s). Example tcp://log.domain.local:514")]
  [string]$syslogServer,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Enable this option if VMware vRealize Log Insight is used to manage syslog on the ESXi host(s).")]
  [switch]$logInsight,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,
  HelpMessage="Enter NTP servers.  For Example "10.1.1.1","10.1.1.2" ")]
  [string[]]$ntpServers,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Specify the native VLAN Id configured on the ports going to the ESXi Hosts.  If none is specified the default of 1 will be used.")]
  [string]$nativeVLAN = "1"
)

Warning

The allowedIPs parameter is used to configure ESXi service firewall rules and updates each service from allowing all IP addresses to restricting traffic to the ranges provided. Carefully evaluate the value provided here for suitable ranges in your environment. If service specific IP ranges are desired then this control should be disabled and remediated manually or with other means outside of the script provided.

Disabling Controls

The script includes variables to enable or disable controls by STIG ID. All controls are all enabled by default and can be turned off by changing these variables to $false for a specific control.

A snippet of these variables is shown below.

##### Enable or Disable specific STIG Remediations #####
$controlsenabled = [ordered]@{
  ESXI80000005 = $true  #Account Lock Failures
  ESXI80000006 = $true  #Consent Banner Welcome
  ESXI80000008 = $true  #Lockdown Mode
  ESXI80000010 = $true  #Host Client Timeout

Run remediation script on target ESXi hosts

This example will remediate all hosts in the vSphere cluster named cluster0. If running on a single host is desired, specify the hostname parameter instead of cluster and provide the hostname as displayed in vCenter.

# Navigate to the powercli folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vsphere/powercli

# Running the script.
./VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Remediation.ps1 -vcenter 10.182.177.21 -vccred $vccred -cluster "cluster0" -esxAdminGroup "MyESXiGroup" -allowedIPs "10.10.10.0/24","10.10.11.0/24" -ntpServers "time-a-g.nist.gov","time-b-g.nist.gov" -syslogServer "tcp://loginsight.vmware.com:514" -reportpath /tmp/reports

# Snippet from the output of running the script.
2:11:17 PM ...Remediating STIG ID:ESXI-80-000244 with Title: The ESXi host must enforce the exclusive running of executables from approved VIBs.
2:11:17 PM ...Setting VMkernel.Boot.execInstalledOnly was incorrectly set to False on 10.182.180.5...setting to true
VMkernel.Boot.execI… True                 VMHost
2:11:18 PM ...Setting VMkernel.Boot.execInstalledOnly was incorrectly set to False on 10.182.182.193...setting to true
VMkernel.Boot.execI… True                 VMHost
2:11:20 PM ...Setting VMkernel.Boot.execInstalledOnly was incorrectly set to False on 10.182.183.107...setting to true
VMkernel.Boot.execI… True                 VMHost
2:11:21 PM ...Remediating STIG ID:ESXI-80-000245 with Title: The ESXi host must use sufficient entropy for cryptographic operations.
2:11:22 PM ...disableHwrng set correctly to FALSE on 10.182.180.5
2:11:22 PM ...entropySources set correctly to 0 on 10.182.180.5
2:11:23 PM ...disableHwrng set correctly to FALSE on 10.182.182.193
2:11:24 PM ...entropySources set correctly to 0 on 10.182.182.193
2:11:25 PM ...disableHwrng set correctly to FALSE on 10.182.183.107
2:11:25 PM ...entropySources set correctly to 0 on 10.182.183.107
2:11:25 PM ...Remediating STIG ID:ESXI-80-000246 with Title: The ESXi host must not enable log filtering.
2:11:25 PM ...log filtering set correctly to false on 10.182.180.5
2:11:25 PM ...log filtering set correctly to false on 10.182.182.193
2:11:26 PM ...log filtering set correctly to false on 10.182.183.107
2:11:26 PM ...Remediating STIG ID:ESXI-80-000008 with Title: The ESXi host must enable lockdown mode.
2:11:26 PM ...Enabling Lockdown mode with level lockdownNormal on 10.182.180.5
2:11:26 PM ...Enabling Lockdown mode with level lockdownNormal on 10.182.182.193
2:11:27 PM ...Enabling Lockdown mode with level lockdownNormal on 10.182.183.107
2:11:27 PM ...Configuration Summary:
2:11:27 PM {
  "vcenter": "10.182.177.21",
  "hostname": "",
  "cluster": "cluster0",
  "vmhosts": [
    "10.182.180.5",
    "10.182.182.193",
    "10.182.183.107"
  ],
  "reportpath": "/tmp/reports",
  "ok": 99,
  "changed": 123,
  "skipped": 25,
  "failed": 5,

# A results file and Powershell transcript is provided in the report path specified.
Directory: /tmp/reports

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            6/8/2023  2:11 PM           6578 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Remediation_Results_6-8-2023_14-6-38.json
-a---            6/8/2023  2:11 PM          84552 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Remediation_Transcript_6-8-2023_14-6-38.txt

# Navigate to the powercli folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-stig/vsphere/powercli

# Running the script.
./VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Remediation.ps1 -vcenter 10.182.177.21 -vccred $vccred -cluster "cluster0" -esxAdminGroup "MyESXiGroup" -allowedIPs "10.10.10.0/24","10.10.11.0/24" -ntpServers "time-a-g.nist.gov","time-b-g.nist.gov" -syslogServer "tcp://loginsight.vmware.com:514" -reportpath /tmp/reports

# Snippet from the output of running the script.
2:11:17 PM ...Remediating STIG ID:ESXI-80-000244 with Title: The ESXi host must enforce the exclusive running of executables from approved VIBs.
2:11:17 PM ...Setting VMkernel.Boot.execInstalledOnly was incorrectly set to False on 10.182.180.5...setting to true
VMkernel.Boot.execI… True                 VMHost
2:11:18 PM ...Setting VMkernel.Boot.execInstalledOnly was incorrectly set to False on 10.182.182.193...setting to true
VMkernel.Boot.execI… True                 VMHost
2:11:20 PM ...Setting VMkernel.Boot.execInstalledOnly was incorrectly set to False on 10.182.183.107...setting to true
VMkernel.Boot.execI… True                 VMHost
2:11:21 PM ...Remediating STIG ID:ESXI-80-000245 with Title: The ESXi host must use sufficient entropy for cryptographic operations.
2:11:22 PM ...disableHwrng set correctly to FALSE on 10.182.180.5
2:11:22 PM ...entropySources set correctly to 0 on 10.182.180.5
2:11:23 PM ...disableHwrng set correctly to FALSE on 10.182.182.193
2:11:24 PM ...entropySources set correctly to 0 on 10.182.182.193
2:11:25 PM ...disableHwrng set correctly to FALSE on 10.182.183.107
2:11:25 PM ...entropySources set correctly to 0 on 10.182.183.107
2:11:25 PM ...Remediating STIG ID:ESXI-80-000246 with Title: The ESXi host must not enable log filtering.
2:11:25 PM ...log filtering set correctly to false on 10.182.180.5
2:11:25 PM ...log filtering set correctly to false on 10.182.182.193
2:11:26 PM ...log filtering set correctly to false on 10.182.183.107
2:11:26 PM ...Remediating STIG ID:ESXI-80-000008 with Title: The ESXi host must enable lockdown mode.
2:11:26 PM ...Enabling Lockdown mode with level lockdownNormal on 10.182.180.5
2:11:26 PM ...Enabling Lockdown mode with level lockdownNormal on 10.182.182.193
2:11:27 PM ...Enabling Lockdown mode with level lockdownNormal on 10.182.183.107
2:11:27 PM ...Configuration Summary:
2:11:27 PM {
  "vcenter": "10.182.177.21",
  "hostname": "",
  "cluster": "cluster0",
  "vmhosts": [
    "10.182.180.5",
    "10.182.182.193",
    "10.182.183.107"
  ],
  "reportpath": "/tmp/reports",
  "ok": 99,
  "changed": 123,
  "skipped": 25,
  "failed": 5,

# A results file and Powershell transcript is provided in the report path specified.
Directory: /tmp/reports

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            6/8/2023  2:11 PM           6578 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Remediation_Results_6-8-2023_14-6-38.json
-a---            6/8/2023  2:11 PM          84552 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Remediation_Transcript_6-8-2023_14-6-38.txt

# Navigate to the powercli folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-srg/vsphere/powercli

# Running the script.
./VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Remediation.ps1 -vcenter 10.182.177.21 -vccred $vccred -cluster "cluster0" -esxAdminGroup "MyESXiGroup" -allowedIPs "10.10.10.0/24","10.10.11.0/24" -ntpServers "time-a-g.nist.gov","time-b-g.nist.gov" -syslogServer "tcp://loginsight.vmware.com:514" -reportpath /tmp/reports

# Snippet from the output of running the script.
2:11:17 PM ...Remediating STIG ID:ESXI-80-000244 with Title: The ESXi host must enforce the exclusive running of executables from approved VIBs.
2:11:17 PM ...Setting VMkernel.Boot.execInstalledOnly was incorrectly set to False on 10.182.180.5...setting to true
VMkernel.Boot.execI… True                 VMHost
2:11:18 PM ...Setting VMkernel.Boot.execInstalledOnly was incorrectly set to False on 10.182.182.193...setting to true
VMkernel.Boot.execI… True                 VMHost
2:11:20 PM ...Setting VMkernel.Boot.execInstalledOnly was incorrectly set to False on 10.182.183.107...setting to true
VMkernel.Boot.execI… True                 VMHost
2:11:21 PM ...Remediating STIG ID:ESXI-80-000245 with Title: The ESXi host must use sufficient entropy for cryptographic operations.
2:11:22 PM ...disableHwrng set correctly to FALSE on 10.182.180.5
2:11:22 PM ...entropySources set correctly to 0 on 10.182.180.5
2:11:23 PM ...disableHwrng set correctly to FALSE on 10.182.182.193
2:11:24 PM ...entropySources set correctly to 0 on 10.182.182.193
2:11:25 PM ...disableHwrng set correctly to FALSE on 10.182.183.107
2:11:25 PM ...entropySources set correctly to 0 on 10.182.183.107
2:11:25 PM ...Remediating STIG ID:ESXI-80-000246 with Title: The ESXi host must not enable log filtering.
2:11:25 PM ...log filtering set correctly to false on 10.182.180.5
2:11:25 PM ...log filtering set correctly to false on 10.182.182.193
2:11:26 PM ...log filtering set correctly to false on 10.182.183.107
2:11:26 PM ...Remediating STIG ID:ESXI-80-000008 with Title: The ESXi host must enable lockdown mode.
2:11:26 PM ...Enabling Lockdown mode with level lockdownNormal on 10.182.180.5
2:11:26 PM ...Enabling Lockdown mode with level lockdownNormal on 10.182.182.193
2:11:27 PM ...Enabling Lockdown mode with level lockdownNormal on 10.182.183.107
2:11:27 PM ...Configuration Summary:
2:11:27 PM {
  "vcenter": "10.182.177.21",
  "hostname": "",
  "cluster": "cluster0",
  "vmhosts": [
    "10.182.180.5",
    "10.182.182.193",
    "10.182.183.107"
  ],
  "reportpath": "/tmp/reports",
  "ok": 99,
  "changed": 123,
  "skipped": 25,
  "failed": 5,

# A results file and Powershell transcript is provided in the report path specified.
Directory: /tmp/reports

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            6/8/2023  2:11 PM           6578 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Remediation_Results_6-8-2023_14-6-38.json
-a---            6/8/2023  2:11 PM          84552 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_ESXi_Remediation_Transcript_6-8-2023_14-6-38.txt

Remediating virtual machines

To remediate virtual machines we have provided a PowerCLI script that will target a single VM, all VMs in a cluster, or all VMs in vCenter based on parameters provided to the script.

Note: There are some controls that cannot be remediated with PowerCLI and are not addressed by this script. See the scripts description text for more details.

Disabling Controls

For processing efficiency it is not constructed to run each control individually so the STIG ID variables are not included to enabled/disable controls such as in the ESXi/vCenter scripts. If it is desired to skip some controls they could be commented out in the $vmconfig variable in the script.

Run remediation script on target virtual machines

# Navigate to the powercli folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vsphere/powercli

# Running the script.
./VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_VM_Remediation.ps1 -vcenter 10.182.177.21 -vccred $vccred -cluster "cluster0" -reportpath /tmp/reports

# Snippet from the output of running the script.
2:13:50 PM ...Connecting to vCenter Server 10.182.177.21
2:13:52 PM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all virtual machines in cluster: cluster0
2:13:53 PM ...Remediating advanced settings on vCLS-1ef92498-69e3-4c68-b4fa-ef5a25b671b7 on 10.182.177.21
2:13:53 PM ...Setting isolation.device.connectable.disable does not exist on vCLS-1ef92498-69e3-4c68-b4fa-ef5a25b671b7 and is compliant by default...
2:13:53 PM ...Setting isolation.tools.copy.disable does not exist on vCLS-1ef92498-69e3-4c68-b4fa-ef5a25b671b7 and is compliant by default...
2:13:53 PM ...Setting isolation.tools.diskShrink.disable does not exist on vCLS-1ef92498-69e3-4c68-b4fa-ef5a25b671b7 and is compliant by default...
2:13:53 PM ...Setting isolation.tools.diskWiper.disable does not exist on vCLS-1ef92498-69e3-4c68-b4fa-ef5a25b671b7 and is compliant by default...

# A results file and Powershell transcript is provided in the report path specified.
Directory: /tmp/reports

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            6/8/2023  2:14 PM          10743 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_VM_Remediation_Transcript_6-8-2023_14-13-50.txt
-a---            6/8/2023  2:14 PM           1105 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_VM_Remediation_Transcript_6-8-2023_14-14-7.txt

# Navigate to the powercli folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-stig/vsphere/powercli

# Running the script.
./VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_VM_Remediation.ps1 -vcenter 10.182.177.21 -vccred $vccred -cluster "cluster0" -reportpath /tmp/reports

# Snippet from the output of running the script.
2:13:50 PM ...Connecting to vCenter Server 10.182.177.21
2:13:52 PM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all virtual machines in cluster: cluster0
2:13:53 PM ...Remediating advanced settings on vCLS-1ef92498-69e3-4c68-b4fa-ef5a25b671b7 on 10.182.177.21
2:13:53 PM ...Setting isolation.device.connectable.disable does not exist on vCLS-1ef92498-69e3-4c68-b4fa-ef5a25b671b7 and is compliant by default...
2:13:53 PM ...Setting isolation.tools.copy.disable does not exist on vCLS-1ef92498-69e3-4c68-b4fa-ef5a25b671b7 and is compliant by default...
2:13:53 PM ...Setting isolation.tools.diskShrink.disable does not exist on vCLS-1ef92498-69e3-4c68-b4fa-ef5a25b671b7 and is compliant by default...
2:13:53 PM ...Setting isolation.tools.diskWiper.disable does not exist on vCLS-1ef92498-69e3-4c68-b4fa-ef5a25b671b7 and is compliant by default...

# A results file and Powershell transcript is provided in the report path specified.
Directory: /tmp/reports

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            6/8/2023  2:14 PM          10743 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_VM_Remediation_Transcript_6-8-2023_14-13-50.txt
-a---            6/8/2023  2:14 PM           1105 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_VM_Remediation_Transcript_6-8-2023_14-14-7.txt

# Navigate to the powercli folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-srg/vsphere/powercli

# Running the script.
./VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_VM_Remediation.ps1 -vcenter 10.182.177.21 -vccred $vccred -cluster "cluster0" -reportpath /tmp/reports

# Snippet from the output of running the script.
2:13:50 PM ...Connecting to vCenter Server 10.182.177.21
2:13:52 PM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all virtual machines in cluster: cluster0
2:13:53 PM ...Remediating advanced settings on vCLS-1ef92498-69e3-4c68-b4fa-ef5a25b671b7 on 10.182.177.21
2:13:53 PM ...Setting isolation.device.connectable.disable does not exist on vCLS-1ef92498-69e3-4c68-b4fa-ef5a25b671b7 and is compliant by default...
2:13:53 PM ...Setting isolation.tools.copy.disable does not exist on vCLS-1ef92498-69e3-4c68-b4fa-ef5a25b671b7 and is compliant by default...
2:13:53 PM ...Setting isolation.tools.diskShrink.disable does not exist on vCLS-1ef92498-69e3-4c68-b4fa-ef5a25b671b7 and is compliant by default...
2:13:53 PM ...Setting isolation.tools.diskWiper.disable does not exist on vCLS-1ef92498-69e3-4c68-b4fa-ef5a25b671b7 and is compliant by default...

# A results file and Powershell transcript is provided in the report path specified.
Directory: /tmp/reports

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            6/8/2023  2:14 PM          10743 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_VM_Remediation_Transcript_6-8-2023_14-13-50.txt
-a---            6/8/2023  2:14 PM           1105 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_VM_Remediation_Transcript_6-8-2023_14-14-7.txt

Remediating vCenter

To remediate vCenter we have provided a PowerCLI script that will target a single vCenter server.

Note: There are some controls that cannot be remediated with PowerCLI and are not addressed by this script. The output will indicate that these are manual controls.

Gather environment information

In order to run the script effectively it must be provided with the organizations environment specific information.

This script also uses the VMware.Vsphere.SsoAdmin PowerCLI Module to configure vCenter SSO controls. This module connects to vCenter separately using the Connect-SsoAdminServer command that requires using an account that has sufficient privileges in vCenter to modify SSO settings.

Review the below parameters and gather the information needed to run the script:

[CmdletBinding()]
param (
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
  [string]$vcenter,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
  [pscredential]$vccred,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Enter the path for the output report. Example /tmp")]
  [string]$reportpath,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="If Netflow is used enter the collector IP address")]
  [string]$vcNetflowCollectorIp = "",
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="To disable Netflow on all port groups if enabled set to true")]
  [boolean]$vcNetflowDisableonallPortGroups = $false
)

[CmdletBinding()]
param (
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
  [string]$vcenter,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
  [pscredential]$vccred,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Enter the path for the output report. Example /tmp")]
  [string]$reportpath,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="If Netflow is used enter the collector IP address")]
  [string]$vcNetflowCollectorIp = "",
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="To disable Netflow on all port groups if enabled set to true")]
  [boolean]$vcNetflowDisableonallPortGroups = $false
)

[CmdletBinding()]
param (
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
  [string]$vcenter,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
  [pscredential]$vccred,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Enter the path for the output report. Example /tmp")]
  [string]$reportpath,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="If Netflow is used enter the collector IP address")]
  [string]$vcNetflowCollectorIp = "",
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="To disable Netflow on all port groups if enabled set to true")]
  [boolean]$vcNetflowDisableonallPortGroups = $false
)

Disabling Controls

The script includes variables to enable or disable controls by STIG ID. All controls are all enabled by default and can be turned off by changing these variables to $false for a specific control.

A snippet of these variables is shown below.

##### Enable or Disable specific STIG Remediations #####
$controlsenabled = [ordered]@{
  VCSA8000009 = $true  #TLS 1.2
  VCSA8000023 = $true  #SSO Login Attempts
  VCSA8000024 = $true  #SSO Banner - Manual
  VCSA8000034 = $true  #config.log.level

Run remediation script on target vCenter server

This example will remediate all controls on a target vCenter server.

# Navigate to the powercli folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vsphere/powercli

# Running the script.
./VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_vCenter_Remediation.ps1 -vcenter 10.182.177.21 -vccred $vccred -vcNetflowDisableonallPortGroups $true -reportpath /tmp/reports

# Snippet from the output of running the script.
2:27:42 PM ...Connecting to vCenter Server 10.182.177.21
2:27:44 PM ...Connecting to vCenter SSO Server 10.182.177.21
2:27:45 PM ...Verifying vCenter 10.182.177.21 is version 8.0.x
2:27:45 PM ...vCenter 10.182.177.21 is version 8.0.1 continuing...
2:27:45 PM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all virtual distributed switches in vCenter: 10.182.177.21
2:27:45 PM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all virtual distributed port groups in vCenter: 10.182.177.21
2:27:46 PM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-80-000009 with Title: The vCenter Server must use TLS 1.2, at a minimum, to protect the confidentiality of sensitive data during electronic dissemination using remote access.
2:27:46 PM ...!!This control must be remediated manually!!
2:27:46 PM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-80-000023 with Title: The vCenter Server must enforce the limit of three consecutive invalid logon attempts by a user.
2:27:47 PM ...SSO login attempts set incorrectly on 10.182.177.21
2:27:47 PM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-80-000024 with Title: The vCenter Server must display the Standard Mandatory DoD Notice and Consent Banner before logon.
2:27:47 PM ...!!This control must be remediated manually!!
2:27:47 PM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-80-000034 with Title: The vCenter Server must produce audit records containing information to establish what type of events occurred.
2:27:47 PM ...Setting config.log.level is already configured correctly to info on 10.182.177.21

# A results file and Powershell transcript is provided in the report path specified.
Directory: /tmp/reports

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            6/8/2023  2:28 PM           2873 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_vCenter_Remediation_Results_6-8-2023_14-27-42.json
-a---            6/8/2023  2:28 PM          25530 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_vCenter_Remediation_Transcript_6-8-2023_14-27-42.txt

# Navigate to the powercli folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-stig/vsphere/powercli

# Running the script.
./VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_vCenter_Remediation.ps1 -vcenter 10.182.177.21 -vccred $vccred -vcNetflowDisableonallPortGroups $true -reportpath /tmp/reports

# Snippet from the output of running the script.
2:27:42 PM ...Connecting to vCenter Server 10.182.177.21
2:27:44 PM ...Connecting to vCenter SSO Server 10.182.177.21
2:27:45 PM ...Verifying vCenter 10.182.177.21 is version 8.0.x
2:27:45 PM ...vCenter 10.182.177.21 is version 8.0.1 continuing...
2:27:45 PM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all virtual distributed switches in vCenter: 10.182.177.21
2:27:45 PM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all virtual distributed port groups in vCenter: 10.182.177.21
2:27:46 PM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-80-000009 with Title: The vCenter Server must use TLS 1.2, at a minimum, to protect the confidentiality of sensitive data during electronic dissemination using remote access.
2:27:46 PM ...!!This control must be remediated manually!!
2:27:46 PM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-80-000023 with Title: The vCenter Server must enforce the limit of three consecutive invalid logon attempts by a user.
2:27:47 PM ...SSO login attempts set incorrectly on 10.182.177.21
2:27:47 PM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-80-000024 with Title: The vCenter Server must display the Standard Mandatory DoD Notice and Consent Banner before logon.
2:27:47 PM ...!!This control must be remediated manually!!
2:27:47 PM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-80-000034 with Title: The vCenter Server must produce audit records containing information to establish what type of events occurred.
2:27:47 PM ...Setting config.log.level is already configured correctly to info on 10.182.177.21

# A results file and Powershell transcript is provided in the report path specified.
Directory: /tmp/reports

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            6/8/2023  2:28 PM           2873 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_vCenter_Remediation_Results_6-8-2023_14-27-42.json
-a---            6/8/2023  2:28 PM          25530 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_vCenter_Remediation_Transcript_6-8-2023_14-27-42.txt

# Navigate to the powercli folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-srg/vsphere/powercli

# Running the script.
./VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_vCenter_Remediation.ps1 -vcenter 10.182.177.21 -vccred $vccred -vcNetflowDisableonallPortGroups $true -reportpath /tmp/reports

# Snippet from the output of running the script.
2:27:42 PM ...Connecting to vCenter Server 10.182.177.21
2:27:44 PM ...Connecting to vCenter SSO Server 10.182.177.21
2:27:45 PM ...Verifying vCenter 10.182.177.21 is version 8.0.x
2:27:45 PM ...vCenter 10.182.177.21 is version 8.0.1 continuing...
2:27:45 PM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all virtual distributed switches in vCenter: 10.182.177.21
2:27:45 PM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all virtual distributed port groups in vCenter: 10.182.177.21
2:27:46 PM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-80-000009 with Title: The vCenter Server must use TLS 1.2, at a minimum, to protect the confidentiality of sensitive data during electronic dissemination using remote access.
2:27:46 PM ...!!This control must be remediated manually!!
2:27:46 PM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-80-000023 with Title: The vCenter Server must enforce the limit of three consecutive invalid logon attempts by a user.
2:27:47 PM ...SSO login attempts set incorrectly on 10.182.177.21
2:27:47 PM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-80-000024 with Title: The vCenter Server must display the Standard Mandatory DoD Notice and Consent Banner before logon.
2:27:47 PM ...!!This control must be remediated manually!!
2:27:47 PM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-80-000034 with Title: The vCenter Server must produce audit records containing information to establish what type of events occurred.
2:27:47 PM ...Setting config.log.level is already configured correctly to info on 10.182.177.21

# A results file and Powershell transcript is provided in the report path specified.
Directory: /tmp/reports

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---            6/8/2023  2:28 PM           2873 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_vCenter_Remediation_Results_6-8-2023_14-27-42.json
-a---            6/8/2023  2:28 PM          25530 VMware_vSphere_8.0_STIG_vCenter_Remediation_Transcript_6-8-2023_14-27-42.txt

Remediating vCenter (Appliance Controls)

To remediate vCenter we have provided an Ansible playbook that will target a single vCenter server appliance over SSH and configure any non-compliant controls.

Update the default shell for root

The default shell for root must be changed to /bin/bash before running. The appliance shell causes issues with some controls running.

# SSH to vCenter
Connected to service

    * List APIs: "help api list"
    * List Plugins: "help pi list"
    * Launch BASH: "shell"

Command> shell.set --enabled true
Command> shell
Shell access is granted to root
root@sc1-10-182-131-166 [ ~ ]# chsh -s /bin/bash root

Running the playbook

To run all of the VCSA controls, follow the example below:

# Navigate to the Ansible playbook folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v2r1-stig/vcsa/ansible/vmware-vcsa-8.0-stig-ansible-hardening

# The -k parameter will prompt for password and we are using extra-vars to specify a variable file for the playbook to use.
ansible-playbook -i 10.182.177.21, -u root playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-vcenter.yml

# Output example
SSH password:

PLAY [all] ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

TASK [Gathering Facts] ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.182.177.21]

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : Include Photon] **************************************************************************************************************************************************************
included: /home/rlakey/.ansible/roles/vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening/tasks/photon.yml for 10.182.177.21

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : Create time stamp] ***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.182.177.21] => {"ansible_facts": {"backup_timestamp": "2023-05-25-12-25-58"}, "changed": false}

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : Backup files...if restoring be sure to restore permissions that original file had!!] *****************************************************************************************
ok: [10.182.177.21] => (item=/etc/rsyslog.conf) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "changed": false, "checksum": "7aa11dc58f144160e7e3dc2d40cb2f03a39a989c", "dest": "/tmp/ansible-backups-2023-05-25-12-25-58/rsyslog.conf", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "item": "/etc/rsyslog.conf", "md5sum": "d31d58ff2bbc5cff6b7f343c2580300c", "mode": "0644", "owner": "root", "size": 4000, "src": "/etc/rsyslog.conf", "state": "file", "uid": 0}
ok: [10.182.177.21] => (item=/etc/issue) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "changed": false, "checksum": "930cb25fc842aca6047cb9fc1bfbd6ea191e686f", "dest": "/tmp/ansible-backups-2023-05-25-12-25-58/issue", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "item": "/etc/issue", "md5sum": "f498b74a84aaa39e292d9b815899144d", "mode": "0644", "owner": "root", "size": 104, "src": "/etc/issue", "state": "file", "uid": 0}
ok: [10.182.177.21] => (item=/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "changed": false, "checksum": "38f324fe67c6943e07ef1910b41dedeb0b256ca4", "dest": "/tmp/ansible-backups-2023-05-25-12-25-58/audit.STIG.rules", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "item": "/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules", "md5sum": "396d715044fc7a8d92a0332d3edb4112", "mode": "0640", "owner": "root", "size": 5080, "src": "/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules", "state": "file", "uid": 0}

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : PHTN-30-000001 - Update/Create audit.STIG.rules file] ************************************************************************************************************************
changed: [10.182.177.21] => {"changed": true, "checksum": "aaafa4e8c28743ce3cc22c818f28f4cb9a3f53b2", "dest": "/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "md5sum": "91a31e7bbf9e3f0d7f390feb4360581b", "mode": "0640", "owner": "root", "size": 5180, "src": "/root/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1685039234.3606877-890-106251101523760/source", "state": "file", "uid": 0}

# Navigate to the Ansible playbook folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-stig/vcsa/ansible/vmware-vcsa-8.0-stig-ansible-hardening

# The -k parameter will prompt for password and we are using extra-vars to specify a variable file for the playbook to use.
ansible-playbook -i 10.182.177.21, -u root playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-vcenter-example.yml

# Output example
SSH password:

PLAY [all] ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

TASK [Gathering Facts] ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.182.177.21]

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : Include Photon] **************************************************************************************************************************************************************
included: /home/rlakey/.ansible/roles/vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening/tasks/photon.yml for 10.182.177.21

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : Create time stamp] ***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.182.177.21] => {"ansible_facts": {"backup_timestamp": "2023-05-25-12-25-58"}, "changed": false}

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : Backup files...if restoring be sure to restore permissions that original file had!!] *****************************************************************************************
ok: [10.182.177.21] => (item=/etc/rsyslog.conf) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "changed": false, "checksum": "7aa11dc58f144160e7e3dc2d40cb2f03a39a989c", "dest": "/tmp/ansible-backups-2023-05-25-12-25-58/rsyslog.conf", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "item": "/etc/rsyslog.conf", "md5sum": "d31d58ff2bbc5cff6b7f343c2580300c", "mode": "0644", "owner": "root", "size": 4000, "src": "/etc/rsyslog.conf", "state": "file", "uid": 0}
ok: [10.182.177.21] => (item=/etc/issue) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "changed": false, "checksum": "930cb25fc842aca6047cb9fc1bfbd6ea191e686f", "dest": "/tmp/ansible-backups-2023-05-25-12-25-58/issue", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "item": "/etc/issue", "md5sum": "f498b74a84aaa39e292d9b815899144d", "mode": "0644", "owner": "root", "size": 104, "src": "/etc/issue", "state": "file", "uid": 0}
ok: [10.182.177.21] => (item=/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "changed": false, "checksum": "38f324fe67c6943e07ef1910b41dedeb0b256ca4", "dest": "/tmp/ansible-backups-2023-05-25-12-25-58/audit.STIG.rules", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "item": "/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules", "md5sum": "396d715044fc7a8d92a0332d3edb4112", "mode": "0640", "owner": "root", "size": 5080, "src": "/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules", "state": "file", "uid": 0}

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : PHTN-30-000001 - Update/Create audit.STIG.rules file] ************************************************************************************************************************
changed: [10.182.177.21] => {"changed": true, "checksum": "aaafa4e8c28743ce3cc22c818f28f4cb9a3f53b2", "dest": "/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "md5sum": "91a31e7bbf9e3f0d7f390feb4360581b", "mode": "0640", "owner": "root", "size": 5180, "src": "/root/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1685039234.3606877-890-106251101523760/source", "state": "file", "uid": 0}

# Navigate to the Ansible playbook folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vsphere/8.0/v1r1-srg/vcsa/ansible/vmware-vcsa-8.0-stig-ansible-hardening

# The -k parameter will prompt for password and we are using extra-vars to specify a variable file for the playbook to use.
ansible-playbook -i 10.182.177.21, -u root playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-vcenter-example.yml

# Output example
SSH password:

PLAY [all] ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

TASK [Gathering Facts] ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.182.177.21]

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : Include Photon] **************************************************************************************************************************************************************
included: /home/rlakey/.ansible/roles/vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening/tasks/photon.yml for 10.182.177.21

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : Create time stamp] ***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.182.177.21] => {"ansible_facts": {"backup_timestamp": "2023-05-25-12-25-58"}, "changed": false}

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : Backup files...if restoring be sure to restore permissions that original file had!!] *****************************************************************************************
ok: [10.182.177.21] => (item=/etc/rsyslog.conf) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "changed": false, "checksum": "7aa11dc58f144160e7e3dc2d40cb2f03a39a989c", "dest": "/tmp/ansible-backups-2023-05-25-12-25-58/rsyslog.conf", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "item": "/etc/rsyslog.conf", "md5sum": "d31d58ff2bbc5cff6b7f343c2580300c", "mode": "0644", "owner": "root", "size": 4000, "src": "/etc/rsyslog.conf", "state": "file", "uid": 0}
ok: [10.182.177.21] => (item=/etc/issue) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "changed": false, "checksum": "930cb25fc842aca6047cb9fc1bfbd6ea191e686f", "dest": "/tmp/ansible-backups-2023-05-25-12-25-58/issue", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "item": "/etc/issue", "md5sum": "f498b74a84aaa39e292d9b815899144d", "mode": "0644", "owner": "root", "size": 104, "src": "/etc/issue", "state": "file", "uid": 0}
ok: [10.182.177.21] => (item=/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "changed": false, "checksum": "38f324fe67c6943e07ef1910b41dedeb0b256ca4", "dest": "/tmp/ansible-backups-2023-05-25-12-25-58/audit.STIG.rules", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "item": "/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules", "md5sum": "396d715044fc7a8d92a0332d3edb4112", "mode": "0640", "owner": "root", "size": 5080, "src": "/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules", "state": "file", "uid": 0}

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : PHTN-30-000001 - Update/Create audit.STIG.rules file] ************************************************************************************************************************
changed: [10.182.177.21] => {"changed": true, "checksum": "aaafa4e8c28743ce3cc22c818f28f4cb9a3f53b2", "dest": "/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "md5sum": "91a31e7bbf9e3f0d7f390feb4360581b", "mode": "0640", "owner": "root", "size": 5180, "src": "/root/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1685039234.3606877-890-106251101523760/source", "state": "file", "uid": 0}

A more conservative and preferred approach is to target any non-compliant controls or run each component separately allowed you to perform any functional testing in between.

# Providing the tag "eam" will instruct the playbook to only run the eam role. This tag can be seen in each roles task/main.yml file.
ansible-playbook -i 10.182.177.21, -u root playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-vcenter.yml --tags eam

# Providing the tag "VCEM-70-000001" will instruct the playbook to only run task tagged with the STIG ID of VCEM-80-000001.
ansible-playbook -i 10.182.177.21, -u root playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-vcenter.yml --tags VCEM-80-000001

# Providing the tag "eam" will instruct the playbook to only run the eam role. This tag can be seen in each roles task/main.yml file.
ansible-playbook -i 10.182.177.21, -u root playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-vcenter-example.yml --tags eam

# Providing the tag "VCEM-70-000001" will instruct the playbook to only run task tagged with the STIG ID of VCEM-80-000001.
ansible-playbook -i 10.182.177.21, -u root playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-vcenter-example.yml --tags VCEM-80-000001

# Providing the tag "eam" will instruct the playbook to only run the eam role. This tag can be seen in each roles task/main.yml file.
ansible-playbook -i 10.182.177.21, -u root playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-vcenter-example.yml --tags eam

# Providing the tag "VCEM-70-000001" will instruct the playbook to only run task tagged with the STIG ID of VCEM-80-000001.
ansible-playbook -i 10.182.177.21, -u root playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-vcenter-example.yml --tags VCEM-80-000001

2.3 - Audit vSphere 7

Auditing vSphere 7 for STIG Compliance

Overview

Auditing vSphere for STIG compliance involves scanning ESXi, Virtual Machines, vCenter, and the vCenter appliance.

When auditing vSphere we will split up tasks between product and appliance based controls which are defined as follows:

Product Control: Configurations that interact with the Product via the User Interface or API that are exposed to administrators. Whether these are Default or Non-Default, the risk of mis-configuration effecting availability of the product is low but could impact how the environment is operated if not assessed.
Appliance Control: Appliance controls deal with the underlying components (databases, web servers, Photon OS, etc) that make up the product. Altering these add risk to product availability if precautionary steps and care in implementation are not taken. Identifying and relying on Default settings in this category makes this category less risky (Default Appliance Controls should be seen as a positive).

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to try the versions listed here.

The vmware-vsphere-7.0-stig-baseline profile downloaded.
The vmware-vcsa-7.0-stig-baseline profile downloaded.
Powershell 7.3.4/PowerCLI 13.1
VMware.Vsphere.SsoAdmin PowerCLI Module 1.3.9
InSpec/Cinc Auditor 5.22.3
train-vmware 0.2.0
SAF CLI 1.2.11
STIG Viewer 2.17
A vSphere 7.x environment. 7.0 U3l was used in these examples.
An account with sufficient privileges to view SSO configuration in vCenter.
Example distributed switches, VMs, and a content library were created in the testbed to produce audit results for those objects.

Install the custom VMware transport for InSpec

To install the plugin that is included with the vmware-vsphere-7.0-stig-baseline profile, do the following:

# Install the custom train-vmware plugin. Update the path to the gem as needed. The command will be the same on Windows and Linux.
> inspec plugin install C:\vmware-vsphere-7.0-stig-baseline\train-vmware-0.2.0.gem

# To verify the installation
> inspec plugin list

┌────────────────────────────────────────┬─────────┬──────────────┬─────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              Plugin Name               │ Version │     Via      │ ApiVer  │                          Description                          │
├────────────────────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────┼─────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ inspec-compliance                      │ 5.22.3  │ core         │ 2       │ Plugin to perform operations with Chef Automate               │
│ inspec-habitat                         │ 5.22.3  │ core         │ 2       │ Plugin to create/upload habitat package                       │
│ inspec-init                            │ 5.22.3  │ core         │ 2       │ Plugin for scaffolding profile, plugin or a resource          │
│ inspec-plugin-manager-cli              │ 5.22.3  │ core         │ 2       │ CLI plugin for InSpec                                         │
│ inspec-reporter-html2                  │ 5.22.3  │ core         │ 2       │ Improved HTML reporter plugin                                 │
│ inspec-reporter-json-min               │ 5.22.3  │ core         │ 2       │ Json-min json reporter plugin                                 │
│ inspec-reporter-junit                  │ 5.22.3  │ core         │ 2       │ JUnit XML reporter plugin                                     │
│ inspec-sign                            │ 5.22.3  │ core         │ 2       │                                                               │
│ inspec-streaming-reporter-progress-bar │ 5.22.3  │ core         │ 2       │ Displays a real-time progress bar and control title as output │
│ inspec-supermarket                     │ 5.22.3  │ core         │ 0       │                                                               │
│ train-aws                              │ 0.2.24  │ gem (system) │ train-1 │ AWS API Transport for Train                                   │
│ train-habitat                          │ 0.2.22  │ gem (system) │ train-1 │ Habitat API Transport for Train                               │
│ train-kubernetes                       │ 0.1.12  │ gem (system) │ train-1 │ Train Kubernetes                                              │
│ train-vmware                           │ 0.2.0   │ gem (user)   │ train-1 │ Train Plugin for VMware PowerCLI                              │
│ train-winrm                            │ 0.2.13  │ gem (system) │ train-1 │ Windows WinRM API Transport for Train                         │
└────────────────────────────────────────┴─────────┴──────────────┴─────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
 15 plugin(s) total

Auditing ESXi Hosts

Update profile inputs

Included in the vmware-vsphere-7.0-stig-baseline is an example inputs-example.yml file with the following inputs relevant to ESXi.

Update the inputs as shown below with values relevant to your environment.

# Choose whether to scan a single host, all hosts in a cluster, or all hosts in vCenter.
vmhostName: ""
cluster: ""
allesxi: true
# Enter an array of users that should be in the lockdown mode exceptions list.
exceptionUsers: []
# Enter the environment specific syslog server ESXi should be forwarding logs to.
syslogServer: "tcp://log.test.local:514"
# If ESXi is joined to AD, enter the AD group that has administrative access to ESXi.
adAdminGroup: "MyAdAdminGroup"
# Enter the environment specific time servers.
esxiNtpServers:
  - 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
  - 'time-b-g.nist.gov'
# Enter the environment specific vMotion VLAN Id.
vMotionVlanId: "100"
# Enter the environment specific Management VLAN Id.
mgtVlanId: "101"
# If snmp is used in the environment change to true.
snmpEnabled: "false"
# Enter the latest build number for ESXi.
esxiBuildNumber: "21424296"

Setup environment variables for vCenter connection

Connectivity to vCenter is established via environment variables. Take care to clear your history and close the Powershell session to avoid any credentials left in memory/history.

# Note: VISERVER is referencing vCenter and not an ESXi host.
> $env:VISERVER='10.186.30.81'
> $env:VISERVER_USERNAME='Administrator@vsphere.local'
> $env:VISERVER_PASSWORD='password'

Note: If your password has a single ’ in it you must substitute it with ’’’’ for it to be properly escaped all the way through the process.

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning all ESXi hosts attached to the target vCenter, specifying an inputs file, enabling enhanced outcomes in InSpec, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file.

# Note this command is being ran from the root of the profile folder. Update paths as needed if running from a different location.
> inspec exec .\esxi\ -t vmware:// --show-progress --input-file .\inputs-example.yml --enhanced-outcomes --reporter=cli json:C:\InSpec\Reports\MyESXiReport.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [FAIL]  ESXI-70-000097: The ESXi Common Information Model (CIM) service must be disabled. (2 failed)
     [FAIL]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VMHost -Name 10.182.131.186 | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Label -eq 'CIM Server'} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Policy stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "off"

     expected: off
          got: on

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VMHost -Name 10.182.131.186 | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Label -eq 'CIM Server'} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Running stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "false"
     [FAIL]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VMHost -Name 10.182.132.6 | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Label -eq 'CIM Server'} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Policy stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "off"

     expected: off
          got: on

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VMHost -Name 10.182.132.6 | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Label -eq 'CIM Server'} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Running stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "false"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VMHost -Name 10.182.138.1 | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Label -eq 'CIM Server'} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Policy stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "off"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VMHost -Name 10.182.138.1 | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Label -eq 'CIM Server'} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Running stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "false"
  [N/R]  ESXI-70-000274: The ESXi host SSH daemon must be configured to only use FIPS 140-2 validated ciphers.
     [SKIP]  This must be reviewed manually

Profile Summary: 25 successful controls, 27 control failures, 20 controls not reviewed, 3 controls not applicable, 0 controls have error
Test Summary: 143 successful, 120 failures, 34 skipped

Auditing Virtual Machines

Update profile inputs

Included in the vmware-vsphere-7.0-stig-baseline is an example inputs-example.yml file with the following inputs relevant to VMs.

Update the inputs as shown below with values relevant to your environment.

# Choose whether to scan a single VM or all VMs in vCenter.
vmName: ""
allvms: true

Setup environment variables for vCenter connection

Connectivity to vCenter is established via environment variables. Take care to clear your history and close the Powershell session to avoid any credentials left in memory/history.

If was done in the previous step it is not necessary to do again.

# Note: VISERVER is referencing vCenter and not an ESXi host.
> $env:VISERVER='10.186.30.81'
> $env:VISERVER_USERNAME='Administrator@vsphere.local'
> $env:VISERVER_PASSWORD='password'

Note: If your password has a single ’ in it you must substitute it with ’’’’ for it to be properly escaped all the way through the process.

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning all VMs in the target vCenter, specifying an inputs file, enabling enhanced outcomes in InSpec, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file.

# Note this command is being ran from the root of the profile folder. Update paths as needed if running from a different location.
> inspec exec .\vm\ -t vmware:// --show-progress --input-file .\inputs-example.yml --enhanced-outcomes --reporter=cli json:C:\InSpec\Reports\MyVMsReport.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [FAIL]  VMCH-70-000027: Log retention must be configured properly on the virtual machine (VM). (2 failed)
     [FAIL]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VM -Name 'stig space test' | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name log.keepOld | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "10"

     expected: 10
          got:

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

     [FAIL]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VM -Name 'stigvmtest1' | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name log.keepOld | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "10"

     expected: 10
          got:

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VM -Name 'vCLS-189ef61c-56dc-4d5f-a255-ac43798a77b3' | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name log.keepOld | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "10"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VM -Name 'vCLS-6e74013e-53a1-4589-a2f7-47f11674d089' | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name log.keepOld | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "10"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VM -Name 'vCLS-d7018f26-8dab-48c7-8161-56311f5eb077' | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name log.keepOld | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "10"
  [PASS]  VMCH-70-000028: DirectPath I/O must be disabled on the virtual machine (VM) when not required.
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VM -Name 'stig space test' | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name pciPassthru*.present | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value stdout.strip is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VM -Name 'stigvmtest1' | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name pciPassthru*.present | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value stdout.strip is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VM -Name 'vCLS-189ef61c-56dc-4d5f-a255-ac43798a77b3' | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name pciPassthru*.present | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value stdout.strip is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VM -Name 'vCLS-6e74013e-53a1-4589-a2f7-47f11674d089' | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name pciPassthru*.present | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value stdout.strip is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: Get-VM -Name 'vCLS-d7018f26-8dab-48c7-8161-56311f5eb077' | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name pciPassthru*.present | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value stdout.strip is expected to be empty
  [PASS]  VMCH-70-000029: Encryption must be enabled for Fault Tolerance on the virtual machine (VM).
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VM -Name 'stig space test').ExtensionData.Config.FtEncryptionMode stdout.strip is expected to be in "ftEncryptionOpportunistic" and "ftEncryptionRequired"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VM -Name 'stigvmtest1').ExtensionData.Config.FtEncryptionMode stdout.strip is expected to be in "ftEncryptionOpportunistic" and "ftEncryptionRequired"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VM -Name 'vCLS-189ef61c-56dc-4d5f-a255-ac43798a77b3').ExtensionData.Config.FtEncryptionMode stdout.strip is expected to be in "ftEncryptionOpportunistic" and "ftEncryptionRequired"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VM -Name 'vCLS-6e74013e-53a1-4589-a2f7-47f11674d089').ExtensionData.Config.FtEncryptionMode stdout.strip is expected to be in "ftEncryptionOpportunistic" and "ftEncryptionRequired"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: (Get-VM -Name 'vCLS-d7018f26-8dab-48c7-8161-56311f5eb077').ExtensionData.Config.FtEncryptionMode stdout.strip is expected to be in "ftEncryptionOpportunistic" and "ftEncryptionRequired"

Profile Summary: 11 successful controls, 15 control failures, 2 controls not reviewed, 0 controls not applicable, 0 controls have error
Test Summary: 75 successful, 55 failures, 2 skipped

Auditing vCenter (Product Controls)

Update profile inputs

Included in the vmware-vsphere-7.0-stig-baseline is an example inputs-example.yml file with the following inputs relevant to vCenter.

Update the inputs as shown below with values relevant to your environment.

# Enter the environment specific syslog server vCenter should be forwarding logs to.
syslogServers:
  - "loginsight.test.com"
  - "syslog.server2.com"
# Enter the environment specific time servers.
ntpServers:
  - 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
  - 'time-b-g.nist.gov'
# If an IPfix collector is used enter the IP.
ipfixCollectorAddress: ""
# Enter any approved users in the bash shell administrators users group
bashShellAdminUsers:
  - 'Administrator'
# Enter any approved group in the bash shell administrators group
bashShellAdminGroups: []
# Enter any approved users in the trusted admin users group
trustedAdminUsers: []
# Enter any approved users in the trusted admin group
trustedAdminGroups: []
# Set to false if file based backups are used via the VAMI
backup3rdParty: false

Setup environment variables for vCenter connection

Connectivity to vCenter is established via environment variables. Take care to clear your history and close the Powershell session to avoid any credentials left in memory/history.

If was done in the previous step it is not necessary to do again.

# Note: VISERVER is referencing vCenter and not an ESXi host.
> $env:VISERVER='10.186.30.81'
> $env:VISERVER_USERNAME='Administrator@vsphere.local'
> $env:VISERVER_PASSWORD='password'

Note: If your password has a single ’ in it you must substitute it with ’’’’ for it to be properly escaped all the way through the process.

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning vCenter controls in the target vCenter, specifying an inputs file, enabling enhanced outcomes in InSpec, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file.

# Note this command is being ran from the root of the profile folder. Update paths as needed if running from a different location.
> inspec exec .\vcenter\ -t vmware:// --show-progress --input-file .\inputs-example.yml --enhanced-outcomes --reporter=cli json:C:\InSpec\Reports\MyvCenterReport.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [PASS]  VCSA-70-000291: The vCenter Server must limit membership to the "TrustedAdmins" Single Sign-On (SSO) group.
     [PASS]  Stderr should be empty if no users found is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  No users found in TrustedAdmins is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  Stderr should be empty if no groups found is expected to be empty
     [PASS]  No groups found in TrustedAdmins is expected to be empty
  [FAIL]  VCSA-70-000292: The vCenter server configuration must be backed up on a regular basis.
     [FAIL]  File based backups should be enabled. is expected to cmp == "true"

     expected: true
          got:

     (compared using `cmp` matcher)

  [PASS]  VCSA-70-000293: vCenter task and event retention must be set to at least 30 days.
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: Get-AdvancedSetting -Entity $global:DefaultViServers.Name -Name event.maxAge | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "30"
     [PASS]  PowerCLI Command: Get-AdvancedSetting -Entity $global:DefaultViServers.Name -Name task.maxAge | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "30"
  [N/R]  VCSA-70-000294: vCenter Native Key Providers must be backed up with a strong password.
     [SKIP]  This must be reviewed manually

Profile Summary: 19 successful controls, 16 control failures, 22 controls not reviewed, 0 controls not applicable, 0 controls have error
Test Summary: 52 successful, 19 failures, 22 skipped

Run a combined scan for all vSphere product controls

Instead of running each STIG for product controls separately you can also run all of the vCenter, ESXi, and VM controls for a combined report.

# Note this command is being ran from the root of the profile folder. Update paths as needed if running from a different location.
> inspec exec . -t vmware:// --show-progress --input-file .\inputs-example.yml --reporter=cli json:C:\InSpec\Reports\MyvSphereReport.json

Using the InSpec runner script

For accredidation purposes there may be a requirement to produce a CKL file for each ESXi host and/or VM.

We have also created a PowerCLI script that acts as a runner for InSpec to loop through a list of hosts or VMs and then produce a json report for each and if the SAF CLI is installed also create a CKL file.

Currently we have an example for doing this with ESXi hosts available here.

With this script you can also provide an attestation file that will be applied to the results and incorporated into the CKL file.

To use the runner script, do the following:

# If not done already provide the credentials for InSpec to connect to vCenter.
# Note: VISERVER is referencing vCenter and not an ESXi host.
> $env:VISERVER='10.186.30.81'
> $env:VISERVER_USERNAME='Administrator@vsphere.local'
> $env:VISERVER_PASSWORD='password'
# Note: If your password has a single ' in it you must substitute it with '''' for it to be properly escaped all the way through the process.
# Adjust the paths in the command as needed. The inspec and inputs paths in the example are assuming this is being ran from the root of the InSpec profile folder.
> C:\github\VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_ESXi_InSpec_Runner.ps1 -vcenter 10.182.131.166 -reportPath C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner -inspecPath .\esxi\ -inputsfile .\inputs-example.yml

# You will be prompted for credentials to vCenter. This is to connect via PowerCLI before running InSpec to collect all of the host names to use as an input to InSpec for each individual host audit.
8:48:29 AM ...Enter credentials to connect to vCenter

PowerShell credential request
Enter credentials for vCenter
User: administrator@vsphere.local
Password for user administrator@vsphere.local: ****************

8:48:44 AM ...Connecting to vCenter Server 10.182.131.166
8:48:47 AM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all ESXi hosts in vCenter: 10.182.131.166
8:48:48 AM ...Validated path for report at C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner
8:48:48 AM ...Report path is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner and report file is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner\VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.182.131.186-5-19-2023_8-48-29.json
8:48:48 AM ...Running InSpec exec against 10.182.131.186 with inspec exec $inspecPath -t vmware:// --input vmhostName=$name --input-file $inputsFile --show-progress --reporter=json:$reportFile
FFF......FFFFF....FFFF.FFFF.*...***********...FF.FF.....F.F..FFFF..FFF***FFFF.FFF.FF.FF....FFFFFF..F...***FF*FF*FF**...***...FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.FFFFF...................FF....FF...............................*......*FFF......*......F..FF..F....FF.***FF....FF....FF.**FFFFFFF.F...*
8:51:49 AM ...Detected saf cli...generating STIG Viewer Checklist for 10.182.131.186
8:51:53 AM ...Report path is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner and report file is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner\VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.182.132.6-5-19-2023_8-48-29.json
8:51:53 AM ...Running InSpec exec against 10.182.132.6 with inspec exec $inspecPath -t vmware:// --input vmhostName=$name --input-file $inputsFile --show-progress --reporter=json:$reportFile
FFF......FFFFF....FFFF.FFFF.*...***********...FF.FF.....F.F..FFFF..FFF***FFFF.FFF.FF.FF....FFFFFF..F...***FF*FF*FF**...***...FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.FFFFF...................FF....FF...............................*......*FFF......*......F..FF..F....FF.***FF....FF....FF.**FFFFFFF.F...*
8:54:54 AM ...Detected saf cli...generating STIG Viewer Checklist for 10.182.132.6
8:54:59 AM ...Report path is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner and report file is C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner\VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.182.138.1-5-19-2023_8-48-29.json
8:54:59 AM ...Running InSpec exec against 10.182.138.1 with inspec exec $inspecPath -t vmware:// --input vmhostName=$name --input-file $inputsFile --show-progress --reporter=json:$reportFile
FFF......FFFFF....FFFF.FFFF.*...***********...FF.FF.....F.F..FFFF..FFF***FFFF.FFF.FF.FF....FFFFFF..F...***FF*FF*FF**...***...FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.FFFFF...................FF....FF...............................*......*FFF......*......F..FF..F....FF.***FF....FF....FF.**FFFFFFF.F...*
8:57:50 AM ...Detected saf cli...generating STIG Viewer Checklist for 10.182.138.1
8:57:54 AM ...Disconnecting from vCenter

# Resulting output
> dir C:\inspec\Reports\Runner\

    Directory: C:\Inspec\Reports\Runner

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---           5/19/2023  8:51 AM         507413 VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.182.131.186-5-19-2023_8-48-29.ckl
-a---           5/19/2023  8:51 AM         580793 VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.182.131.186-5-19-2023_8-48-29.json
-a---           5/19/2023  8:54 AM         507403 VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.182.132.6-5-19-2023_8-48-29.ckl
-a---           5/19/2023  8:54 AM         580816 VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.182.132.6-5-19-2023_8-48-29.json
-a---           5/19/2023  8:57 AM         507403 VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.182.138.1-5-19-2023_8-48-29.ckl
-a---           5/19/2023  8:57 AM         580787 VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_ESXi_Inspec_Report_10.182.138.1-5-19-2023_8-48-29.json

Auditing vCenter (Appliance Controls)

Auditing the vCenter appliance is done over SSH which must be enabled for the scan.

Update the default shell for root

The default shell for root must be changed to /bin/bash before running. The appliance shell causes issues with some controls running.

# SSH to vCenter
Connected to service

    * List APIs: "help api list"
    * List Plugins: "help pi list"
    * Launch BASH: "shell"

Command> shell.set --enabled true
Command> shell
Shell access is granted to root
root@sc1-10-182-131-166 [ ~ ]# chsh -s /bin/bash root

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning the vCenter appliance, specifying an inputs file, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file.

Updating the inputs file is not required for this profile but the inputs-vcsa-7.0.yml should be specified because it contains inputs for the Photon profile.

# Note this command is being ran from the root of the profile folder. Update paths as needed if running from a different location.
> inspec exec . -t ssh://root@10.182.131.166 --password 'password' --show-progress --input-file .\inputs-vcsa-7.0.yml --reporter=cli json:C:\InSpec\Reports\MyVCSAReport.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  [PASS]  VCUI-70-000028: vSphere UI must use a logging mechanism that is configured to allocate log record storage capacity large enough to accommodate the logging requirements of the web server.
     [PASS]  Command: `rpm -V vsphere-ui|grep serviceability.xml|grep "^..5......"` stdout.strip is expected to eq ""
  [PASS]  VCUI-70-000029: vSphere UI log files must be moved to a permanent repository in accordance with site policy.
     [PASS]  Command: `rpm -V VMware-visl-integration|grep vmware-services-vsphere-ui.conf|grep "^..5......"` stdout.strip is expected to eq ""
  [PASS]  VCUI-70-000030: vSphere UI must be configured with the appropriate ports.
     [PASS]  5090 is expected to eq "5090"
     [PASS]  443 is expected to eq "443"
  [PASS]  VCUI-70-000031: vSphere UI must disable the shutdown port.
     [PASS]  XML /usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/conf/server.xml ["/Server/@port"] is expected to cmp == "${shutdown.port}"
     [PASS]  JSON /etc/vmware/vmware-vmon/svcCfgfiles/vsphere-ui.json StartCommandArgs is expected to include "-Dshutdown.port=-1"
  [PASS]  VCUI-70-000032: vSphere UI must set the secure flag for cookies.
     [PASS]  XML /usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/conf/web.xml /web-app/session-config/cookie-config/secure is expected to cmp == "true"
  [PASS]  VCUI-70-000033: The vSphere UI default servlet must be set to "readonly".
     [PASS]  XML /usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/conf/web.xml /web-app/servlet[servlet-name="default"]/init-param[param-name="readonly"]/param-value is expected to eq []


Profile Summary: 313 successful controls, 17 control failures, 0 controls skipped
Test Summary: 1516 successful, 106 failures, 0 skipped

Convert the results to CKL

If a STIG Viewer CKL file is needed then the results from the scans can be converted to CKL with the SAF CLI.

# Converting the VCSA scan results from the prior section to CKL
saf convert hdf2ckl -i C:\inspec\Reports\MyVCSAReport.json -o C:\inspec\Reports\MyVCSAReport.ckl --hostname 10.182.131.166 --fqdn myvcenter.local --ip 10.182.131.166 --mac 00:00:00:00:00:00

Opening the CKL file in STIG Viewer will look like the screenshot below. Note the InSpec results are included in the Finding Details pane.
STIG Viewer Checklist

2.4 - Remediate vSphere 7

Remediating vSphere 7 for STIG Compliance

Overview

Remediating vSphere for STIG compliance involves configuring ESXi, Virtual Machines, vCenter, and the vCenter appliance.

When remediating vSphere we will split up tasks between product and appliance based controls which are defined as follows:

Product Control: Configurations that interact with the Product via the User Interface or API that are exposed to administrators. Whether these are Default or Non-Default, the risk of mis-configuration effecting availability of the product is low but could impact how the environment is operated if not assessed.
Appliance Control: Appliance controls deal with the underlying components (databases, web servers, Photon OS, etc) that make up the product. Altering these add risk to product availability without precautionary steps and care in implementation. Identifying and relying on Default settings in this category makes this category less risky (Default Appliance Controls should be seen as a positive).

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to try the versions listed here.

The vSphere 7.0 PowerCLI scripts downloaded.
The vmware-vcsa-7.0-stig-ansible-hardening playbook downloaded.
Powershell 7.3.4/PowerCLI 13.1
VMware.Vsphere.SsoAdmin PowerCLI Module 1.3.9
A vSphere 7.x environment. 7.0 U3l was used in these examples.
An account with sufficient privileges to configure vSphere.

Create Powershell credential for vCenter connection

The PowerCLI scripts provided use a Powershell Credential stored in a varialbe to authenticate to vCenter and should be established before attempting to run the scripts.

# Run the following command to generate a credential. Substitute the username as needed in your environment. Note if ran in Powershell 5.x on Windows this will popup a window to enter the credentials.
$vccred = Get-Credential

PowerShell credential request
Enter your credentials.
User: administrator@vsphere.local
Password for user administrator@vsphere.local: ****************

Remediating ESXi product controls

To remediate ESXi hosts we have provided a PowerCLI script that will target a single host or a vSphere cluster based on parameters provided to the script.

Note: There are some controls that cannot be remediated with PowerCLI and are not addressed by this script. The output will indicate that these are manual controls.

Gather environment information

In order to run the script effectively it must be provided with the organizations environment specific information.

Review the below parameters and gather the information needed to run the script:

[CmdletBinding()]
param (
  [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
  [string]$vcenter,
  [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
  [pscredential]$vccred,
  [Parameter(Mandatory = $true, ParameterSetName = "hostname")]
  [string]$hostname,
  [Parameter(Mandatory = $true, ParameterSetName = "cluster")]
  [string]$cluster,
  [Parameter(Mandatory = $false,
    HelpMessage = "Enter the path for the output report. Example /tmp")]
  [string]$reportpath,    
  [Parameter(Mandatory = $true,
    HelpMessage = "Enter the Active Directory Admins group to use for administrative access to ESXi")]
  [string]$esxAdminGroup,
  [Parameter(Mandatory = $true,
    HelpMessage = "Enter allowed IP ranges for the ESXi firewall in comma separated format.  For Example `"192.168.0.0/16`",`"10.0.0.0/8`" ")]
  [string[]]$allowedIPs,
  [Parameter(Mandatory = $false,
    HelpMessage = "Enter the syslog server for the ESXi server(s). Example tcp://log.domain.local:514")]
  [string]$syslogServer,
  [Parameter(Mandatory = $false,
    HelpMessage = "Enable this option if VMware vRealize Log Insight is used to manage syslog on the ESXi host(s).")]
  [switch]$logInsight,
  [Parameter(Mandatory = $true,
    HelpMessage = "Enter NTP servers.  For Example `"10.1.1.1`",`"10.1.1.2`" ")]
  [string[]]$ntpServers,
  [Parameter(Mandatory = $false,
    HelpMessage = "Specify the native VLAN Id configured on the ports going to the ESXi Hosts.  If none is specified the default of 1 will be used.")]
  [string]$nativeVLAN = "1"
)

Disabling Controls

The script includes varialbes to enable or disable controls by STIG ID. All controls are all enabled by default and can be turned off by changing these variables to $false for a specific control.

A snippet of these variables is shown below.

##### Enable or Disable specific STIG Remediations #####
$controlsenabled = [ordered]@{
  ESXI70000001 = $true  #Lockdown Mode
  ESXI70000002 = $true  #DCUI.Access List
  ESXI70000003 = $true  #Lockdown Mode Exceptions
  ESXI70000004 = $true  #Syslog

Run remediation script on target ESXi hosts

# Running the script.
> .\VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_ESXi_Remediation.ps1 -vcenter 10.182.131.166 -vccred $vccred -cluster "cluster0" -esxAdminGroup "MyESXiGroup" -allowedIPs "10.0.0.0/8" -ntpServers "time-a-g.nist.gov","time-b-g.nist.gov" -syslogServer "tcp://loginsight.vmware.com:514" -reportpath C:\Temp

# Snippet from the output of running the script.
Transcript started, output file is C:\Temp\VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_ESXi_Remediation_Transcript_5-25-2023_9-26-8.txt
9:26:09 AM ...Core detected...checking for VMware.PowerCLI
9:26:09 AM ...Trying to import module VMware.PowerCLI
9:27:13 AM ...Connecting to vCenter 10.182.131.166
9:27:16 AM ...Gathering info on target hosts in 10.182.131.166
9:27:19 AM ...Found host 10.182.131.186
9:27:19 AM ...Found host 10.182.132.6
9:27:19 AM ...Found host 10.182.138.1
9:27:19 AM ...Remediating STIG ID:ESXI-70-000002 with Title: The ESXi host must verify the DCUI.Access list.
9:27:20 AM ...Setting DCUI.Access is already configured correctly to root on 10.182.131.186
9:27:20 AM ...Setting DCUI.Access is already configured correctly to root on 10.182.132.6
9:27:20 AM ...Setting DCUI.Access is already configured correctly to root on 10.182.138.1
9:27:20 AM ...Remediating STIG ID:ESXI-70-000003 with Title: The ESXi host must verify the exception users list for lockdown mode.
9:27:20 AM ...No exception users found on 10.182.131.186
9:27:20 AM ...No exception users found on 10.182.132.6
9:27:21 AM ...No exception users found on 10.182.138.1
9:27:21 AM ...Remediating STIG ID:ESXI-70-000004 with Title: Remote logging for ESXi hosts must be configured.
9:27:21 AM ...Setting Syslog.global.logHost was incorrectly set to  on 10.182.131.186...setting to tcp://loginsight.vmware.com:514

Name                 Value                Type                 Description
----                 -----                ----                 -----------
Syslog.global.logHo… tcp://loginsight.vm… VMHost
9:27:25 AM ...Setting Syslog.global.logHost was incorrectly set to  on 10.182.132.6...setting to tcp://loginsight.vmware.com:514
Syslog.global.logHo… tcp://loginsight.vm… VMHost
9:27:28 AM ...Setting Syslog.global.logHost was incorrectly set to  on 10.182.138.1...setting to tcp://loginsight.vmware.com:514
Syslog.global.logHo… tcp://loginsight.vm… VMHost

# A results file and Powershell transcript is provided in the report path specified.
Directory: C:\Temp

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---           5/25/2023  9:30 AM           6224 VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_ESXi_Remediation_Results_5-25-2023_9-26-8.json
-a---           5/25/2023  9:30 AM          89142 VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_ESXi_Remediation_Transcript_5-25-2023_9-26-8.txt

Remediating virtual machines product controls

To remediate virtual machines we have provided a PowerCLI script that will target a single VM, all VMs in a cluster, or all VMs in vCenter based on parameters provided to the script.

Note: There are some controls that cannot be remediated with PowerCLI and are not addressed by this script. See the scripts description text for more details.

Disabling Controls

Run remediation script on target virtual machines

# Running the script.
> .\VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_VM_Remediation.ps1 -vcenter 10.182.131.166 -vccred $vccred -cluster "cluster0" -reportpath C:\Temp

# Snippet from the output of running the script.
Transcript started, output file is C:\Temp\VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_VM_Remediation_Transcript_5-25-2023_10-19-28.txt
10:19:28 AM ...Core detected...checking for VMware.PowerCLI
10:19:28 AM ...Connecting to vCenter Server 10.182.131.166
10:19:31 AM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all virtual machines in cluster: cluster0
10:19:31 AM ...Remediating advanced settings on stig space test on 10.182.131.166
10:19:31 AM ...Setting isolation.device.connectable.disable does not exist on stig space test creating setting...

Name                 Value                Type                 Description
----                 -----                ----                 -----------
isolation.device.co… True                 VM
10:19:34 AM ...Setting isolation.tools.copy.disable does not exist on stig space test creating setting...
isolation.tools.cop… True                 VM
10:19:36 AM ...Setting isolation.tools.diskShrink.disable does not exist on stig space test creating setting...
isolation.tools.dis… True                 VM

# A results file and Powershell transcript is provided in the report path specified.
Directory: C:\Temp

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---           5/25/2023 10:20 AM           1055 VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_VM_Remediation_Results_5-25-2023_10-19-28.json
-a---           5/25/2023 10:22 AM          13150 VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_VM_Remediation_Transcript_5-25-2023_10-19-28.txt

Remediating vCenter product controls

To remediate vCenter we have provided a PowerCLI script that will target a single vCenter server.

Note: There are some controls that cannot be remediated with PowerCLI and are not addressed by this script. The output will indicate that these are manual controls.

Gather environment information

In order to run the script effectively it must be provided with the organizations environment specific information.

Review the below parameters and gather the information needed to run the script:

[CmdletBinding()]
param (
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
  [string]$vcenter,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
  [pscredential]$vccred,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="Enter the path for the output report. Example /tmp")]
  [string]$reportpath,
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="If Netflow is used enter the collector IP address")]
  [string]$vcNetflowCollectorIp = "",
  [Parameter(Mandatory=$false,
  HelpMessage="To disable Netflow on all port groups if enabled set to true")]
  [boolean]$vcNetflowDisableonallPortGroups = $false
)

Disabling Controls

The script includes varialbes to enable or disable controls by STIG ID. All controls are all enabled by default and can be turned off by changing these variables to $false for a specific control.

A snippet of these variables is shown below.

##### Enable or Disable specific STIG Remediations #####
$controlsenabled = [ordered]@{
  VCSA7000009 = $true  #TLS 1.2
  VCSA7000023 = $true  #SSO Login Attempts
  VCSA7000024 = $true  #SSO Banner - Manual
  VCSA7000034 = $true  #config.log.level
  VCSA7000057 = $true  #Plugins - Manual

Run remediation script on target vCenter server

This example will remediate all controls on a target vCenter server.

# Running the script.
> .\VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_vCenter_Remediation.ps1 -vcenter 10.182.131.166 -vccred $vccred -reportpath C:\Temp

# Snippet from the output of running the script.
Transcript started, output file is C:\Temp\VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_ESXi_Remediation_Transcript_5-25-2023_11-30-58.txt
11:30:58 AM ...Core detected...checking for VMware.PowerCLI
11:30:58 AM ...Module VMware.PowerCLI is already imported.
11:30:58 AM ...Core detected...checking for VMware.Vsphere.SsoAdmin
11:30:58 AM ...Module VMware.Vsphere.SsoAdmin is already imported.
11:30:58 AM ...Connecting to vCenter Server 10.182.131.166
11:30:59 AM ...Connecting to vCenter SSO Server 10.182.131.166
11:31:00 AM ...Verifying vCenter 10.182.131.166 is version 7.0.x
11:31:00 AM ...vCenter 10.182.131.166 is version 7.0.3 continuing...
11:31:00 AM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all virtual distributed switches in vCenter: 10.182.131.166
11:31:01 AM ...Getting PowerCLI objects for all virtual distributed port groups in vCenter: 10.182.131.166
11:31:02 AM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-70-000009 with Title: The vCenter Server must use TLS 1.2, at a minimum, to protect the confidentiality of sensitive data during electronic dissemination using remote access.
11:31:02 AM ...!!This control must be remediated manually!!
11:31:02 AM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-70-000023 with Title: The vCenter Server must enforce the limit of three consecutive invalid logon attempts by a user.
11:31:02 AM ...SSO login attempts set incorrectly on 10.182.131.166
11:31:03 AM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-70-000024 with Title: The vCenter Server must display the Standard Mandatory DoD Notice and Consent Banner before logon.
11:31:03 AM ...!!This control must be remediated manually!!
11:31:03 AM ...Remediating STIG ID: VCSA-70-000034 with Title: The vCenter Server must produce audit records containing information to establish what type of events occurred.
11:31:03 AM ...Setting config.log.level is already configured correctly to info on 10.182.131.166

# A results file and Powershell transcript is provided in the report path specified.
Directory: C:\Temp

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---           5/25/2023 11:33 AM           2543 VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_vCenter_Remediation_Results_5-25-2023_11-33-25.json
-a---           5/25/2023 11:33 AM          18763 VMware_vSphere_7.0_STIG_vCenter_Remediation_Transcript_5-25-2023_11-33-25.txt

Remediating vCenter server appliance controls

To remediate vCenter we have provided an Ansible playbook that will target a single vCenter server appliance over SSH and configure any non-compliant controls.

Since Ansible can only be ran from Linux based systems, the examples below are being ran on an Ubuntu 22.04 WSL2 instance on Windows 11 for reference.

Backups

Before running it is highly advised to have a backup of the VCSA and/or snapshot available if a rollback is required. Also the playbook will backup files configured before updates and place them under the /tmp directory in a folder directly on the VCSA.

Update the default shell for root

The default shell for root must be changed to /bin/bash before running. The appliance shell causes issues with some controls running.

# SSH to vCenter
Connected to service

    * List APIs: "help api list"
    * List Plugins: "help pi list"
    * Launch BASH: "shell"

Command> shell.set --enabled true
Command> shell
Shell access is granted to root
root@sc1-10-182-131-166 [ ~ ]# chsh -s /bin/bash root

Ansible dependencies

The playbook is written to use the separate Photon 3.0 playbook we have avaiable and must be installed as a role prior to running.

Also there are two ansible collections that must be installed if on a version of Ansible newer than 2.9.

# Installing playbook requirements from the requirements.yml file provided.
ansible-galaxy roles install -r requirements.yml

Running the playbook

To run all of the VCSA controls, follow the example below.

# The -k parameter will prompt for password and we are using extra-vars to specify a variable file for the playbook to use.
> ansible-playbook -i 10.182.131.166, -u root playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-vcenter-7.0U3eplus.yml

# Output example
SSH password:

PLAY [all] ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

TASK [Gathering Facts] ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.182.131.166]

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : Include Photon] **************************************************************************************************************************************************************
included: /home/rlakey/.ansible/roles/vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening/tasks/photon.yml for 10.182.131.166

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : Create time stamp] ***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.182.131.166] => {"ansible_facts": {"backup_timestamp": "2023-05-25-12-25-58"}, "changed": false}

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : Backup files...if restoring be sure to restore permissions that original file had!!] *****************************************************************************************
ok: [10.182.131.166] => (item=/etc/rsyslog.conf) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "changed": false, "checksum": "7aa11dc58f144160e7e3dc2d40cb2f03a39a989c", "dest": "/tmp/ansible-backups-2023-05-25-12-25-58/rsyslog.conf", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "item": "/etc/rsyslog.conf", "md5sum": "d31d58ff2bbc5cff6b7f343c2580300c", "mode": "0644", "owner": "root", "size": 4000, "src": "/etc/rsyslog.conf", "state": "file", "uid": 0}
ok: [10.182.131.166] => (item=/etc/issue) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "changed": false, "checksum": "930cb25fc842aca6047cb9fc1bfbd6ea191e686f", "dest": "/tmp/ansible-backups-2023-05-25-12-25-58/issue", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "item": "/etc/issue", "md5sum": "f498b74a84aaa39e292d9b815899144d", "mode": "0644", "owner": "root", "size": 104, "src": "/etc/issue", "state": "file", "uid": 0}
ok: [10.182.131.166] => (item=/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "changed": false, "checksum": "38f324fe67c6943e07ef1910b41dedeb0b256ca4", "dest": "/tmp/ansible-backups-2023-05-25-12-25-58/audit.STIG.rules", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "item": "/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules", "md5sum": "396d715044fc7a8d92a0332d3edb4112", "mode": "0640", "owner": "root", "size": 5080, "src": "/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules", "state": "file", "uid": 0}

TASK [vmware-photon-3.0-stig-ansible-hardening : PHTN-30-000001 - Update/Create audit.STIG.rules file] ************************************************************************************************************************
changed: [10.182.131.166] => {"changed": true, "checksum": "aaafa4e8c28743ce3cc22c818f28f4cb9a3f53b2", "dest": "/etc/audit/rules.d/audit.STIG.rules", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "md5sum": "91a31e7bbf9e3f0d7f390feb4360581b", "mode": "0640", "owner": "root", "size": 5180, "src": "/root/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1685039234.3606877-890-106251101523760/source", "state": "file", "uid": 0}

A more conservative and preferred approach is to target any non-compliant controls or run each component separately allowed you to perform any functional testing in between.

# Providing the tag "eam" will instruct the playbook to only run the eam role. This tag can be seen in each roles task/main.yml file.
> ansible-playbook -i 10.182.131.166, -u root playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-vcenter-7.0U3eplus.yml --tags eam

# Providing the tag "VCEM-70-000001" will instruct the playbook to only run task tagged with the STIG ID of VCEM-70-000001.
> ansible-playbook -i 10.182.131.166, -u root playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-vcenter-7.0U3eplus.yml --tags VCEM-70-000001

3 - Cloud Foundation

Performing compliance automation tasks for VMware Cloud Foundation.

3.1 - Audit Cloud Foundation 5.x

Auditing VCF 5.x for STIG Compliance

Overview

Auditing VCF for STIG compliance involves scanning the SDDC Manager appliance.

Scanning other components of a VCF deployment such as vSphere and NSX is documented in those sections on this site.

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to try the versions listed here.

InSpec/CINC Auditor 6.6.0
SAF CLI 1.4.0
STIG Viewer 2.17
A VCF 5.x environment.
An account with access to VCF.

Assumptions

Commands are being ran from a Linux machine. Windows will also work but paths and commands may need to be adjusted from the examples.
The DOD Compliance and Automation repository downloaded and extracted to /usr/share/stigs.
CINC Auditor is used in lieu of InSpec. If InSpec is used replace cinc-auditor with inspec when running commands.

Auditing SDDC Manager

Important

The example commands below are specific to the product version and the supported STIG content for the version you are running. Select the example command tabs for the version in your environment.

Generate bearer token for SDDC Manager

The SDDC Manager InSpec profile connects to the API via a bearer token to query some configurations when auditing.

This example uses curl to generate a token. This can also be done via other methods such as Postman or the UI as shown below.

curl -k 'https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/tokens' -i -X POST \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -H 'Accept: application/json' \
    -d '{
  "username" : "administrator@vsphere.local",
  "password" : "replaceme"
}'

curl -k 'https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/tokens' -i -X POST \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -H 'Accept: application/json' \
    -d '{
  "username" : "administrator@vsphere.local",
  "password" : "replaceme"
}'

curl -k 'https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/tokens' -i -X POST \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -H 'Accept: application/json' \
    -d '{
  "username" : "administrator@vsphere.local",
  "password" : "replaceme"
}'

A token can also be generated UI by going to the Developer Center » API Explorer » Tokens.
Token Generation

Retrieve token by copying the value in the accessToken field.
Token Retrieval

Update profile inputs

Included in the vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-baseline is an example inputs file with variables relevant to SDDC Manager. This is used to provide InSpec with values specific to the environment being audited.

Open the inputs file for editing.

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vcf/5.x/v1r3-srg/inspec/vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-baseline/

# Edit the inputs file
vi inputs-vcf-sddcmgr-example.yml

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vcf/5.x/v1r2-srg/inspec/vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-baseline/

# Edit the inputs file
vi inputs-vcf-sddcmgr-example.yml

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vcf/5.x/v1r1-srg/inspec/vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-baseline/

# Edit the inputs file
vi inputs-vcf-sddcmgr-example.yml

Update the inputs as shown below with values relevant to your environment. Specifically syslogServer,sddcManager,bearerToken,sftpBackupsEnabled,sftpServer,ntpServers,currentVersion,and myVmwareAccount.

# SDDC Manager Application
# Enter SDDC Manager FQDN/IP
sddcManager: 'sddc-manager.vsphere.local'
# Enter bearer token for API based tests
bearerToken: 'Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJqd...'
# Set to true if file based/sftp backups are used for SDDC Manager. Set to false if image based backups are used.
sftpBackupsEnabled: true
# Enter environment specific sftp server.
sftpServer: '10.1.2.3'
# Enter environment specific ntp servers. This is an array.
ntpServers: ['time-a-g.nist.gov','time-b-g.nist.gov']
# Enter latest version of SDDC manager with build. 5.2.0.0
currentVersion: '5.2.0.0'
# Enter myvmware account used to pull updates in SDDC Manager if used.
myVmwareAccount: 'myvmwarevcfaccount@test.local'
# !!DO NOT EDIT THE VALUES BELOW!!
# Inputs for Photon OS.
authprivlog: /var/log/messages
sshdcommand: "sshd -T -C 'user=vcf'"
# Enter environment specific syslog server with port. replace.local:514
syslogServer: 'replace.local:514'
# Inputs for PostgreSQL. No updates needed.
postgres_user: postgres
pg_data_dir: /data/pgdata/
pg_log_dir: /var/log/postgres
pg_owner: postgres
pg_group: users

# Inputs for Photon OS.
authprivlog: /var/log/messages
sshdcommand: "sshd -T -C 'user=vcf'"
# Enter environment specific syslog server with port. replace.local:514
syslogServer: 'replace.local:514'
# Inputs for PostgreSQL. No updates needed.
postgres_user: postgres
pg_data_dir: /data/pgdata/
pg_log_dir: /var/log/postgres
pg_owner: postgres
pg_group: users
# SDDC Manager Application
# Enter SDDC Manager FQDN/IP
sddcManager: 'sddc-manager.vsphere.local'
# Enter bearer token for API based tests
bearerToken: 'Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJqd...'
# Set to true if file based/sftp backups are used for SDDC Manager. Set to false if image based backups are used.
sftpBackupsEnabled: true
# Enter environment specific sftp server.
sftpServer: '10.1.2.3'
# Enter environment specific ntp servers. This is an array.
ntpServers: ['time-a-g.nist.gov','time-b-g.nist.gov']
# Enter latest version of SDDC manager with build.
currentVersion: '5.1.0.0-22688368'
# Enter myvmware account used to pull updates in SDDC Manager if used.
myVmwareAccount: 'myvmwarevcfaccount@test.local'

# Inputs for Photon OS.
authprivlog: /var/log/audit/auth.log
sshdcommand: "sshd -T -C 'user=vcf'"
# Enter environment specific syslog server with port. replace.local:514
syslogServer: 'replace.local:514'
# Inputs for PostgreSQL. No updates needed.
postgres_user: postgres
pg_data_dir: /data/pgdata/
pg_log_dir: /var/log/postgres
pg_owner: postgres
pg_group: users
# SDDC Manager Application
# Enter SDDC Manager FQDN/IP
sddcManager: 'sddc-manager.vsphere.local'
# Enter bearer token for API based tests
bearerToken: 'Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJqd...'
# Set to true if file based/sftp backups are used for SDDC Manager. Set to false if image based backups are used.
sftpBackupsEnabled: true
# Enter environment specific sftp server.
sftpServer: '10.1.2.3'
# Enter environment specific ntp servers. This is an array.
ntpServers: ['time-a-g.nist.gov','time-b-g.nist.gov']
# Enter latest version of SDDC manager with build. 5.0.0.0-21822418
currentVersion: '5.0.0.0-21822418'
# Enter myvmware account used to pull updates in SDDC Manager if used.
myVmwareAccount: 'myvmwarevcfaccount@test.local'

Update the SSH config to allow scan

By default the SDDC Manager appliance does not allow root SSH and the vcf does not have the required privileges to complete the scan so root SSH must be temporarily enabled to complete the scan. These steps can be reversed once the audit is complete.

# Allow root SSH into SDDC manager
ssh vcf@sddc-manager.vsphere.local
su -
vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# Update PermitRootLogin from no to yes and save
systemctl restart sshd

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning a target SDDC Manager, specifying an inputs file, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file ran from a linux machine.

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vcf/5.x/v1r3-srg/inspec/vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-baseline/

# Run InSpec
cinc-auditor exec . -t ssh://root@sddc-manager.vsphere.local --password 'replaceme' --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file inputs-vcf-sddcmgr-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/VCF_5.2.0_SDDC_Manager_STIG_Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  ✔  CFUI-5X-000019: The SDDC Manager UI service log files must only be accessible by privileged users.
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/access.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/access.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/access.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddc-manager-ui-activity.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddc-manager-ui-activity.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddc-manager-ui-activity.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/cspViolationReport.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/cspViolationReport.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/cspViolationReport.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddcManagerServer.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddcManagerServer.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddcManagerServer.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/supervisor.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/supervisor.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/supervisor.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.server.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.server.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.server.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.client.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.client.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.client.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
  ✔  CFUI-5X-000022: The SDDC Manager UI service must offload logs to a centralized logging server.
     ✔  File /etc/rsyslog.d/stig-services-sddc-manager-ui-app.conf content is expected to eq "module(load=\"imfile\" mode=\"inotify\")\ninput(type=\"imfile\"\n      File=\"/var/log/vmware/vcf/sd...     Tag=\"vcf-sddc-manager-ui-app-user-logs\"\n      Severity=\"info\"\n      Facility=\"local0\")"
  ✔  CFUI-5X-000034: The SDDC Manager UI service must have Web Distributed Authoring (WebDAV) disabled.
     ✔  Command: `(cd /opt/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/server/node_modules/ && npm list 2>/dev/null | grep webdav)` stdout.strip is expected to eq ""
  ✔  CFUI-5X-000044: The SDDC Manager UI service directory tree must be secured.
     ✔  Command: `find /opt/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/ -xdev -type f -a '(' -perm -o+w -o -not -user vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app -o -not -group vcf ')' -exec ls -ld {} \;` stdout.strip is expected to eq ""

Profile Summary: 200 successful controls, 9 control failures, 0 controls skipped
Test Summary: 974 successful, 21 failures, 0 skipped

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vcf/5.x/v1r2-srg/inspec/vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-baseline/

# Run InSpec
cinc-auditor exec . -t ssh://root@sddc-manager.vsphere.local --password 'replaceme' --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file inputs-vcf-sddcmgr-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/VCF_5.1.0_SDDC_Manager_STIG_Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  ✔  CFUI-5X-000019: The SDDC Manager UI service log files must only be accessible by privileged users.
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/access.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/access.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/access.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddc-manager-ui-activity.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddc-manager-ui-activity.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddc-manager-ui-activity.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/cspViolationReport.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/cspViolationReport.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/cspViolationReport.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddcManagerServer.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddcManagerServer.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddcManagerServer.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/supervisor.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/supervisor.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/supervisor.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.server.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.server.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.server.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.client.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.client.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.client.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
  ✔  CFUI-5X-000022: The SDDC Manager UI service must offload logs to a centralized logging server.
     ✔  File /etc/rsyslog.d/stig-services-sddc-manager-ui-app.conf content is expected to eq "module(load=\"imfile\" mode=\"inotify\")\ninput(type=\"imfile\"\n      File=\"/var/log/vmware/vcf/sd...     Tag=\"vcf-sddc-manager-ui-app-user-logs\"\n      Severity=\"info\"\n      Facility=\"local0\")"
  ✔  CFUI-5X-000034: The SDDC Manager UI service must have Web Distributed Authoring (WebDAV) disabled.
     ✔  Command: `(cd /opt/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/server/node_modules/ && npm list 2>/dev/null | grep webdav)` stdout.strip is expected to eq ""
  ✔  CFUI-5X-000044: The SDDC Manager UI service directory tree must be secured.
     ✔  Command: `find /opt/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/ -xdev -type f -a '(' -perm -o+w -o -not -user vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app -o -not -group vcf ')' -exec ls -ld {} \;` stdout.strip is expected to eq ""

Profile Summary: 200 successful controls, 9 control failures, 0 controls skipped
Test Summary: 974 successful, 21 failures, 0 skipped

# Navigate to the InSpec profile folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vcf/5.x/v1r1-srg/inspec/vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-baseline/

# Run InSpec
cinc-auditor exec . -t ssh://root@sddc-manager.vsphere.local --password 'replaceme' --show-progress --enhanced-outcomes --input-file inputs-vcf-sddcmgr-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/VCF_5.0.0_SDDC_Manager_STIG_Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
  ✔  CFUI-5X-000019: The SDDC Manager UI service log files must only be accessible by privileged users.
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/access.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/access.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/access.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddc-manager-ui-activity.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddc-manager-ui-activity.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddc-manager-ui-activity.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/cspViolationReport.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/cspViolationReport.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/cspViolationReport.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddcManagerServer.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddcManagerServer.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddcManagerServer.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/supervisor.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/supervisor.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/supervisor.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.server.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.server.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.server.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.client.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.client.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/user-logs/administrator-vsphere.local/administrator.client.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
  ✔  CFUI-5X-000022: The SDDC Manager UI service must offload logs to a centralized logging server.
     ✔  File /etc/rsyslog.d/stig-services-sddc-manager-ui-app.conf content is expected to eq "module(load=\"imfile\" mode=\"inotify\")\ninput(type=\"imfile\"\n      File=\"/var/log/vmware/vcf/sd...     Tag=\"vcf-sddc-manager-ui-app-user-logs\"\n      Severity=\"info\"\n      Facility=\"local0\")"
  ✔  CFUI-5X-000034: The SDDC Manager UI service must have Web Distributed Authoring (WebDAV) disabled.
     ✔  Command: `(cd /opt/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/server/node_modules/ && npm list 2>/dev/null | grep webdav)` stdout.strip is expected to eq ""
  ✔  CFUI-5X-000044: The SDDC Manager UI service directory tree must be secured.
     ✔  Command: `find /opt/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/ -xdev -type f -a '(' -perm -o+w -o -not -user vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app -o -not -group vcf ')' -exec ls -ld {} \;` stdout.strip is expected to eq ""

Profile Summary: 200 successful controls, 9 control failures, 0 controls skipped
Test Summary: 974 successful, 21 failures, 0 skipped

Convert the results to CKL

If a STIG Viewer CKL file is needed then the results from the scans can be converted to CKL with the SAF CLI.

# Converting the VCSA scan results from the prior section to CKL
saf convert hdf2ckl -i /tmp/reports/VCF_5.1.0_SDDC_Manager_STIG_Report.json -o /tmp/reports/VCF_5.1.0_SDDC_Manager_STIG_Report.ckl --hostname sddc-manager.vsphere.local --fqdn sddc-manager.vsphere.local --ip 10.2.3.4 --mac 00:00:00:00:00:00

Opening the CKL file in STIG Viewer will look like the screenshot below. Note the InSpec results are included in the Finding Details pane.
STIG Viewer Checklist

3.2 - Remediate Cloud Foundation 5.x

Remediating VCF 5.x for STIG Compliance

Overview

Remediating VCF for STIG compliance involves running an Ansible playbook against the target SDDC Manager appliance over SSH to configure any non-compliant controls.

Remediating other components of a VCF deployment such as vSphere and NSX is documented in those sections on this site.

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to try the versions listed here.

Ansible 2.14.2
A VCF 5.x environment.
An account with access to VCF.

Assumptions

The DOD Compliance and Automation repository downloaded and extracted to /usr/share/stigs.
Ansible installed and all playbook dependencies resolved as provided in the requirements.yml file in each playbook. Install with ansible-galaxy roles install -r requirements.yml.
The dependent Photon OS Ansible roles(Photon 3.0 for VCF 5.0.x and Photon 4 for VCF 5.1.x and 5.2.x) installed and available. Verify role installation with ansible-galaxy role list.

Remediating SDDC Manager

Important

The example commands below are specific to the product version and the supported STIG content for the version you are running. Select the example command tabs for the version in your environment.

Warning

Before running it is highly advised to have a backup of the SDDC Manager and/or snapshot available if a rollback is required. Also the playbook will backup files configured before updates and place them under the /tmp directory in a folder directly on the SDDC Manager appliance.

Generate bearer token for SDDC Manager

The SDDC Manager Ansible playbook connects to the API via a bearer token to update product controls while the appliance controls are configured via SSH.

This example uses curl to generate a token. This can also be done via other methods such as Postman or the UI as shown below.

curl -k 'https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/tokens' -i -X POST \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -H 'Accept: application/json' \
    -d '{
  "username" : "administrator@vsphere.local",
  "password" : "replaceme"
}'

curl -k 'https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/tokens' -i -X POST \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -H 'Accept: application/json' \
    -d '{
  "username" : "administrator@vsphere.local",
  "password" : "replaceme"
}'

curl -k 'https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/tokens' -i -X POST \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -H 'Accept: application/json' \
    -d '{
  "username" : "administrator@vsphere.local",
  "password" : "replaceme"
}'

A token can also be generated UI by going to the Developer Center » API Explorer » Tokens.
Token Generation

Retrieve token by copying the value in the accessToken field.
Token Retrieval

Update vars file

In order to run the playbook, environment specific values need to be provided. An example vars file vars-sddcmgr-example.yml is provided.

Open the inputs file for editing.

# Navigate to the Ansible playbook folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vcf/5.x/v1r3-srg/ansible/vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-ansible-hardening

# Edit the vars file
vi vars-sddcmgr-example.yml

# Navigate to the Ansible playbook folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vcf/5.x/v1r2-srg/ansible/vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-ansible-hardening

# Edit the vars file
vi vars-sddcmgr-example.yml

# Navigate to the Ansible playbook folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vcf/5.x/v1r1-srg/ansible/vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-ansible-hardening

# Edit the vars file
vi vars-sddcmgr-example.yml

Update the variables as shown below with values relevant to your environment. Specifically var_sddc_manager, var_bearer_token, var_time_servers, var_password_rotate_days.

# General
run_create_backups: true

# Photon OS
create_backups: true
run_etc_issue_dod: true
var_rsyslog_server_name: 'syslog.test.local'
var_rsyslog_server_port: '514'
var_rsyslog_server_protocol: 'tcp'

# Application
# Enter SDDC Manager FQDN or IP for API Calls
var_sddc_manager: 'sddc-manager.vsphere.local'
# Enter generated bearer token here
var_bearer_token: ''
# Enter an array of 1 to 2 NTP servers
var_time_servers:
  - 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
  - 'time-b-g.nist.gov'
# Between 30 and 90
var_password_rotate_days: 90

# General
run_create_backups: true

# Photon OS
create_backups: true
run_etc_issue_dod: true
var_rsyslog_server_name: 'syslog.test.local'
var_rsyslog_server_port: '514'
var_rsyslog_server_protocol: 'tcp'

# Application
# Enter SDDC Manager FQDN or IP for API Calls
var_sddc_manager: 'sddc-manager.vsphere.local'
# Enter generated bearer token here
var_bearer_token: ''
# Enter an array of 1 to 2 NTP servers
var_time_servers:
  - 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
  - 'time-b-g.nist.gov'
# Between 30 and 90
var_password_rotate_days: 90

# General
run_create_backups: true

# Photon OS
var_syslog_authpriv_log: '/var/log/audit/auth.log'
## Update login banner with DoD banner
run_sshd_banner_issue: true
# NTP is covered in the Application controls
run_set_ntp_server: false

# Application
# Enter SDDC Manager FQDN or IP for API Calls
var_sddc_manager: 'sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local'
# Enter generated bearer token here
var_bearer_token: 'UNDT1VOVF9XUklURSIsIk5FVFdPUktfUE9PTF9SRUFEIi'
# Enter an array of 1 to 2 NTP servers
var_time_servers:
  - 'time-a-g.nist.gov'
  - 'time-b-g.nist.gov'
# Between 30 and 90
var_password_rotate_days: 90

Update the SSH config to allow scan

# Allow root SSH into SDDC manager
ssh vcf@sddc-manager.vsphere.local
su -
vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# Update PermitRootLogin from no to yes and save
systemctl restart sshd

Running the playbook

To run all of the SDDC Manager controls, follow the example below.

# Navigate to the Ansible playbook folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vcf/5.x/v1r3-srg/ansible/vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-ansible-hardening

# The -k parameter will prompt for password and we are using extra-vars to specify a variable file for the playbook to use. Command assume it is being ran from the playbook folder.
> ansible-playbook -i 10.0.0.4, -u 'root' playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-sddcmgr-example.yml

# Output example
TASK [application : CFAP-5X-000127 - Set credential rotate policy] ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
changed: [10.0.0.4] => {"cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": true, "connection": "close", "content_type": "application/json", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:19:36 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "json": {"id": "f0f9e481-9555-46ea-bbc0-76d144323fe6", "status": "IN_PROGRESS"}, "location": "https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/tasks/f0f9e481-9555-46ea-bbc0-76d144323fe6", "msg": "OK (unknown bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "server": "nginx", "status": 202, "transfer_encoding": "chunked", "url": "https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/credentials", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff", "x_frame_options": "DENY", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

TASK [application : CFAP-5X-000127 - Wait for task to complete] ***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.0.0.4] => {"attempts": 1, "cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": false, "connection": "close", "content_type": "application/json;charset=UTF-8", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:19:37 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "json": {"creationTimestamp": "2023-06-01T18:19:36.784Z", "errors": [], "id": "f0f9e481-9555-46ea-bbc0-76d144323fe6", "isCancellable": false, "name": "Credentials update auto rotate policy operation", "resolutionStatus": "UNRESOLVED", "status": "SUCCESSFUL", "subTasks": [{"completionTimestamp": "2023-06-01T18:19:36.784Z", "creationTimestamp": "2023-06-01T18:19:36.784Z", "description": "Prevalidation of password update auto rotate policy request", "name": "Password update auto rotate policy prevalidation", "status": "SUCCESSFUL"}], "type": "PASSWORD_AUTO_ROTATE_POLICY_UPDATE"}, "msg": "OK (unknown bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "referrer_policy": "no-referrer", "server": "nginx", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=15768000", "transfer_encoding": "chunked", "url": "https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/tasks/f0f9e481-9555-46ea-bbc0-76d144323fe6", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff, nosniff", "x_frame_options": "DENY, SAMEORIGIN", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

TASK [application : CFAP-5X-000128 - The SDDC Manager must use an account dedicated for downloading updates and patches.] *****************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.0.0.4] => {
    "msg": "CFAP-5X-000128 - This control must be manually remediated."
}

TASK [application : CFAP-5X-000129 - Get current basic auth status] ***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.0.0.4] => {"cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": false, "connection": "close", "content_type": "application/json;charset=UTF-8", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:19:39 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "json": {"basicAuthDetails": {"status": "ENABLED", "username": "admin"}, "domain": {"id": "529797b0-1b5c-4f90-a956-44b2398edba9"}, "fqdn": "sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local", "id": "dd56c751-49b5-4a69-957c-009a7ea79147", "ipAddress": "10.0.0.4", "version": "5.0.0.0-21822418"}, "msg": "OK (unknown bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "referrer_policy": "no-referrer", "server": "nginx", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=15768000", "transfer_encoding": "chunked", "url": "https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/sddc-manager", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff, nosniff", "x_frame_options": "DENY, SAMEORIGIN", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

TASK [application : CFAP-5X-000129 - Disable Basic Auth] **********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
changed: [10.0.0.4] => {"cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": true, "connection": "close", "content_length": "0", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:19:40 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "msg": "OK (0 bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "referrer_policy": "no-referrer", "server": "nginx", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=15768000", "url": "https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/sddc-manager", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff, nosniff", "x_frame_options": "DENY, SAMEORIGIN", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

# Navigate to the Ansible playbook folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vcf/5.x/v1r2-srg/ansible/vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-ansible-hardening

# The -k parameter will prompt for password and we are using extra-vars to specify a variable file for the playbook to use. Command assume it is being ran from the playbook folder.
> ansible-playbook -i 10.0.0.4, -u 'root' playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-sddcmgr-example.yml

# Output example
TASK [application : CFAP-5X-000127 - Set credential rotate policy] ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
changed: [10.0.0.4] => {"cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": true, "connection": "close", "content_type": "application/json", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:19:36 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "json": {"id": "f0f9e481-9555-46ea-bbc0-76d144323fe6", "status": "IN_PROGRESS"}, "location": "https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/tasks/f0f9e481-9555-46ea-bbc0-76d144323fe6", "msg": "OK (unknown bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "server": "nginx", "status": 202, "transfer_encoding": "chunked", "url": "https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/credentials", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff", "x_frame_options": "DENY", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

TASK [application : CFAP-5X-000127 - Wait for task to complete] ***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.0.0.4] => {"attempts": 1, "cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": false, "connection": "close", "content_type": "application/json;charset=UTF-8", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:19:37 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "json": {"creationTimestamp": "2023-06-01T18:19:36.784Z", "errors": [], "id": "f0f9e481-9555-46ea-bbc0-76d144323fe6", "isCancellable": false, "name": "Credentials update auto rotate policy operation", "resolutionStatus": "UNRESOLVED", "status": "SUCCESSFUL", "subTasks": [{"completionTimestamp": "2023-06-01T18:19:36.784Z", "creationTimestamp": "2023-06-01T18:19:36.784Z", "description": "Prevalidation of password update auto rotate policy request", "name": "Password update auto rotate policy prevalidation", "status": "SUCCESSFUL"}], "type": "PASSWORD_AUTO_ROTATE_POLICY_UPDATE"}, "msg": "OK (unknown bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "referrer_policy": "no-referrer", "server": "nginx", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=15768000", "transfer_encoding": "chunked", "url": "https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/tasks/f0f9e481-9555-46ea-bbc0-76d144323fe6", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff, nosniff", "x_frame_options": "DENY, SAMEORIGIN", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

TASK [application : CFAP-5X-000128 - The SDDC Manager must use an account dedicated for downloading updates and patches.] *****************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.0.0.4] => {
    "msg": "CFAP-5X-000128 - This control must be manually remediated."
}

TASK [application : CFAP-5X-000129 - Get current basic auth status] ***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.0.0.4] => {"cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": false, "connection": "close", "content_type": "application/json;charset=UTF-8", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:19:39 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "json": {"basicAuthDetails": {"status": "ENABLED", "username": "admin"}, "domain": {"id": "529797b0-1b5c-4f90-a956-44b2398edba9"}, "fqdn": "sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local", "id": "dd56c751-49b5-4a69-957c-009a7ea79147", "ipAddress": "10.0.0.4", "version": "5.0.0.0-21822418"}, "msg": "OK (unknown bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "referrer_policy": "no-referrer", "server": "nginx", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=15768000", "transfer_encoding": "chunked", "url": "https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/sddc-manager", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff, nosniff", "x_frame_options": "DENY, SAMEORIGIN", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

TASK [application : CFAP-5X-000129 - Disable Basic Auth] **********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
changed: [10.0.0.4] => {"cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": true, "connection": "close", "content_length": "0", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:19:40 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "msg": "OK (0 bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "referrer_policy": "no-referrer", "server": "nginx", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=15768000", "url": "https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/sddc-manager", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff, nosniff", "x_frame_options": "DENY, SAMEORIGIN", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

# Navigate to the Ansible playbook folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vcf/5.x/v1r1-srg/ansible/vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-ansible-hardening

# The -k parameter will prompt for password and we are using extra-vars to specify a variable file for the playbook to use. Command assume it is being ran from the playbook folder.
> ansible-playbook -i 10.0.0.4, -u 'root' playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-sddcmgr-example.yml

# Output example
TASK [application : CFAP-5X-000127 - Set credential rotate policy] ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
changed: [10.0.0.4] => {"cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": true, "connection": "close", "content_type": "application/json", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:19:36 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "json": {"id": "f0f9e481-9555-46ea-bbc0-76d144323fe6", "status": "IN_PROGRESS"}, "location": "https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/tasks/f0f9e481-9555-46ea-bbc0-76d144323fe6", "msg": "OK (unknown bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "server": "nginx", "status": 202, "transfer_encoding": "chunked", "url": "https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/credentials", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff", "x_frame_options": "DENY", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

TASK [application : CFAP-5X-000127 - Wait for task to complete] ***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.0.0.4] => {"attempts": 1, "cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": false, "connection": "close", "content_type": "application/json;charset=UTF-8", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:19:37 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "json": {"creationTimestamp": "2023-06-01T18:19:36.784Z", "errors": [], "id": "f0f9e481-9555-46ea-bbc0-76d144323fe6", "isCancellable": false, "name": "Credentials update auto rotate policy operation", "resolutionStatus": "UNRESOLVED", "status": "SUCCESSFUL", "subTasks": [{"completionTimestamp": "2023-06-01T18:19:36.784Z", "creationTimestamp": "2023-06-01T18:19:36.784Z", "description": "Prevalidation of password update auto rotate policy request", "name": "Password update auto rotate policy prevalidation", "status": "SUCCESSFUL"}], "type": "PASSWORD_AUTO_ROTATE_POLICY_UPDATE"}, "msg": "OK (unknown bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "referrer_policy": "no-referrer", "server": "nginx", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=15768000", "transfer_encoding": "chunked", "url": "https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/tasks/f0f9e481-9555-46ea-bbc0-76d144323fe6", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff, nosniff", "x_frame_options": "DENY, SAMEORIGIN", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

TASK [application : CFAP-5X-000128 - The SDDC Manager must use an account dedicated for downloading updates and patches.] *****************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.0.0.4] => {
    "msg": "CFAP-5X-000128 - This control must be manually remediated."
}

TASK [application : CFAP-5X-000129 - Get current basic auth status] ***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.0.0.4] => {"cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": false, "connection": "close", "content_type": "application/json;charset=UTF-8", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:19:39 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "json": {"basicAuthDetails": {"status": "ENABLED", "username": "admin"}, "domain": {"id": "529797b0-1b5c-4f90-a956-44b2398edba9"}, "fqdn": "sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local", "id": "dd56c751-49b5-4a69-957c-009a7ea79147", "ipAddress": "10.0.0.4", "version": "5.0.0.0-21822418"}, "msg": "OK (unknown bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "referrer_policy": "no-referrer", "server": "nginx", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=15768000", "transfer_encoding": "chunked", "url": "https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/sddc-manager", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff, nosniff", "x_frame_options": "DENY, SAMEORIGIN", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

TASK [application : CFAP-5X-000129 - Disable Basic Auth] **********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
changed: [10.0.0.4] => {"cache_control": "no-cache, no-store, max-age=0, must-revalidate", "changed": true, "connection": "close", "content_length": "0", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:19:40 GMT", "elapsed": 0, "expires": "0", "msg": "OK (0 bytes)", "pragma": "no-cache", "redirected": false, "referrer_policy": "no-referrer", "server": "nginx", "status": 200, "strict_transport_security": "max-age=15768000", "url": "https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/sddc-manager", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff, nosniff", "x_frame_options": "DENY, SAMEORIGIN", "x_xss_protection": "1; mode=block"}

A more conservative and preferred approach is to target any non-compliant controls or run each component separately allowed you to perform any functional testing in between.

# Navigate to the Ansible playbook folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vcf/5.x/v1r3-srg/ansible/vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-ansible-hardening

# Providing the tag "application" will instruct the playbook to only run the application role. This tag can be seen in each roles task/main.yml file.
> ansible-playbook -i 10.0.0.4, -u 'root' playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-sddcmgr-example.yml --tags application

# Providing the tag "CFAP-5X-000002" will instruct the playbook to only run task tagged with the STIG ID of CFAP-5X-000002.
> ansible-playbook -i 10.0.0.4, -u 'root' playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-sddcmgr-example.yml --tags CFAP-5X-000002

# Navigate to the Ansible playbook folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vcf/5.x/v1r2-srg/ansible/vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-ansible-hardening

# Providing the tag "application" will instruct the playbook to only run the application role. This tag can be seen in each roles task/main.yml file.
> ansible-playbook -i 10.0.0.4, -u 'root' playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-sddcmgr-example.yml --tags application

# Providing the tag "CFAP-5X-000002" will instruct the playbook to only run task tagged with the STIG ID of CFAP-5X-000002.
> ansible-playbook -i 10.0.0.4, -u 'root' playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-sddcmgr-example.yml --tags CFAP-5X-000002

# Navigate to the Ansible playbook folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/vcf/5.x/v1r1-srg/ansible/vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-5x-stig-ansible-hardening

# Providing the tag "application" will instruct the playbook to only run the application role. This tag can be seen in each roles task/main.yml file.
> ansible-playbook -i 10.0.0.4, -u 'root' playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-sddcmgr-example.yml --tags application

# Providing the tag "CFAP-5X-000002" will instruct the playbook to only run task tagged with the STIG ID of CFAP-5X-000002.
> ansible-playbook -i 10.0.0.4, -u 'root' playbook.yml -k -v --extra-vars @vars-sddcmgr-example.yml --tags CFAP-5X-000002

3.3 - Audit Cloud Foundation 4.x

Auditing VCF 4.x for STIG Compliance

Overview

Auditing VCF for STIG compliance involves scanning the SDDC Manager appliance.

Scanning other components of a VCF deployment such as vSphere and NSX is documented in those sections on this site.

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to try the versions listed here.

The vmware-cloud-foundation-sddcmgr-4x-stig-baseline profile downloaded.
The vmware-photon-3.0-stig-inspec-baseline profile downloaded.
InSpec/Cinc Auditor 5.22.3
SAF CLI 1.2.20
STIG Viewer 2.17
A VCF 4.x environment. 4.5.1 was used in these examples.
An account with access to VCF.

Auditing SDDC Manager

Generate bearer token for SDDC Manager

The SDDC Manager InSpec profile connects to the API via a bearer token to query the configurations to audit.

This is a curl example. This can also be done via other methods such as Postman.

# Ran from a Linux machine.
curl -k 'https://sddc-manager.vrack.vsphere.local/v1/tokens' -i -X POST \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -H 'Accept: application/json' \
    -d '{
  "username" : "administrator@vsphere.local",
  "password" : "replaceme"
}'

A token can also be generated UI by going to the Developer Center » API Explorer » Tokens.
Token Generation

Retrieve token by copying the value in the accessToken field.
Token Retrieval

Update profile inputs

Included in the vmware-vcf-sddcmgr-4x-stig-baseline is an example inputs-vcf-sddcmgr-4x-example file with the following inputs relevant to SDDC Manager.

# Inputs for NGINX
nginx_conf_path: /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
limit_conn_ip_limit: '100'
limit_conn_server_limit: '1000'
nginx_ssl_ciphers: 'ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256'
# Inputs for Photon OS.
authprivlog: /var/log/audit/auth.log
sshdcommand: "sshd -T -C 'user=vcf'"
# Enter environment specific syslog server with port. replace.local:514
syslogServer: 'replace.local:514'
# SDDC Manager Application
# Enter SDDC Manager FQDN/IP
sddcManager: 'sddc-manager.vsphere.local'
# Enter bearer token for API based tests
bearerToken: 'Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.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.Wqxti-ZId624KeH5vF'
# Set to true if file based/sftp backups are used for SDDC Manager. Set to false if image based backups are used.
sftpBackupsEnabled: true
# Enter environment specific sftp server.
sftpServer: '10.1.2.3'
# Enter environment specific ntp servers. This is an array.
ntpServers: ['time-a-g.nist.gov','time-b-g.nist.gov']
# Enter latest version of SDDC manager with build. 4.5.1.0-21682411
currentVersion: '4.5.1.0-21682411'
# Enter myvmware account used to pull updates in SDDC Manager if used.
myVmwareAccount: 'myvmwarevcfaccount@test.local'

Update the SSH config to allow scan

By default the SDDC Manager appliance does not allow root SSH and the vcf does not have the required privileges to complete the scan so root SSH must be temporarily enabled to complate the scan. These steps can be reversed once the audit is complete.

# Allow root SSH into SDDC manager
ssh vcf@sddc-manager.vsphere.local
su -
vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# Update PermitRootLogin from no to yes and save
systemctl restart sshd

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning a target SDDC Manager, specifying an inputs file, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file ran from a linux machine.

# Note this command is being ran from the root of the profile folder. Update paths as needed if running from a different location.
> inspec exec . -t ssh://root@sddc-manager.vsphere.local --password 'replaceme' --show-progress --input-file inputs-vcf-sddcmgr-4x-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/VCF_4.5.1_SDDC_Manager_STIG_Report.json

# Shown below is the last part of the output at the CLI.
Profile:   VMware Cloud Foundation SDDC Manager UI Profile (VMware Cloud Foundation SDDC Manager UI Profile)
Version:   1.0.4
Target:    ssh://root@10.0.0.4:22
Target ID: 3cb5cfd9-709c-564d-b529-36fb03269263

  ✔  CFUI-4X-000001: The SDDC Manager UI service log files must only be accessible by privileged users.
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/access.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/access.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/access.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/supervisor.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/supervisor.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/supervisor.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddcManagerServer.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddcManagerServer.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddcManagerServer.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/cspViolationReport.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/cspViolationReport.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/cspViolationReport.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddc-manager-ui-activity.log is expected not to be writable by others
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddc-manager-ui-activity.log group is expected to cmp == "vcf"
     ✔  File /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/sddc-manager-ui-activity.log owner is expected to cmp == "vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app"
  ✔  CFUI-4X-000002: The SDDC Manager UI service files must be verified for their integrity.
     ✔  Command: `rpm -V sddc-manager-ui-app | grep \"^..5......\"|grep -v -E "|\.properties"` stdout.strip is expected to eq ""
  ✔  CFUI-4X-000003: The SDDC Manager UI service must have WebDAV disabled.
     ✔  Command: `(cd /opt/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/server/node_modules/ && npm list 2>/dev/null | grep webdav)` stdout.strip is expected to eq ""
  ✔  CFUI-4X-000004: The SDDC Manager UI service directory tree must have permissions in an "out of the box" state.
     ✔  Command: `find /opt/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/ -xdev -type f -a '(' -perm -o+w -o -not -user vcf_sddc_manager_ui_app -o -not -group vcf ')' -exec ls -ld {} \;` stdout.strip is expected to eq ""
  ✔  CFUI-4X-000005: The SDDC Manager UI service log files must be moved to a permanent repository in accordance with site policy.
     ✔  File /etc/rsyslog.d/stig-services-sddc-manager-ui-app.conf content is expected to eq "module(load=\"imfile\" mode=\"inotify\")\ninput(type=\"imfile\"\n      File=\"/var/log/vmware/vcf/sd...\"\n      Tag=\"vcf-sddc-manager-ui-app-misc\"\n      Severity=\"info\"\n      Facility=\"local0\")"
  ×  CFUI-4X-000006: The SDDC Manager UI service systemd service definition permissions must be configured appropriately. (2 failed)
     ×  File /etc/systemd/system/sddc-manager-ui-app.service is expected not to be more permissive than "0640"
     expected `File /etc/systemd/system/sddc-manager-ui-app.service.more_permissive_than?("0640")` to be falsey, got true
     ✔  File /etc/systemd/system/sddc-manager-ui-app.service group is expected to cmp == "root"
     ✔  File /etc/systemd/system/sddc-manager-ui-app.service owner is expected to cmp == "root"
     ×  File /etc/systemd/system/sddc-manager-ui-db.service is expected not to be more permissive than "0640"
     expected `File /etc/systemd/system/sddc-manager-ui-db.service.more_permissive_than?("0640")` to be falsey, got true
     ✔  File /etc/systemd/system/sddc-manager-ui-db.service group is expected to cmp == "root"
     ✔  File /etc/systemd/system/sddc-manager-ui-db.service owner is expected to cmp == "root"


Profile Summary: 199 successful controls, 19 control failures, 2 controls skipped
Test Summary: 691 successful, 36 failures, 4 skipped

Convert the results to CKL

If a STIG Viewer CKL file is needed then the results from the scans can be converted to CKL with the SAF CLI.

# Converting the VCSA scan results from the prior section to CKL
saf convert hdf2ckl -i /tmp/reports/VCF_4.5.1_SDDC_Manager_STIG_Report.json -o /tmp/reports/VCF_4.5.1_SDDC_Manager_STIG_Report.ckl --hostname sddc-manager.vsphere.local --fqdn sddc-manager.vsphere.local --ip 10.2.3.4 --mac 00:00:00:00:00:00

Opening the CKL file in STIG Viewer will look like the screenshot below. Note the InSpec results are included in the Finding Details pane.
STIG Viewer Checklist

4 - Aria

Performing compliance automation tasks for Aria Suite products.

4.1 - Audit VMware Aria Automation 8

Auditing VMware Aria Automation 8.x for STIG Compliance

Overview

Auditing VMware Aria Automation for STIG compliance involves scanning the application, the Kubernetes and Docker services running on the appliance, and the underlying Photon OS.

When auditing VMware Aria Automation we will split up tasks between product and appliance based controls which are defined as follows:

Product Control: Configurations that interact with the Product via the User Interface or API that are exposed to administrators. Whether these are Default or Non-Default, the risk of mis-configuration affecting availability of the product is low but could impact how the environment is operated if not assessed.
Appliance Control: Appliance controls deal with the underlying components (databases, web servers, Photon OS, etc.) that make up the product. Altering these add risk to product availability if precautionary steps and care in implementation are not taken. Identifying and relying on Default settings in this category makes this category less risky (Default Appliance Controls should be seen as a positive).

The VMware Aria Automation auditing uses InSpec over an SSH connection. It is recommended to disable SSH after the auditing is complete.

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to utilize the versions listed here.

The vmware-aria-automation-8x-stig-baseline profile downloaded.
The vmware-photon-4.0-stig-baseline profile downloaded.
InSpec/Cinc Auditor 6.6.0
SAF CLI 1.4.0
STIG Viewer 2.17
A VMware Aria Automation environment. Version 8.18 was used in these examples.
An account with SSH access to VMware Aria Automation.

Assumptions

Commands are initiated from a Linux machine. Windows will also work but paths and commands may need to be adjusted from the examples.
The DOD Compliance and Automation repository downloaded and extracted to /usr/share/stigs.
CINC Auditor is used in lieu of InSpec. If InSpec is used replace cinc-auditor with inspec when running commands.

Auditing VMware Aria Automation

Update profile inputs

Included in each of the vmware-vra-8x-stig-baseline sub-folders (aria-automation, docker, and kubernetes) is an inspec input file named ‘inspec.yml’. Additionally, at the top level, an inputs.yml file can be created that “rolls up” all of the variables into one file, and can be utilized at the command line.

Evaluate each of the input files (aria-automation/inspec.yml, docker\inspec.yml, kubernetes\inspec.yml), and if any of the input variables need to be over-ridden, then make sure those variables are included in the top level inputs.yml file. Examples are provided below.

VMware Aria Automation - Sample Inputs

syslogHost: "log.test.local"
ntpServers: "['time1.server.org', 'time2.server.org']"
maxAuthTries: "2"

Update the SSH config to allow scan

If the VMware Aria Automation appliance has SSH access disabled, the scans will not be able to run. SSH must be temporarily enabled to complete the scan, then can be disabled again once the audit is complete.

# Connect to the console through vCenter
vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# Update PermitRootLogin from no to yes and save
systemctl restart sshd

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning a target VMware Aria Automation appliance, specifying an inputs file, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file.

# Note this command is run from the root of the profile folder. Update paths as needed (instead of '.', use './path/to/profile') if running from a different location.
> cinc-auditor exec . -t ssh://root@aria-automation.domain.path --password 'replaceme' --show-progress --input-file inputs.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/Aria_Automation_8x_STIG_Report.json

# Shown below is example output at the CLI.
  ✔  PHTN-40-000227: The Photon operating system must not send IPv4 Internet Control Message Protocol redirects.
     ✔  Kernel Parameter net.ipv4.conf.all.send_redirects value is expected to cmp == 0
     ✔  Kernel Parameter net.ipv4.conf.default.send_redirects value is expected to cmp == 0
  ✔  PHTN-40-000228: The Photon operating system must log IPv4 packets with impossible addresses.
     ✔  Kernel Parameter net.ipv4.conf.all.log_martians value is expected to cmp == 1
     ✔  Kernel Parameter net.ipv4.conf.default.log_martians value is expected to cmp == 1
  ✔  PHTN-40-000229: The Photon operating system must use a reverse-path filter for IPv4 network traffic.
     ✔  Kernel Parameter net.ipv4.conf.all.rp_filter value is expected to cmp == 1
     ✔  Kernel Parameter net.ipv4.conf.default.rp_filter value is expected to cmp == 1

Profile Summary: zz successful controls, zz control failures, zz controls skipped
Test Summary: zz successful, zz failures, zz skipped

Convert the results to CKL

If a STIG Viewer Checklist (CKL) file is needed then the results from the scans can be converted to CKL with the SAF CLI.

# Converting the scan results from the prior section to CKL
saf convert hdf2ckl -i /tmp/reports/Aria_Automation_8x_STIG_Report.json -o /tmp/reports/Aria_Automation_8x_STIG_Report.ckl --hostname aria-automation --fqdn aria-automation.domain.path --ip 10.10.10.20 --mac 00:00:00:00:00:00

Opening the CKL file in STIG Viewer will look like the example screenshot below. Note the InSpec results are included in the Finding Details pane.
STIG Viewer Checklist

4.2 - Remediate VMware Aria Automation 8

Remediating VMware Aria Automation 8.x for STIG Compliance

Overview

Remediating VMware Aria Automation for STIG compliance includes the application, the Kubernetes and Docker services running on the appliance, and the underlying Photon OS.

Remediating the application controls is currently a manual process. Please refer to the Photon, Kubernetes, and Docker documentation for details on remediating those controls with the provided Ansible content.

4.3 - Audit VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle 8

Auditing VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle for STIG Compliance

Overview

Auditing VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle for STIG compliance involves scanning the NGINX and vpostgres components, the underlying Photon OS, and the application itself.

When auditing VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle we will split up tasks between product and appliance based controls which are defined as follows:

Product Control: Configurations that interact with the Product via the User Interface or API that are exposed to administrators. Whether these are Default or Non-Default, the risk of mis-configuration effecting availability of the product is low but could impact how the environment is operated if not assessed.
Appliance Control: Appliance controls deal with the underlying components (databases, web servers, Photon OS, etc) that make up the product. Altering these add risk to product availability if precautionary steps and care in implementation are not taken. Identifying and relying on Default settings in this category makes this category less risky (Default Appliance Controls should be seen as a positive).

To audit VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle using InSpec we utilize the ssh transport which connects to the appliance via ssh and performs queries. It is recommended to disable SSH on the appliance after the auditing is complete.

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to utilize the versions listed here.

The vmware-vrslcm-8.x-stig-baseline profile downloaded.
InSpec/Cinc Auditor 6.6.0
SAF CLI 1.4.0
STIG Viewer 2.17
A VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle environment. Version 8.18 was used in these examples.
An account with SSH access to VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle.

Assumptions

Commands are initiated from a Linux machine. Windows will also work but paths and commands may need to be adjusted from the examples.
The DOD Compliance and Automation repository downloaded and extracted to /usr/share/stigs.
CINC Auditor is used in lieu of InSpec. If InSpec is used replace cinc-auditor with inspec when running commands.

Auditing VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle

Update profile inputs

Included in each of the vmware-vrslcm-8.x-stig-baseline sub-folders (application, nginx, photon, and vpostgres) is an inspec input file named ‘inspec.yml’. Additionally, at the top level, an inputs-example.yml file is included that “rolls up” all of the variables into one file, and can be edited and utilized at the command line.

Evaluate each of the input files (application/inspec.yml, nginx/inspec.yml, photon/inspec.yml, vpostgres/inspec.yml), and if any of the input variables need to be over-ridden, then make sure those variables are included in the top level inputs-example.yml file. Examples are provided below.

VMware Aria Operations for Logs - Sample Inputs

# Application
hostname:                         "lifecycle.domain"
username:                         "admin@local"
password:                         "password"
ntpServers:                       ["time-a-b.nist.gov", "time-a-c.nist.gov"] 

# NGINX
limit_conn_server_limit:          "1000"
hsts_header:                      "max-age=31536000"
nginx_ssl_session_timeout:        "5m"
nginx_keepalive_timeout:          "65"

Update the SSH config to allow scan

If the VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle appliance has SSH access disabled, the scans will not be able to run. SSH must be temporarily enabled to complete the scan, then can be disabled again once the audit is complete.

# Connect to the console through vCenter
vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# Update PermitRootLogin from no to yes and save
systemctl restart sshd

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning a target VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle appliance, specifying an inputs file, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file.

# Note this command is run from the root of the profile folder. Update paths as needed (instead of '.', use './path/to/profile') if running from a different location.
> cinc-auditor exec . -t ssh://root@aria-lifecycle.domain.path --password 'replaceme' --show-progress --input-file inputs-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/Aria_Lifecycle_8x_STIG_Report.json

# Shown below is example output at the CLI.
  ✔  PHTN-30-000119: The Photon operating system must configure sshd to restrict AllowTcpForwarding.
     ✔  Command: `sshd -T|&grep -i allowtcpforwarding` stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "allowtcpforwarding no"
  ✔  PHTN-30-000120: The Photon operating system must configure sshd to restrict LoginGraceTime.
     ✔  Command: `sshd -T|&grep -i LoginGraceTime` stdout.strip is expected to cmp == "LoginGraceTime 30"
  ✔  PHTN-30-000240: The Photon operating system must implement NIST FIPS-validated cryptography for the following: to provision digital signatures, generate cryptographic hashes, and protect unclassified information requiring confidentiality and cryptographic protection in accordance with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, and standards.
     ✔  File /proc/sys/crypto/fips_enabled content is expected to cmp == 1
  ✔  PHTN-30-000245: The Photon operating system must disable systemd fallback Domain Name System (DNS).
     ✔  Command: `resolvectl status | grep 'Fallback DNS'` stdout is expected to cmp == ""


Profile Summary: zz successful controls, zz control failures, zz controls skipped
Test Summary: zz successful, zz failures, zz skipped

Convert the results to CKL

If a STIG Viewer Checklist (CKL) file is needed then the results from the scans can be converted to CKL with the SAF CLI.

# Converting the scan results from the prior section to CKL
saf convert hdf2ckl -i /tmp/reports/Aria_Lifecycle_8x_STIG_Report.json -o /tmp/reports/Aria_Lifecycle_8x_STIG_Report.ckl --hostname aria-lifecycle --fqdn aria-lifecycle.domain.path --ip 10.10.10.20 --mac 00:00:00:00:00:00

Opening the CKL file in STIG Viewer will look like the example screenshot below. Note the InSpec results are included in the Finding Details pane.
STIG Viewer Checklist

4.4 - Remediate VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle 8

Remediating VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle 8.x for STIG Compliance

Overview

Remediating VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle for STIG compliance involves configuring nginx, postgres, photon, and the appliance.

When remediating we will split up tasks between product and appliance based controls which are defined as follows:

Product Control: Configurations that interact with the Product via the User Interface or API that are exposed to administrators. Whether these are Default or Non-Default, the risk of mis-configuration effecting availability of the product is low but could impact how the environment is operated if not assessed.
Appliance Control: Appliance controls deal with the underlying components (databases, web servers, Photon OS, etc) that make up the product. Altering these add risk to product availability without precautionary steps and care in implementation. Identifying and relying on Default settings in this category makes this category less risky (Default Appliance Controls should be seen as a positive).

Ansible will be used to perform remediation.

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to try the versions listed here.

Ansible 2.16.7
A VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle 8.14 or newer environment.
An account with sufficient privileges to configure VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle.

Assumptions

Commands are initiated from a Linux machine.
The DOD Compliance and Automation repository downloaded and extracted to /usr/share/stigs.
Ansible installed and all playbook dependencies resolved as provided in the requirements.yml file in each playbook. Install with ansible-galaxy roles install -r requirements.yml.
The dependent Photon OS Ansible roles(Photon 3.0) installed and available. Verify role installation with ansible-galaxy role list.

Remediate VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle (Appliance and/or Product Controls)

Important

The example commands below are specific to the product version and the supported STIG content for the version you are running.

Warning

The playbook will attempt to backup configuration files before updating and place them under the /tmp directory in a folder directly on the appliance, but before remediating it is highly advised to have a backup and/or snapshot available if a rollback is required.

An Ansible playbook has been provided that will target a single VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle server over SSH and configure any non-compliant controls.

Running the playbook

To run all of the controls, follow the example below:

Navigate to the Ansible playbook folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/aria/lifecycle/8.x/v1r2-srg/ansible/vmware-vrslcm-8.x-stig-ansible-hardening
The -k parameter will prompt for password.
ansible-playbook -i 10.10.10.20, -u root playbook.yml -k -v -b
Output example:

SSH password:

PLAY [VRLCM 8.x Remediation Automation] *********************************************************************************

TASK [Gathering Facts] **************************************************************************************************
ok: [10.225.1.22]

TASK [nginx : Include nginx] ********************************************************************************************
included: /usr/stigs/LCM_ANSIBLE/vmware-vrlcm-8.x-stig-ansible-hardening/roles/nginx/tasks/nginx.yml for 10.225.1.22

TASK [nginx : Backup nginx.conf - Create time stamp] ********************************************************************
ok: [10.225.1.22] => {"ansible_facts": {"backup_timestamp": "2024-07-21-19-49-12"}, "changed": false}

TASK [nginx : Backup nginx.conf - If restoring be sure to restore permissions that original file had!!] *****************
ok: [10.225.1.22] => {"changed": false, "checksum": "a607028d0dca90b99f9288409d0943f", "dest": "/tmp/ansible-backups-vrlcm-nginx-2024-07-21-19-49-12/nginx.conf", "gid": 0, "group": "root", "md5sum": "dc629a0d27436898449629b", "mode": "0750", "owner": "root", "size": 7806, "src": "/etc/nginx/nginx.conf", "state": "file", "uid": 0}

TASK [nginx : VLMN-8X-000019 - Check log file permissions] **************************************************************
ok: [10.225.1.22] => {"changed": false, "cmd": "find /var/log/nginx/* -xdev -type f -a '(' -perm -640 -o -not -user root -o -not -group root ')' -exec ls {} \\;", "delta": "0:00:00.007661", "end": "2024-07-23 22:32:20.151514", "msg": "", "rc": 0, "start": "2024-07-23 22:32:20.143853", "stderr": "", "stderr_lines": [], "stdout": "/var/log/nginx/access.log\n/var/log/nginx/error.log", "stdout_lines": ["/var/log/nginx/access.log", "/var/log/nginx/error.log"]}

TASK [nginx : VLMN-8X-000019 - Verify and update file permissions] ******************************************************
changed: [10.225.1.22] => (item=/var/log/nginx/access.log) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "changed": true, "gid": 0, "group": "root", "item": "/var/log/nginx/access.log", "mode": "0640", "owner": "root", "path": "/var/log/nginx/access.log", "size": 165, "state": "file", "uid": 0}
changed: [10.225.1.22] => (item=/var/log/nginx/error.log) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "changed": true, "gid": 0, "group": "root", "item": "/var/log/nginx/error.log", "mode": "0640", "owner": "root", "path": "/var/log/nginx/error.log", "size": 533, "state": "file", "uid": 0}

....

PLAY RECAP **************************************************************************************************************
10.225.1.22      : ok=9    changed=1    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0

A more conservative and preferred approach is to target any non-compliant controls or run each component separately to allow for functional testing in between.
Providing the tag “nginx” will instruct the playbook to only run the nginx role. This tag can be seen in each role’s task/main.yml file.
ansible-playbook -i 10.10.10.20, -u root playbook.yml -k -v -b -t nginx
Providing the tag “VLMN-8X-000019” will instruct the playbook to only run the task tagged with the STIG ID of VLMN-8X-000019.
ansible-playbook -i 10.10.10.20, -u root playbook.yml -k -v -b -t VLMN-8X-000019

4.5 - Audit VMware Aria Operations for Logs 8

Auditing VMware Aria Operations for Logs 8.x for STIG Compliance

Overview

Auditing VMware Aria Operations for Logs for STIG compliance involves scanning the application, the cassandra and tc server services, and the underlying Photon OS.

When auditing VMware Aria Operations for Logs we will split up tasks between product and appliance based controls which are defined as follows:

Product Control: Configurations that interact with the Product via the User Interface or API that are exposed to administrators. Whether these are Default or Non-Default, the risk of mis-configuration affecting availability of the product is low but could impact how the environment is operated if not assessed.
Appliance Control: Appliance controls deal with the underlying components (databases, web servers, Photon OS, etc.) that make up the product. Altering these add risk to product availability if precautionary steps and care in implementation are not taken. Identifying and relying on Default settings in this category makes this category less risky (Default Appliance Controls should be seen as a positive).

The VMware Aria Operations for Logs auditing uses InSpec over an SSH connection. It is recommended to disable SSH after the auditing is complete.

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to utilize the versions listed here.

The vmware-vrli-8.x-stig-baseline profile downloaded.
The vmware-photon-4.0-stig-baseline profile downloaded.
InSpec/Cinc Auditor 6.6.0
SAF CLI 1.4.0
STIG Viewer 2.17
A VMware Aria Operations for Logs environment. Version 8.18 was used in these examples.
An account with SSH access to VMware Aria Operations for Logs.

Assumptions

Commands are initiated from a Linux machine. Windows will also work but paths and commands may need to be adjusted from the examples.
The DOD Compliance and Automation repository downloaded and extracted to /usr/share/stigs.
CINC Auditor is used in lieu of InSpec. If InSpec is used replace cinc-auditor with inspec when running commands.

Auditing VMware Aria Operations for Logs

Update profile inputs

Included in each of the vmware-vrli-8.x-stig-baseline sub-folders (ariaopslogs, cassandra, and tcserver) is an inspec input file named ‘inspec.yml’. Additionally, at the top level, an inputs-example.yml file is included that “rolls up” all of the variables into one file, and can be edited and utilized at the command line.

Evaluate each of the input files (ariaopslogs/inspec.yml, cassandra\inspec.yml, tcserver\inspec.yml), and if any of the input variables need to be over-ridden, then make sure those variables are included in the top level inputs-example.yml file. Examples are provided below.

VMware Aria Operations for Logs - Sample Inputs

# Application
apipath:                   "loginsight.domain:9543/api/v2"
username:                  "admin"
password:                  "PASSWORD"
ntpServers:                ["0.vmware.pool.ntp.org", "1.vmware.pool.ntp.org", "2.vmware.pool.ntp.org", "3.vmware.pool.ntp.org"]

# Cassandra
ipaddress:                 "10.10.10.10"

# tc Server
maxThreads:                "150"
minUmask:                  "0007"
connectionTimeout:         "20000"
maxKeepAliveRequests:      "50"
sessionTimeout:            "30"

# Photon
usePwqualityConf:          true
syslogServer:              "syslog.test.local:514"

Update the SSH config to allow scan

If the VMware Aria Operations for Logs appliance has SSH access disabled, the scans will not be able to run. SSH must be temporarily enabled to complete the scan, then can be disabled again once the audit is complete.

# Connect to the console through vCenter
vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# Update PermitRootLogin from no to yes and save
systemctl restart sshd

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning a target VMware Aria Operations for Logs appliance, specifying an inputs file, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file.

# Note this command is run from the root of the profile folder. Update paths as needed (instead of '.', use './path/to/profile') if running from a different location.
> cinc-auditor exec . -t ssh://root@aria-ops-logs.domain.path --password 'replaceme' --show-progress --input-file inputs-example.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/Aria_Ops_Logs_8x_STIG_Report.json

# Shown below is example output at the CLI.
  ✔  PHTN-40-000227: The Photon operating system must not send IPv4 Internet Control Message Protocol redirects.
     ✔  Kernel Parameter net.ipv4.conf.all.send_redirects value is expected to cmp == 0
     ✔  Kernel Parameter net.ipv4.conf.default.send_redirects value is expected to cmp == 0
  ✔  PHTN-40-000228: The Photon operating system must log IPv4 packets with impossible addresses.
     ✔  Kernel Parameter net.ipv4.conf.all.log_martians value is expected to cmp == 1
     ✔  Kernel Parameter net.ipv4.conf.default.log_martians value is expected to cmp == 1
  ✔  PHTN-40-000229: The Photon operating system must use a reverse-path filter for IPv4 network traffic.
     ✔  Kernel Parameter net.ipv4.conf.all.rp_filter value is expected to cmp == 1
     ✔  Kernel Parameter net.ipv4.conf.default.rp_filter value is expected to cmp == 1


Profile Summary: zz successful controls, zz control failures, zz controls skipped
Test Summary: zz successful, zz failures, zz skipped

Convert the results to CKL

If a STIG Viewer Checklist (CKL) file is needed then the results from the scans can be converted to CKL with the SAF CLI.

# Converting the scan results from the prior section to CKL
saf convert hdf2ckl -i /tmp/reports/Aria_Ops_Logs_8x_STIG_Report.json -o /tmp/reports/Aria_Ops_Logs_8x_STIG_Report.ckl --hostname aria-ops-logs --fqdn aria-ops-logs.domain.path --ip 10.10.10.20 --mac 00:00:00:00:00:00

Opening the CKL file in STIG Viewer will look like the example screenshot below. Note the InSpec results are included in the Finding Details pane.
STIG Viewer Checklist

4.6 - Remediate VMware Aria Operations for Logs 8

Remediating VMware Aria Operations for Logs 8.x for STIG Compliance

Overview

Remediating VMware Aria Operations for Logs for STIG compliance involves configuring cassandra, tc server, photon, and the appliance.

When remediating we will split up tasks between product and appliance based controls which are defined as follows:

Product Control: Configurations that interact with the Product via the User Interface or API that are exposed to administrators. Whether these are Default or Non-Default, the risk of mis-configuration effecting availability of the product is low but could impact how the environment is operated if not assessed.
Appliance Control: Appliance controls deal with the underlying components (databases, web servers, Photon OS, etc) that make up the product. Altering these add risk to product availability without precautionary steps and care in implementation. Identifying and relying on Default settings in this category makes this category less risky (Default Appliance Controls should be seen as a positive).

Ansible will be used to perform remediation.

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to try the versions listed here.

Ansible 2.16.7
A VMware Aria Operations for Logs 8.14 or newer environment.
An account with sufficient privileges to configure VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle.

Assumptions

Commands are initiated from a Linux machine.
The DOD Compliance and Automation repository downloaded and extracted to /usr/share/stigs.
Ansible installed and all playbook dependencies resolved as provided in the requirements.yml file in each playbook. Install with ansible-galaxy roles install -r requirements.yml.
The dependent Photon OS Ansible roles(Photon 4.0) installed and available. Verify role installation with ansible-galaxy role list.

Remediate VMware Aria Operations for Logs (Appliance and/or Product Controls)

Important

The example commands below are specific to the product version and the supported STIG content for the version you are running.

Warning

An Ansible playbook has been provided that will target a single VMware Aria Operations for Logs server over SSH and configure any non-compliant controls.

Running the playbook

To run all of the controls, follow the example below:

Navigate to the Ansible playbook folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/aria/operations-for-logs/8.x/v1r4-srg/ansible/vmware-vrli-8.x-stig-ansible-hardening
The -k parameter will prompt for password.
ansible-playbook -i 10.10.10.20, -u root playbook.yml -k -v -b
Output example:

SSH password:

PLAY [VRLI 8.x Remediation Automation] ******************************************************

TASK [Gathering Facts] **********************************************************************
ok: [10.225.1.3]

TASK [ariaopslogs : Include ariaopslogs] ****************************************************
included: /usr/stigs/vmware-vrli-8.x-stig-ansible-hardening/roles/ariaopslogs/tasks/ariaopslogs.yml for 10.10.10.20

TASK [ariaopslogs : Generate sessionId] *****************************************************
ok: [10.225.1.3] => {"access_control_expose_headers": "X-Content-Type-Options,X-LI-Build", "changed": false, "connection": "close", "content_length": "223", "content_type": "application/json; charset=UTF-8", "cookies": {}, "cookies_string": "", "date": "Tue, 23 Jul 2024 22:19:09 UTC", "elapsed": 0, "json": {"sessionId": "k6USJl6s+PXLuCz4gXgVJJ9WwJu9V9Emi8YwaozwETk8u43TAKAVsXFM4JNipoat7tjai6dj/", "ttl": 1800, "userId": "c17ae391-df17-4954-8a3a-7545e87c"}, "msg": "OK (223 bytes)", "redirected": false, "status": 200, "url": "https://10.10.10.20:9543/api/v2/sessions", "x_content_type_options": "nosniff", "x_li_build": "24021974"}

TASK [ariaopslogs : Extract & save sessionId] ***********************************************
ok: [10.225.1.3] => {"ansible_facts": {"session_id": "k6USJl6s+PXLuCz4gXgVJJ9WwJu9V9Emi8YwaozwETKUKPWnx8F6L+1BQb7hk6Tk8u43TAKAVsXFM4JNipokvWlziI3K8NmaoDw1fsGJat7tjai6dj/"}, "changed": false}

TASK [cassandra : Include cassandra] ********************************************************
included: /usr/stigs/vmware-vrli-8.x-stig-ansible-hardening/roles/cassandra/tasks/cassandra.yml for 10.225.1.3

TASK [cassandra : VLIC-8X-000007 - Check log conf file permissions] *************************
ok: [10.225.1.3] => {"changed": false, "cmd": "stat -c \"%a:%U:%G\" /usr/lib/loginsight/application/lib/apache-cassandra-4.1.4/conf/cassandra.yaml;", "delta": "0:00:00.011136", "end": "2024-07-23 22:19:13.212163", "msg": "", "rc": 0, "start": "2024-07-23 22:19:13.201027", "stderr": "", "stderr_lines": [], "stdout": "644:root:root", "stdout_lines": ["644:root:root"]}

TASK [cassandra : VLIC-8X-000007 - Verify and update conf file permissions] *****************
changed: [10.225.1.3] => (item=644:root:root) => {"ansible_loop_var": "item", "changed": true, "gid": 0, "group": "root", "item": "644:root:root", "mode": "0640", "owner": "root", "path": "/usr/lib/loginsight/application/lib/apache-cassandra-4.1.4/conf/cassandra.yaml", "size": 88384, "state": "file", "uid": 0}

TASK [tcserver : Include tcserver] **********************************************************
included: /usr/stigs/vmware-vrli-8.x-stig-ansible-hardening/roles/tcserver/tasks/tcserver.yml for 10.225.1.3

TASK [tcserver : Backup files - Create time stamp] ******************************************
ok: [10.225.1.3] => {"ansible_facts": {"backup_timestamp": "2024-07-21-19-36-12"}, "changed": false}

....

PLAY RECAP **********************************************************************************
10.10.10.20    : ok=10   changed=1    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0

A more conservative and preferred approach is to target any non-compliant controls or run each component separately to allow for functional testing in between.
Providing the tag “cassandra” will instruct the playbook to only run the cassandra role. This tag can be seen in each role’s task/main.yml file.
ansible-playbook -i 10.10.10.20, -u root playbook.yml -k -v -b -t cassandra
Providing the tag “VLIC-8X-000007” will instruct the playbook to only run the task tagged with the STIG ID of VLIC-8X-000007.
ansible-playbook -i 10.10.10.20, -u root playbook.yml -k -v -b -t VLIC-8X-000007

4.7 - Audit VMware Aria Operations 8

Auditing VMware Aria Operations 8.x for STIG Compliance

Overview

Auditing VMware Aria Operations for STIG compliance involves scanning the application, the web services, the vpostgres service, and the underlying Photon OS.

When auditing VMware Aria Operations we will split up tasks between product and appliance based controls which are defined as follows:

Product Control: Configurations that interact with the Product via the User Interface or API that are exposed to administrators. Whether these are Default or Non-Default, the risk of mis-configuration affecting availability of the product is low but could impact how the environment is operated if not assessed.
Appliance Control: Appliance controls deal with the underlying components (databases, web servers, Photon OS, etc.) that make up the product. Altering these add risk to product availability if precautionary steps and care in implementation are not taken. Identifying and relying on Default settings in this category makes this category less risky (Default Appliance Controls should be seen as a positive).

The VMware Aria Operations auditing uses InSpec over an SSH connection. It is recommended to disable SSH after the auditing is complete.

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to utilize the versions listed here.

The vmware-aria-operations-8x-stig-baseline profile downloaded.
The vmware-photon-4.0-stig-baseline profile downloaded.
InSpec/Cinc Auditor 6.6.0
SAF CLI 1.4.0
STIG Viewer 2.17
A VMware Aria Operations environment. Version 8.18 was used in these examples.
An account with SSH access to VMware Aria Operations for Logs.

Assumptions

Commands are initiated from a Linux machine. Windows will also work but paths and commands may need to be adjusted from the examples.
The DOD Compliance and Automation repository downloaded and extracted to /usr/share/stigs.
CINC Auditor is used in lieu of InSpec. If InSpec is used replace cinc-auditor with inspec when running commands.

Auditing VMware Aria Operations

Update profile inputs

Included in each of the vmware-aria-operations-8x-stig-baseline sub-folders (application, apache, api, casa, ui, and vpostgres) is an inspec input file named ‘inspec.yml’. Additionally, at the top level, an inputs.yml file can be created that “rolls up” all of the variables into one file, and can be utilized at the command line.

Evaluate each of the input files (application/inspec.yml, apache\inspec.yml, etc.), and if any of the input variables need to be over-ridden, then make sure those variables are included in the top level inputs.yml file. Examples are provided below.

VMware Aria Operations - Sample Inputs

api-sessionTimeout:        "30"
api-maxThreads:            "300"
casa-sessionTimeout:       "30"
casa-maxThreads:           "300"
ui-sessionTimeout:         "30"
ui-maxThreads:             "300"
#vpostgres
tcpKeepAliveIdle:          "7200"
tcpKeepAliveInterval:      "75"
tcpKeepAliveCount:         "9"

Update the SSH config to allow scan

If the VMware Aria Operations appliance has SSH access disabled, the scans will not be able to run. SSH must be temporarily enabled to complete the scan, then can be disabled again once the audit is complete.

# Connect to the console through vCenter
vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# Update PermitRootLogin from no to yes and save
systemctl restart sshd

Run the audit

In this example we will be scanning a target VMware Aria Operations appliance, specifying an inputs file, and outputting a report to the CLI and to a JSON file.

# Note this command is run from the root of the profile folder. Update paths as needed (instead of '.', use './path/to/profile') if running from a different location.
> cinc-auditor exec . -t ssh://root@aria-ops.domain.path --password 'replaceme' --show-progress --input-file inputs.yml --reporter cli json:/tmp/reports/Aria_Ops_8x_STIG_Report.json

# Shown below is example output at the CLI.
  ✔  PHTN-50-000241: The Photon operating system must install rsyslog for offloading of audit logs.
     ✔  Service rsyslog is expected to be installed
  ✔  PHTN-50-000242: The Photon operating system must enable the rsyslog service.
     ✔  Service rsyslog is expected to be enabled
     ✔  Service rsyslog is expected to be running
  ✔  PHTN-50-000244: The Photon operating system must enable hardlink access control protection in the kernel.
     ✔  Kernel Parameter fs.protected_hardlinks value is expected to cmp == 1
  ✔  PHTN-50-000245: The Photon operating system must mount /tmp securely.
     ✔  ["mode=1777", "strictatime", "nosuid", "nodev", "size=50%%", "nr_inodes=1m", "noexec"] is expected to include "nosuid", "noexec", and "nodev"
  ✔  PHTN-50-000246: The Photon operating system must restrict core dumps.
     ✔  Kernel Parameter fs.suid_dumpable value is expected to eq 0 or eq 2

Profile Summary: zz successful controls, zz control failures, zz controls skipped
Test Summary: zz successful, zz failures, zz skipped

Convert the results to CKL

If a STIG Viewer Checklist (CKL) file is needed then the results from the scans can be converted to CKL with the SAF CLI.

# Converting the scan results from the prior section to CKL
saf convert hdf2ckl -i /tmp/reports/Aria_Ops_8x_STIG_Report.json -o /tmp/reports/Aria_Ops_8x_STIG_Report.ckl --hostname aria-ops --fqdn aria-ops.domain.path --ip 10.10.10.20 --mac 00:00:00:00:00:00

Opening the CKL file in STIG Viewer will look like the example screenshot below. Note the InSpec results are included in the Finding Details pane.
STIG Viewer Checklist

4.8 - Remediate Aria Operations 8

Remediating VMware Aria Operations 8.x for STIG Compliance

Overview

Remediating VMware Aria Operations for STIG compliance involves configuring apache, the tc server services, photon, postgres, and the appliance.

When remediating we will split up tasks between product and appliance based controls which are defined as follows:

Product Control: Configurations that interact with the Product via the User Interface or API that are exposed to administrators. Whether these are Default or Non-Default, the risk of mis-configuration effecting availability of the product is low but could impact how the environment is operated if not assessed.
Appliance Control: Appliance controls deal with the underlying components (databases, web servers, Photon OS, etc) that make up the product. Altering these add risk to product availability without precautionary steps and care in implementation. Identifying and relying on Default settings in this category makes this category less risky (Default Appliance Controls should be seen as a positive).

Ansible will be used to perform remediation.

Prerequisites

Versions listed below were used for this documentation. Other versions of these tools may work as well but if issues are found it is recommended to try the versions listed here.

Ansible 2.16.7
A VMware Aria Operations 8.14 or newer environment.
An account with sufficient privileges to configure VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle.

Assumptions

Commands are initiated from a Linux machine.
The DOD Compliance and Automation repository downloaded and extracted to /usr/share/stigs.
Ansible installed and all playbook dependencies resolved as provided in the requirements.yml file in each playbook. Install with ansible-galaxy roles install -r requirements.yml.
The dependent Photon OS Ansible roles(Photon 4.0 for 8.14 to 8.16, Photon 5.0 for 8.18) installed and available. Verify role installation with ansible-galaxy role list.

Remediate VMware Aria Operations (Appliance and/or Product Controls)

Important

The example commands below are specific to the product version and the supported STIG content for the version you are running.

Warning

An Ansible playbook has been provided that will target a single VMware Aria Operations server over SSH and configure any non-compliant controls.

Running the playbook

To run all of the controls, follow the example below:

Navigate to the Ansible playbook folder
cd /usr/share/stigs/aria/operations/8.x/v1r3-srg/ansible/vmware-aria-operations-8.x-stig-ansible-hardening
The -k parameter will prompt for password.
ansible-playbook -i 10.10.10.20, -u root playbook.yml -k -v -b
Output example:

SSH password:

PLAY [vmware-aria-operations-8x-stig-ansible-hardening] ************************************************

TASK [Gathering Facts] *********************************************************************************
ok: [10.10.10.20]

TASK [apache : Include apache] *************************************************************************
included: /usr/stigs/vmware-vrops-8.x-stig-ansible-hardening/roles/apache/tasks/apache.yml for 10.10.10.20

....

TASK [ui : Include ui] *********************************************************************************
included: /usr/stigs/vmware-vrops-8.x-stig-ansible-hardening/roles/ui/tasks/ui.yml for 10.225.0.148

TASK [ui : VRPU-8X-000001 - Add or configure maximum concurrent connections permitted - Executor node] *********
changed: [10.225.0.148] => {"actions": {"namespaces": {}, "state": "present", "xpath": "//Executor[@name=\"tomcatThreadPool\"]"}, "changed": true}

TASK [ui : VRPU-8X-000001 - Add or configure maximum concurrent connections permitted - Connector node] *********
changed: [10.225.0.148] => {"actions": {"namespaces": {}, "state": "present", "xpath": "//Connector[not(@executor)] | //Connector[@executor != \"tomcatThreadPool\"]"}, "changed": true}

....

RUNNING HANDLER [ui : Restart UI] **********************************************************************
changed: [10.225.0.148] => {"changed": true, "name": "vmware-vcops-web.service", "state": "started", 
...
}

PLAY RECAP *********************************************************************************************
10.225.0.148    : ok=12   changed=3    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0

A more conservative and preferred approach is to target any non-compliant controls or run each component separately to allow for functional testing in between.
Providing the tag “ui” will instruct the playbook to only run the ui role. This tag can be seen in each role’s task/main.yml file.
ansible-playbook -i 10.10.10.20, -u root playbook.yml -k -v -b -t ui
Providing the tag “VRPU-8X-000001” will instruct the playbook to only run the task tagged with the STIG ID of VRPU-8X-000001.
ansible-playbook -i 10.10.10.20, -u root playbook.yml -k -v -b -t VRPU-8X-000001