The ESXi Host Client must be configured with a session timeout.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-256441 | SRG-OS-000480-VMM-002000 | ESXI-70-000089 | SV-256441r959010_rule | 2025-02-11 | 1 |
Description
The ESXi Host Client is the UI served up by the host itself, outside of vCenter. It is accessed by browsing to "https://<ESX FQDN>/ui". ESXi is not usually administered via this interface for long periods, and all users will be highly privileged. Implementing a mandatory session idle limit will ensure that orphaned, forgotten, or ignored sessions will be closed promptly.
ℹ️ Check
From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters.
Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Advanced System Settings.
Select the "UserVars.HostClientSessionTimeout" value and verify it is set to "600".
or
From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following command:
Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name UserVars.HostClientSessionTimeout
If the "UserVars.HostClientSessionTimeout" setting is not set to "600", this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters.
Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Advanced System Settings.
Select the "UserVars.HostClientSessionTimeout" value and set it to "600".
or
From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following command:
Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name UserVars.HostClientSessionTimeout | Set-AdvancedSetting -Value "600"