The ESXi host must be configured with an appropriate maximum password age.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-256443 | SRG-OS-000480-VMM-002000 | ESXI-70-000091 | SV-256443r959010_rule | 2025-02-11 | 1 |
Description
The older an ESXi local account password is, the larger the opportunity window is for attackers to guess, crack or reuse a previously cracked password. Rotating passwords on a regular basis is a fundamental security practice and one that ESXi supports.
ℹ️ Check
From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters.
Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Advanced System Settings.
Select the "Security.PasswordMaxDays" value and verify it is set to "90".
or
From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following command:
Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name Security.PasswordMaxDays
If the "Security.PasswordMaxDays" setting is not set to "90", this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters.
Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Advanced System Settings.
Click "Edit". Select the "Security.PasswordMaxDays" value and set it to "90".
or
From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following command:
Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name Security.PasswordMaxDays | Set-AdvancedSetting -Value "90"