The ESXi host Secure Shell (SSH) daemon must set a timeout interval on idle sessions.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| low | V-258766 | SRG-OS-000480-VMM-002000 | ESXI-80-000211 | SV-258766r933359_rule | 2023-10-11 | 1 |
Description
Automatically logging out idle users guards against compromises via hijacked administrative sessions.
ℹ️ Check
From an ESXi shell, run the following command:
# esxcli system ssh server config list -k clientaliveinterval
or
From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following commands:
$esxcli = Get-EsxCli -v2
$esxcli.system.ssh.server.config.list.invoke() | Where-Object {$_.Key -eq 'clientaliveinterval'}
Example result:
clientaliveinterval 200
If "clientaliveinterval" is not configured to "200", this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
From an ESXi shell, run the following command:
# esxcli system ssh server config set -k clientaliveinterval -v 200
or
From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following commands:
$esxcli = Get-EsxCli -v2
$arguments = $esxcli.system.ssh.server.config.set.CreateArgs()
$arguments.keyword = 'clientaliveinterval'
$arguments.value = '200'
$esxcli.system.ssh.server.config.set.Invoke($arguments)