The ESXi host Secure Shell (SSH) daemon must use FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic modules to protect the confidentiality of remote access sessions.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-256384 | ESXI-70-000010 | SV-256384r958408_rule | CCI-000068 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| OpenSSH on the ESXi host ships with a FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic module that is enabled by default. For backward compatibility reasons, this can be disabled so this setting can be audited and corrected if necessary. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| VMware vSphere 7.0 ESXi Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2025-02-11 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-256384r958408_chk)
From an ESXi shell, run the following command:
# esxcli system security fips140 ssh get
or
From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following commands:
$esxcli = Get-EsxCli -v2
$esxcli.system.security.fips140.ssh.get.invoke()
Expected result:
Enabled: true
If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-60002r885932_fix)
From an ESXi shell, run the following command:
# esxcli system security fips140 ssh set -e true
or
From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following commands:
$esxcli = Get-EsxCli -v2
$arguments = $esxcli.system.security.fips140.ssh.set.CreateArgs()
$arguments.enable = $true
$esxcli.system.security.fips140.ssh.set.Invoke($arguments)