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The ESXi host must implement Secure Boot enforcement.

Overview

Finding IDVersionRule IDIA ControlsSeverity
V-256447ESXI-70-000095SV-256447r959010_ruleCCI-001494medium
Description
Secure Boot is part of the UEFI firmware standard. With UEFI Secure Boot enabled, a host refuses to load any UEFI driver or app unless the operating system bootloader has a valid digital signature. Secure Boot for ESXi requires support from the firmware and it requires that all ESXi kernel modules, drivers and VIBs be signed by VMware or a partner subordinate. Secure Boot is enabled in the BIOS of the ESXi physical server and supported by the hypervisor boot loader. This control flips ESXi from merely supporting Secure Boot to requiring it. Without this setting enabled, and configuration encryption, an ESXi host could be subject to offline attacks. An attacker could simply transfer the ESXi install drive to a non-Secure Boot host and boot it up without ESXi complaining. Note: This setting is only available in 7.0 Update 2 and later. Satisfies: SRG-OS-000480-VMM-002000, SRG-OS-000257-VMM-000910, SRG-OS-000278-VMM-001000, SRG-OS-000446-VMM-001790
STIGDate
VMware vSphere 7.0 ESXi Security Technical Implementation Guide2025-02-11

Related Frameworks

3 mappings across 5 frameworks
SCF0 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (7) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

CFG-02Secure Baseline Configurations
1.00
CRY-01Use of Cryptographic Controls
1.00
DCH-01Data Protection
1.00
IAC-21Least Privilege
1.00
MON-08Protection of Event Logs
1.00
MON-08.3Cryptographic Protection of Event Log Information
1.00
CHG-06Control Functionality Verification
0.50
NIST 800-530 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 2 hops (59) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

AC-2(1)Automated System Account Management
1.00
AC-2(10)Shared and Group Account Credential Change
1.00
AC-2(11)Usage Conditions
1.00
AC-2(2)Automated Temporary and Emergency Account Management
1.00
AC-2(3)Disable Accounts
1.00
AC-2(4)Automated Audit Actions
1.00
AC-3Access Enforcement
1.00
AC-3(7)Role-based Access Control
1.00
AC-4Information Flow Enforcement
1.00
AC-6(10)Prohibit Non-privileged Users from Executing Privileged Functions
1.00

+49 more (top 10 by confidence shown)

NIST 800-1710 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (1) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

3.3.8
1.00
CCI3 mappings
CCI-001494
1.00
CCI-001496
1.00
CCI-002699
1.00
NIST CSF 2.00 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (1) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

PR.DS-10
1.00

Who does this work

7 NICE work roles and 7 EC-Council certifications.

This is an inference across published mappings, not a single claim by anyone. This check maps to a control, which maps to a Cybersecurity Framework outcome, which NIST assigns to the work roles below. EC-Council separately maps its certifications to those same roles.

A certification prepares someone for a role. It is not evidence that a holder is qualified, and neither NIST nor EC-Council has stated that any certification here addresses this check.

Work-role assignments published by NIST (NICE Framework Components 2.2.0 and the CSF 2.0 OLIR crosswalk). Certification mappings published by EC-Council.

Details

Check Text (C-256447r959010_chk)

If the ESXi host does not have a compatible TPM, this finding is downgraded to a CAT III. From an ESXi shell, run the following command: # esxcli system settings encryption get|grep "Secure Boot" or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following commands: $esxcli = Get-EsxCli -v2 $esxcli.system.settings.encryption.get.invoke() | Select RequireSecureBoot Expected result: Require Secure Boot: true If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-60065r886121_fix)

This setting cannot be configured until Secure Boot is properly enabled in the BIOS. From an ESXi shell, run the following command: # esxcli system settings encryption set --require-secure-boot=true or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following commands: $esxcli = Get-EsxCli -v2 $arguments = $esxcli.system.settings.encryption.set.CreateArgs() $arguments.requiresecureboot = $true $esxcli.system.settings.encryption.set.Invoke($arguments) Evacuate the host and gracefully reboot for changes to take effect.