The ESXi host Secure Shell (SSH) daemon must be configured to not allow gateway ports.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-258763 | ESXI-80-000207 | SV-258763r933350_rule | CCI-000366 | low |
| Description | ||||
| SSH Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection forwarding provides a mechanism to establish TCP connections proxied by the SSH server. This function can provide convenience similar to a virtual private network (VPN) with the similar risk of providing a path to circumvent firewalls and network Access Control Lists (ACLs). Gateway ports allow remote forwarded ports to bind to nonloopback addresses on the server. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| VMware vSphere 8.0 ESXi Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2023-10-11 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-258763r933350_chk)
From an ESXi shell, run the following command:
# esxcli system ssh server config list -k gatewayports
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 'gatewayports'}
Example result:
gatewayports no
If "gatewayports" is not configured to "no", this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-62412r933349_fix)
From an ESXi shell, run the following command:
# esxcli system ssh server config set -k gatewayports -v no
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 = 'gatewayports'
$arguments.value = 'no'
$esxcli.system.ssh.server.config.set.Invoke($arguments)