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The ESXi host must be configured to disable nonessential capabilities by disabling the ESXi shell.

Overview

Finding IDVersionRule IDIA ControlsSeverity
V-258755ESXI-80-000194SV-258755r958478_ruleCCI-000381medium
Description
The ESXi Shell is an interactive command line environment available locally from the Direct Console User Interface (DCUI) or remotely via SSH. Activities performed from the ESXi Shell bypass vCenter role-based access control (RBAC) and audit controls. The ESXi shell must only be turned on when needed to troubleshoot/resolve problems that cannot be fixed through the vSphere client.
STIGDate
VMware vSphere 8.0 ESXi Security Technical Implementation Guide2026-06-04

Related Frameworks

1 mapping across 5 frameworks
SCF0 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (2) 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-01Configuration Management Program
1.00
CFG-03Least Functionality
1.00
NIST 800-530 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 2 hops (36) 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-11Device Lock
1.00
AC-17(1)Monitoring and Control
1.00
AC-17(10)Authenticate Remote Commands
1.00
AC-17(9)Disconnect or Disable Access
1.00
AC-18(1)Authentication and Encryption
1.00
AC-2(1)Automated System Account Management
1.00
AC-3Access Enforcement
1.00
AC-4Information Flow Enforcement
1.00
AU-12Audit Record Generation
1.00
AU-3Content of Audit Records
1.00

+26 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.

3.4.6
1.00
CCI1 mapping
CCI-000381
1.00
NIST CSF 2.00 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (2) 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.PS-01
1.00
PR.PS-05
1.00

Who does this work

5 NICE work roles and 5 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-258755r958478_chk)

From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters. Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Services. Under Services, locate the "ESXi Shell" service and verify it is "Stopped". or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following command: Get-VMHost | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Label -eq "ESXi Shell"} If the ESXi Shell service is "Running", this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-62404r933325_fix)

From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters. Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Services. Under "Services", select the "ESXi Shell" service and click the "Stop" button. Click the "Edit Startup policy..." button. Select the "Start and stop manually" radio button. Click "OK". or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following commands: Get-VMHost | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Label -eq "ESXi Shell"} | Set-VMHostService -Policy Off Get-VMHost | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Label -eq "ESXi Shell"} | Stop-VMHostService