Virtual machines (VMs) must remove unneeded parallel devices.
Overview
| Finding ID | Version | Rule ID | IA Controls | Severity |
| V-258724 | VMCH-80-000211 | SV-258724r933233_rule | CCI-000366 | medium |
| Description | ||||
| Ensure no device is connected to a virtual machine if it is not required. For example, floppy, serial, and parallel ports are rarely used for virtual machines in a data center environment, and CD/DVD drives are usually connected only temporarily during software installation. | ||||
| STIG | Date | |||
| VMware vSphere 8.0 Virtual Machine Security Technical Implementation Guide | 2023-10-11 | |||
Details
Check Text (C-258724r933233_chk)
Parallel devices are no longer visible through the vSphere Client and must be done via the Application Programming Interface (API) or PowerCLI.
From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host or vCenter server, run the following command:
Get-VM | Where {$_.ExtensionData.Config.Hardware.Device.DeviceInfo.Label -match "parallel"}
If a virtual machine has a parallel device present, this is a finding.
Fix Text (F-62373r933232_fix)
Parallel devices are no longer visible through the vSphere Client and must be done via the Application Programming Interface (API) or PowerCLI.
The VM must be powered off to remove a parallel device.
From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host or vCenter server, run the following commands:
$pport = (Get-VM -Name <vmname>).ExtensionData.Config.Hardware.Device | Where {$_.DeviceInfo.Label -match "Parallel"}
$spec = New-Object VMware.Vim.VirtualMachineConfigSpec
$spec.DeviceChange += New-Object VMware.Vim.VirtualDeviceConfigSpec
$spec.DeviceChange[-1].device = $pport
$spec.DeviceChange[-1].operation = "remove"
(Get-VM -Name <vmname>).ExtensionData.ReconfigVM($spec)