Title

Unauthorized parallel devices must be disconnected on the virtual machine (VM). (Cat II impact)

Discussion

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.

Check Content

From the vSphere Client, right-click the Virtual Machine and go to "Edit Settings". Review the VM's hardware and verify no parallel devices exist. or 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

The VM must be powered off to remove a parallel device. From the vSphere Client, right-click the Virtual Machine and go to "Edit Settings". Select the parallel device, click the circled "X" to remove it, and click "OK".

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-256459r886420_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-256459

Group Title: SRG-OS-000480-VMM-002000

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

Controls tied to check. These are derived from the CCIs shown above.