2.7 Remove expired or revoked SSL certificates from the ESXi server

Information

Remove expired or revoked SSL Certificates from the ESXi server.

*Rationale*

Leaving expired or revoked certificates on your vCenter Server system can compromise
your environment. By default, each ESXi host does not have Certificate Revocation Lists
(CRL) checking available. Revoked certificates must be checked and removed
manually. Replacing certificates will avoid having users get used to clicking through
browser warnings. The warning might be an indication of a man-in-the-middle attack, and
only inspection of the certificate and thumbprint can guard against such attacks.

NOTE: Nessus has not performed this check. Please review the benchmark to ensure target compliance.

Solution

Replace self-signed certificates with certificates from a trusted CA, either a commercial CA
or an organizational CA. Certificates can be replaced in a number of ways-
1. Replace a Default ESXi Certificate and Key from the ESXi Shell
2. Replace a Default ESXi Certificate and Key by Using the vifs Command
3. Replace a Default ESXi Certificate and Key Using HTTPS PUTIf you accidentally deleted the default self-signed certificate and key or you changed the
host name, you can generate a new self-signed certificate and key from the ESXi Shell.
See Generate New Self-Signed Certificates for ESXi.

Impact-If expired or revoked certificates are not removed from the ESXi system, the environment
can be subject to a MiTM attack.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/145

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-6b.

Plugin: VMware

Control ID: 195797fb8ddbefdbba34db3eeee0d262c0a61ea1b34182dad5ad45d50ec159f1