7.3 Ensure the vSwitch Promiscuous Mode policy is set to reject

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Information

Ensure the Promiscuous Mode Policy within the vSwitch is set to reject. Promiscuous mode can be set at the vSwitch and/or the Portgroup level. You can override switch-level settings at the Portgroup level.

Rationale:

When promiscuous mode is enabled for a virtual switch, all virtual machines connected to the dvPortgroup have the potential of reading all packets crossing that network. This could enable unauthorized access to the contents of those packets.

Solution

To set the policy to reject, perform the following:

In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to the host.

Go to 'Hosts and Clusters' -> 'vCenter' -> host.

On the Configure tab, click Networking, and select Virtual switches.

Select a standard switch from the list and click the pencil icon to edit settings.

Select Security.

Set Promiscuous Mode to 'Reject'.

Click 'OK'.

Alternately, perform the following via the ESXi shell:

# esxcli network vswitch standard policy security set -v vSwitch2 -p false

Default Value:

reject

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/3511