8.9 (L1) VMware Tools must deactivate Appinfo information gathering unless required

Information

Deactivating the Appinfo module, unless necessary, through VMware Tools is a prudent measure to minimize the attack surface. This module is designed for application discovery, but if not in use, it should be disabled. The parameter governing this behavior is appinfo disabled with a recommended setting of true.

By deactivating the Appinfo module when not in use, potential vectors for unauthorized access or data leakage can be reduced.

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

Solution

Impact:

Disabling Appinfo may affect products and services within the VMware ecosystem that depend on this functionality, necessitating alternative configurations or solutions to retain those capabilities.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/15784

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

References: 800-53|CM-6, 800-53|CM-7, CSCv7|9.1

Plugin: VMware

Control ID: 88eb46c070e7671cd7f2361ac510ae1f416bb65cbdfbf37faca83d228d5e9d38