VCUI-70-000032 - vSphere UI must set the secure flag for cookies.

Information

The secure flag is an option that can be set by the application server when sending a new cookie to the user within an HTTP response. The purpose of the secure flag is to prevent cookies from being observed by unauthorized parties due to the transmission of a cookie in clear text.

By setting the secure flag, the browser will prevent the transmission of a cookie over an unencrypted channel. vSphere UI is configured to only be accessible over a Transport Layer Security (TLS) tunnel, but this cookie flag is still a recommended best practice.

Solution

Navigate to and open:

/usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/conf/web.xml

Navigate to the /<web-apps>/<session-config>/<cookie-config> node and configure it as follows.

<cookie-config>
<http-only>true</http-only>
<secure>true</secure>
</cookie-config>

Restart the service with the following command:

# vmon-cli --restart vsphere-ui

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_VMW_vSphere_7-0_Y23M07_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION

References: 800-53|SC-8, CAT|II, CCI|CCI-002418, Rule-ID|SV-256809r889426_rule, STIG-ID|VCUI-70-000032, Vuln-ID|V-256809

Plugin: Unix

Control ID: c30d156ef01ad1da292e4b89e5d3ea87f1c3040e3dac9c001089e2fc07ee6366