Details

Verify that SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is configured and that all the

settings are correct. If SNMP is not being used, it should be disabled.

Note- ESXi 5.1 supports SNMPv3 which provides stronger security than SNMPv1 or SNMPv2, including key authentication and encryption.

*Rationale*

If SNMP is not being used, it should remain disabled. If it is being used, the proper trap destination should be configured. If SNMP is not properly configured, monitoring information can be sent to a malicious host.

Solution

To implement the recommended configuration state, run the following PowerCLI
command-# Update the host SNMP Configuration (single host connection required)
Get-VmHostSNMP | Set-VMHostSNMP -Enabled-$true -ReadOnlyCommunity ‘‘
Notes-. SNMP must be configured on each ESXi host. SNMP settings can be configured using Host Profiles

Supportive Information

The following resource is also helpful.

• https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/902

This security hardening control applies to the following category of controls within NIST 800-53: Identification and Authentication.This control applies to the following type of system VMware.

References

• 800-53|IA-5c.

Source

• Tenable.com/audits