The ESXi host must prohibit the reuse of passwords within five iterations.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-256398 | SRG-OS-000077-VMM-000440 | ESXI-70-000032 | SV-256398r984204_rule | 2025-02-11 | 1 |
| Description |
|---|
| If a user or root used the same password continuously or was allowed to change it back shortly after being forced to change it to something else, it would provide a potential intruder with the opportunity to keep guessing at one user's password until it was guessed correctly. |
| ℹ️ Check |
|---|
| From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters. Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Advanced System Settings. Select the "Security.PasswordHistory" value and verify it is set to "5". or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following command: Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name Security.PasswordHistory If the "Security.PasswordHistory" setting is not set to "5" this is a finding. |
| ✔️ Fix |
|---|
| From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters. Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Advanced System Settings. Click "Edit". Select the "Security.PasswordHistory" value and configure it to "5". or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following command: Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name Security.PasswordHistory | Set-AdvancedSetting -Value 5 |