Use of the dvFilter network application programming interfaces (APIs) must be restricted.

Severity	Group ID	Group Title	Version	Rule ID	Date	STIG Version
medium	V-256423	SRG-OS-000480-VMM-002000	ESXI-70-000062	SV-256423r959010_rule	2025-02-11	1

Description
If the organization is not using products that use the dvfilter network API, the host should not be configured to send network information to a virtual machine (VM). If the API is enabled, an attacker might attempt to connect a virtual machine to it, potentially providing access to the network of other VMs on the host. If using a product that makes use of this API, verify the host has been configured correctly. If not using such a product, ensure the setting is blank.

Description

If the organization is not using products that use the dvfilter network API, the host should not be configured to send network information to a virtual machine (VM). If the API is enabled, an attacker might attempt to connect a virtual machine to it, potentially providing access to the network of other VMs on the host. If using a product that makes use of this API, verify the host has been configured correctly. If not using such a product, ensure the setting is blank.

ℹ️ Check
From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters. Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Advanced System Settings. Select the "Net.DVFilterBindIpAddress" value and verify the value is blank or the correct IP address of a security appliance if in use. or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following command: Get-VMHost \| Get-AdvancedSetting -Name Net.DVFilterBindIpAddress If the "Net.DVFilterBindIpAddress" is not blank and security appliances are not in use on the host, this is a finding.

ℹ️ Check

From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters. Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Advanced System Settings. Select the "Net.DVFilterBindIpAddress" value and verify the value is blank or the correct IP address of a security appliance if in use. or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following command: Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name Net.DVFilterBindIpAddress If the "Net.DVFilterBindIpAddress" is not blank and security appliances are not in use on the host, 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 "Net.DVFilterBindIpAddress" value and remove any incorrect addresses. or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following command: Get-VMHost \| Get-AdvancedSetting -Name Net.DVFilterBindIpAddress \| Set-AdvancedSetting -Value ""

✔️ Fix

From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters. Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Advanced System Settings. Click "Edit". Select the "Net.DVFilterBindIpAddress" value and remove any incorrect addresses. or From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following command: Get-VMHost | Get-AdvancedSetting -Name Net.DVFilterBindIpAddress | Set-AdvancedSetting -Value ""