VMware SDDC (Software-Defined Data Center) security benchmarks are guidelines or standards that provide recommendations and best practices for securing VMware's Software-Defined Data Center infrastructure. These benchmarks help organizations assess and enhance the security of their virtualized data center environments.

vSphere Security Configuration Guide

For details of the conditions that allow automated compliance assessment and the list of controls that can be used to perform manual checks based on the VMware vSphere 7 Security Configuration Guide Update 3 and VMware vSphere 8 Security Configuration Guide, see KB 94171.

The vSphere Security Configuration Guide is a comprehensive document provided by VMware that outlines best practices and recommendations for securing VMware vSphere, which is a virtualization platform used for creating and managing virtualized data centers.

The guide covers various aspects of vSphere security and provides configuration guidelines to help administrators protect their vSphere infrastructure from potential threats and vulnerabilities. It addresses security considerations for different components of the vSphere environment, including ESXi hosts, vCenter Server, virtual machines, networking, and storage.

The vSphere Security Configuration Guide typically covers the following areas:
  • ESXi Host Hardening: It provides recommendations for securing the ESXi hosts, including configuring authentication and authorization settings, disabling unnecessary services, enabling security features like Secure Boot and Trusted Platform Module (TPM), and implementing network security measures.
  • vCenter Server Hardening: The guide offers best practices for securing the vCenter Server, which is a centralized management platform for vSphere. It covers securing the vCenter Server installation, securing access and authentication, configuring roles and permissions, and enabling auditing and logging.
  • Virtual Machine Security: It provides recommendations for securing virtual machines (VMs), such as implementing secure VM configurations, using virtual machine encryption, enabling guest operating system security features, and protecting VMs from unauthorized access.
  • Networking Security: The guide offers guidelines for securing the vSphere networking infrastructure, including configuring virtual switches, VLANs, and firewalls, implementing network segmentation, and securing network communication between vSphere components.
  • Storage Security: It covers best practices for securing the vSphere storage environment, including securing access to storage devices, implementing storage encryption, and protecting virtual machine data.
  • Monitoring and Auditing: The guide emphasizes the importance of monitoring and auditing vSphere components, and provides recommendations for enabling and configuring logging, using security information and event management (SIEM) tools, and monitoring for suspicious activities.

The vSphere Security Configuration Guide is regularly updated by VMware to incorporate the latest security recommendations and considerations. It serves as a valuable resource for administrators seeking to secure their vSphere infrastructure and protect their virtualized environments from potential security risks.

vSAN Security Configuration Guide

The vSAN Security Configuration Guide is a document provided by VMware that offers guidance and best practices for securing VMware vSAN (Virtual SAN), which is a software-defined storage solution integrated into the vSphere environment.

The guide focuses on helping administrators secure the vSAN infrastructure and protect the data stored within it. It provides recommendations for various security considerations related to vSAN, including authentication, encryption, network security, and access controls.

Here are some key areas covered in the vSAN Security Configuration Guide:
  • Authentication and Authorization: The guide provides recommendations for configuring strong authentication mechanisms for vSAN components, such as vCenter Server and ESXi hosts. It suggests using secure protocols, enforcing secure password policies, and implementing multi-factor authentication where possible. It also covers role-based access control (RBAC) and permissions management.
  • Encryption: vSAN supports encryption at rest, which ensures that data stored on vSAN disks is protected. The guide offers guidance on configuring vSAN encryption, including selecting the appropriate encryption algorithm, managing key management servers (KMS), and enabling encryption for data at rest.
  • Network Security: It provides recommendations for securing network communication within the vSAN environment. This includes using secure protocols, enabling network encryption (VMkernel Encryption), and configuring firewall rules to control network traffic between vSAN components.
  • Auditing and Logging: The guide emphasizes the importance of monitoring and auditing vSAN operations. It offers recommendations for enabling and configuring logging, implementing log management solutions, and monitoring vSAN events for potential security incidents.
  • Secure Configuration Settings: It provides a list of vSAN-specific configuration settings that can enhance security. This includes recommendations for enabling features like Data-at-Rest Encryption, Secure Erasure, and ensuring proper network configurations.
  • Compliance and Hardening: The guide addresses compliance considerations and provides information on how vSAN aligns with various security frameworks, such as the Center for Internet Security (CIS) benchmarks. It also offers recommendations for hardening vSAN components, including ESXi hosts and vCenter Server.

The vSAN Security Configuration Guide is regularly updated by VMware to incorporate the latest security best practices and recommendations. It serves as a valuable resource for administrators who want to ensure the security of their vSAN deployments and safeguard their storage infrastructure and data.

NSX Security Configuration Guide

The VMware Aria Operations Compliance Pack for NSX-T is updated to support the following standards:
  • NSX-T 3.2 Security Configuration Guide
  • NSX-T 3.1 Security Configuration Guide
  • NSX-T 3.0 Security Configuration Guide
  • Note: NSX-T is renamed to NSX.
For more details, see KB 93136.

The NSX Security Configuration Guide is a comprehensive document provided by VMware that offers guidance and best practices for securing VMware NSX, which is the next-generation network and security platform for software-defined networking.

The NSX Security Configuration Guide focuses on helping administrators secure the NSX infrastructure and protect network traffic, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data. It provides recommendations for various security considerations related to NSX, including authentication, authorization, network security, encryption, and compliance.

Here are some key areas covered in the NSX Security Configuration Guide:
  • NSX Component Hardening: The guide provides recommendations for securing NSX components such as NSX Manager, NSX Controllers, and NSX Edge nodes. It includes guidelines for configuring strong authentication, implementing role-based access control (RBAC), and securing administrative access to NSX components.
  • Network Security: It covers best practices for implementing network security within NSX. This includes recommendations for creating and managing security groups, implementing distributed firewalling, configuring security policies, and enforcing microsegmentation to control network traffic.
  • Authentication and Authorization: The guide offers recommendations for configuring strong authentication mechanisms for NSX, such as integrating with identity providers, enabling multi-factor authentication, and defining access controls based on user roles and permissions.
  • Secure Network Communication: It provides guidance for securing network communication within the NSX environment. This includes configuring Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption for communication between NSX components, securing communication between NSX and vCenter Server, and protecting east-west and north-south traffic.
  • Virtual Machine Security: The guide provides recommendations for securing virtual machines (VMs) deployed in NSX environments. This includes implementing security groups, defining security policies, and leveraging NSX's integration with third-party security solutions for advanced VM protection.
  • Logging and Auditing: It emphasizes the importance of logging and auditing in NSX environments. The guide offers recommendations for enabling and configuring logging, integrating NSX with logging and monitoring solutions, and monitoring for security events and anomalies.
  • Compliance and Hardening: The guide addresses compliance considerations and provides information on how NSX aligns with various security frameworks and regulations. It also offers recommendations for hardening NSX components and ensuring compliance with security policies.

The NSX Security Configuration Guide is regularly updated by VMware to incorporate the latest security best practices and recommendations. It serves as a valuable resource for administrators who want to ensure the security of their NSX deployments, implement effective network security controls, and protect their software-defined networking infrastructure.