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V-256781

CAT II (Medium)

vSphere UI must protect cookies from cross-site scripting (XSS).

Rule ID

SV-256781r889342_rule

STIG

VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance UI Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V1R2

CCIs

CCI-000054, CCI-002418

Discussion

Cookies are a common way to save session state over the HTTP(S) protocol. If an attacker can compromise session data stored in a cookie, they are better able to launch an attack against the server and its applications. When a cookie is tagged with the "HttpOnly" flag, it tells the browser this particular cookie should only be accessed by the originating server. Any attempt to access the cookie from client script is strictly forbidden. Satisfies: SRG-APP-000001-WSR-000002, SRG-APP-000439-WSR-000154

Check Content

At the command prompt, run the following command: 
 
# xmllint --format /usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/conf/context.xml | xmllint --xpath '/Context/@useHttpOnly' - 
 
Expected result: 
 
useHttpOnly="true" 
 
If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Navigate to and open: 
 
/usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/conf/context.xml 
 
Add the following configuration to the <Context> node: 
 
useHttpOnly="true" 
 
Example: 
 
<Context useHttpOnly="true" sessionCookieName="VSPHERE-UI-JSESSIONID" sessionCookiePath="/ui"> 
 
Restart the service with the following command: 
 
# vmon-cli --restart vsphere-ui