VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS STIG

VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide

The VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide (V1 R5) has 113 STIG checks. New to STIG checklists? Read What is a STIG checklist?, CKL vs CKLB, and STIG vs SCAP benchmark.

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Severity

Version

V1 · R5

CurrentPublished Wed Sep 30 2026 What changed in V1R5

The Photon operating system must display the Standard Mandatory DoW Notice and Consent Banner before granting Secure Shell (SSH) access.

VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS Security Technical Implementation Guide

Assessment Title

Rule Text

The Photon operating system must display the Standard Mandatory DoW Notice and Consent Banner before granting Secure Shell (SSH) access.

Description

Discussion Text

Display of a standardized and approved use notification before granting access to the operating system ensures privacy and security notification verbiage used is consistent with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, standards, and guidance.

Satisfies: SRG-OS-000023-GPOS-00006, SRG-OS-000228-GPOS-00088

New to STIG checklists? Read What is a STIG checklist? and CKL vs CKLB.

Objective

V-256480

Rule

SV-256480r1268849_rule

Severity

medium

Rule Version

PHTN-30-000003

Documentable

false

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Rev 5

Assessment Procedure

Check Text

At the command line, run the following command:

# sshd -T|&grep -i Banner

Expected result:

banner /etc/issue

If the output does not match the expected result, this is a finding.

Open "/etc/issue" with a text editor.

If the file does not contain the Standard Mandatory DoW Notice and Consent Banner, this is a finding.

Standard Mandatory DoW Notice and Consent Banner:

"You are accessing a U.S. Government (USG) Information System (IS) that is provided for USG-authorized use only. By using this IS (which includes any device attached to this IS), you consent to the following conditions:
-The USG routinely intercepts and monitors communications on this IS for purposes including, but not limited to, penetration testing, COMSEC monitoring, network operations and defense, personnel misconduct (PM), law enforcement (LE), and counterintelligence (CI) investigations.
-At any time, the USG may inspect and seize data stored on this IS.
-Communications using, or data stored on, this IS are not private, are subject to routine monitoring, interception, and search, and may be disclosed or used for any USG authorized purpose.
-This IS includes security measures (e.g., authentication and access controls) to protect USG interests--not for your personal benefit or privacy.
-Notwithstanding the above, using this IS does not constitute consent to PM, LE or CI investigative searching or monitoring of the content of privileged communications, or work product, related to personal representation or services by attorneys, psychotherapists, or clergy, and their assistants. Such communications and work product are private and confidential. See User Agreement for details."

Implementation Procedure

Fix Text

Navigate to and open:

/etc/ssh/sshd_config

Ensure the "Banner" line is uncommented and set to the following:

Banner /etc/issue

Navigate to and open:

/etc/issue

Ensure the file contains the Standard Mandatory DoW Notice and Consent Banner.

At the command line, run the following command:

# systemctl restart sshd.service

STIG check 3 of 113 in the VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance Photon OS STIG checklist

← Previous · V-256479The Photon operating system must automatically lock an account when three unsuccessful logon attempts occur.Next · V-256481 →The Photon operating system must limit the number of concurrent sessions to 10 for all accounts and/or account types.