STIGQter STIGQter: STIG Summary: VMware vSphere 8.0 ESXi Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 2 Release: 4 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

The ESXi Common Information Model (CIM) service must be disabled.

DISA Rule

SV-258783r959010_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-258783

Group Title

SRG-OS-000480-VMM-002000

Rule Version

ESXI-80-000228

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters.

Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Services.

Under "Services" select the "CIM Server" service and click the "Stop" button.

Click "Edit Startup policy..." and select the "Start and stop manually" radio button. Click "OK".

or

From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following commands:

Get-VMHost | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Label -eq "CIM Server"} | Set-VMHostService -Policy Off
Get-VMHost | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Label -eq "CIM Server"} | Stop-VMHostService

Check Contents

From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters.

Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Services.

Under "Services", locate the "CIM Server" service and verify it is "Stopped" and the "Startup Policy" is set to "Start and stop manually".

or

From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following command:

Get-VMHost | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Label -eq "CIM Server"}

If the "CIM Server" service does not have a "Policy" of "off" or is running, this is a finding.

Vulnerability Number

V-258783

Documentable

False

Rule Version

ESXI-80-000228

Severity Override Guidance

From the vSphere Client, go to Hosts and Clusters.

Select the ESXi Host >> Configure >> System >> Services.

Under "Services", locate the "CIM Server" service and verify it is "Stopped" and the "Startup Policy" is set to "Start and stop manually".

or

From a PowerCLI command prompt while connected to the ESXi host, run the following command:

Get-VMHost | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Label -eq "CIM Server"}

If the "CIM Server" service does not have a "Policy" of "off" or is running, this is a finding.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5562