STIGQter: STIG Summary: VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance User Interface (UI) Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 2 Release: 2 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

The vCenter UI service must configure the "setCharacterEncodingFilter" filter.

DISA Rule

SV-259121r1210444_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-259121

Group Title

SRG-APP-000251-AS-000165

Rule Version

VCUI-80-000127

Severity

CAT II

CCI(s)

• CCI-001310 - Checks the validity of organization-defined information inputs to the system.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

Navigate to and open:

/usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/conf/web.xml

Configure the <web-app> node with the child nodes listed below:

<filter-mapping>
<filter-name>setCharacterEncodingFilter</filter-name>
<url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
</filter-mapping>

<filter>
<filter-name>setCharacterEncodingFilter</filter-name>
<filter-class>org.apache.catalina.filters.SetCharacterEncodingFilter</filter-class>
<async-supported>true</async-supported>
<init-param>
<param-name>encoding</param-name>
<param-value>UTF-8</param-value>
</init-param>
<init-param>
<param-name>ignore</param-name>
<param-value>true</param-value>
</init-param>
</filter>

Restart the service with the following command:

# vmon-cli --restart vsphere-ui

Check Contents

At the command prompt, run the following command:

# xmllint --xpath "//*[contains(text(), 'setCharacterEncodingFilter')]/parent::*" /usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/conf/web.xml

Expected result:

<filter-mapping>
<filter-name>setCharacterEncodingFilter</filter-name>
<url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
</filter-mapping>
<filter>
<filter-name>setCharacterEncodingFilter</filter-name>
<filter-class>org.apache.catalina.filters.SetCharacterEncodingFilter</filter-class>
<async-supported>true</async-supported>
<init-param>
<param-name>encoding</param-name>
<param-value>UTF-8</param-value>
</init-param>
<init-param>
<param-name>ignore</param-name>
<param-value>true</param-value>
</init-param>
</filter>

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

Vulnerability Number

V-259121

Documentable

False

Rule Version

VCUI-80-000127

Severity Override Guidance

At the command prompt, run the following command:

# xmllint --xpath "//*[contains(text(), 'setCharacterEncodingFilter')]/parent::*" /usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-ui/server/conf/web.xml

Expected result:

<filter-mapping>
<filter-name>setCharacterEncodingFilter</filter-name>
<url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
</filter-mapping>
<filter>
<filter-name>setCharacterEncodingFilter</filter-name>
<filter-class>org.apache.catalina.filters.SetCharacterEncodingFilter</filter-class>
<async-supported>true</async-supported>
<init-param>
<param-name>encoding</param-name>
<param-value>UTF-8</param-value>
</init-param>
<init-param>
<param-name>ignore</param-name>
<param-value>true</param-value>
</init-param>
</filter>

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

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5568