STIGQter: STIG Summary: VMware vSphere 8.0 vCenter Appliance PostgreSQL Security Technical Implementation Guide Version: 2 Release: 3 Benchmark Date: 01 Jul 2026:

The vCenter PostgreSQL service must encrypt passwords for user authentication.

DISA Rule

SV-259176r1015952_rule

Vulnerability Number

V-259176

Group Title

SRG-APP-000171-DB-000074

Rule Version

VCPG-80-000038

Severity

CAT I

CCI(s)

• CCI-004062 - For password-based authentication, store passwords using an approved salted key derivation function, preferably using a keyed hash.

Weight

10

Fix Recommendation

A script is included with vCenter to generate a PostgreSQL STIG configuration.

At the command prompt, run the following commands:

# chmod +x /opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/vmw_vpg_config/vmw_vpg_config.py
# /opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/vmw_vpg_config/vmw_vpg_config.py --action stig_enable --pg-data-dir /storage/db/vpostgres
# chmod -x /opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/vmw_vpg_config/vmw_vpg_config.py

Restart the PostgreSQL service by running the following command:

# vmon-cli --restart vmware-vpostgres

Check Contents

At the command prompt, run the following command:

$ /opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/psql -U postgres -A -t -c "SHOW password_encryption;"

Expected result:

scram-sha-256

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

Note: Prior to Update 2, "md5" is the expected result.

Vulnerability Number

V-259176

Documentable

False

Rule Version

VCPG-80-000038

Severity Override Guidance

At the command prompt, run the following command:

$ /opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/psql -U postgres -A -t -c "SHOW password_encryption;"

Expected result:

scram-sha-256

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

Note: Prior to Update 2, "md5" is the expected result.

Check Content Reference

M

Target Key

5570