VMware ESXi
TMA-ESXI9-1.4
Host hardware must enable and configure a TPM 2.0
Description
ESXi can use Trusted Platform Modules (TPM) 2.0 to enable advanced security features that prevent malware, remove dependencies, and secure hardware lifecycle operations. The audit runs esxcli hardware trustedboot get and requires "Tpm Present: true"; TPM attestation alarms are still reviewed in vCenter. Runs in the ESXi Shell (busybox sh) as root.
How it is checked
Audit method: Shell command
out=$(esxcli hardware trustedboot get 2>/dev/null) || exit 1
v=$(printf '%s\n' "$out" | awk -F': *' 'tolower($1) ~ /^ *tpm present$/ {print $2; exit}' | tr 'A-Z' 'a-z' | sed 's/ *$//')
if [ "$v" = true ]; then echo compliant; else echo "Tpm Present: ${v:-not reported}"; fi- Expected output
compliant
How it is fixed
Fix method: Guidance or infrastructure patch
1. Place the host in maintenance mode. 2. reboot into BIOS/UEFI. 3. Enable and activate the TPM 4. Select TPM 2.0 mode, and ensure UEFI/Secure Boot prerequisites required by the server vendor are enabled. 5. Save changes. 6. reboot with command reboot 7. Verify again with esxcli hardware trustedboot get and esxcli system settings encryption get.
Properties
- Operating systems
- Any
- Tags
- vmwareesxihardware
- Reference
- CIS VMware ESXi 9.0 Benchmark v1.0.0 - 1.4 Host hardware must enable and configure a TPM 2.0
Check this host
Run this on a machine you are allowed to audit. The scan is read-only.
tmaegis scan --target vmware