View 62 Security
View 62 Security
View 62 Security
VMware Horizon 6
Version 6.2.1
EN-001910-02
View Security
You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:
http://www.vmware.com/support/
The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.
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Copyright 2015 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information.
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Contents
View Security
24
5 Configuring Security Protocols and Cipher Suites for Blast Secure Gateway 31
Configure Security Protocols and Cipher Suites for Blast Secure Gateway (BSG)
31
Index 37
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View Security
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View Security
View Security provides a concise reference to the security features of VMware Horizon 6.
n
Resources that must be protected, such as security-relevant configuration files and passwords, and the
recommended access controls for secure operation.
External interfaces, ports, and services that must be open or enabled for the correct operation of View.
Intended Audience
This information is intended for IT decision makers, architects, administrators, and others who must
familiarize themselves with the security components of View.
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View Security
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Having different accounts for specific components protects against giving individuals more access and
permissions than they need. Knowing the locations of configuration files and other files with sensitive data
aids in setting up security for various host systems.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
View Accounts
You must set up system and database accounts to administer View components.
Table 11. View System Accounts
View Component
Required Accounts
Horizon Client
Configure user accounts in Active Directory for the users who have access to remote desktops
and applications. The user accounts must be members of the Remote Desktop Users group, but
the accounts do not require View administrator privileges.
vCenter Server
Configure a user account in Active Directory with permission to perform the operations in
vCenter Server that are necessary to support View.
For information about the required privileges, see the View Installation document.
View Composer
Create a user account in Active Directory to use with View Composer. View Composer requires
this account to join linked-clone desktops to your Active Directory domain.
The user account should not be a View administrative account. Give the account the minimum
privileges that it requires to create and remove computer objects in a specified Active Directory
container. For example, the account does not require domain administrator privileges.
For information about the required privileges, see the View Installation document.
View Connection
Server
When you install View, you can specify a specific domain user, the local Administrators group,
or a specific domain user group as View administrators. We recommend creating a dedicated
domain user group of View administrators. The default is the currently logged in domain user.
In View Administrator, you can use View Configuration > Administrators to change the list of
View administrators.
See the View Administration document for information about the privileges that are required.
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View Security
Required Accounts
View Composer
database
An SQL Server or Oracle database stores View Composer data. You create an administrative
account for the database that you can associate with the View Composer user account.
For information about setting up a View Composer database, see the View Installation document.
An SQL Server or Oracle database stores View event data. You create an administrative account
for the database that View Administrator can use to access the event data.
For information about setting up a View Composer database, see the View Installation document.
Configure View databases on servers that are separate from other database servers that your
organization uses.
Configure separate accounts for access to the View Composer and event databases.
View Resources
View includes several configuration files and similar resources that must be protected.
Table 13. View Connection Server and Security Server Resources
Resource
Location
Protection
LDAP settings
Not applicable.
%ProgramData%\VMWare\VDM\backups
locked.properties
(secure gateway
configuration file)
install_directory\VMware\VMware
View\Server\sslgateway\conf
absg.properties
(Blast Secure
Gateway
configuration file)
install_directory\VMware\VMware
View\Server\appblastgateway
Log files
web.xml
(Tomcat
configuration file)
install_directory\VMware
View\Server\broker\web apps\ROOT\Web INF
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All components
(installation logs)
%TEMP%\vminst.log_date_timestamp
View Agent
<Drive Letter>:\ProgramData\VMware\VDM\logs
To access View log files that are stored in <Drive
Letter>:\ProgramData\VMware\VDM\logs, you must open the logs from a program with
elevated administrator privileges. Right-click the program file and select Run as
administrator.
If a User Data Disk (UDD) is configured, <Drive Letter> might correspond to the UDD.
%TEMP%\vmmsi.log_date_timestamp
View Composer
<Drive Letter>:\ProgramData\VMware\VDM\logs.
The log directory is configurable in the log configuration settings of the View Common
Configuration ADM template file (vdm_common.adm).
PCoIP Secure Gateway logs are written to files named SecurityGateway_*.log in the
PCoIP Secure Gateway subdirectory.
Blast Secure Gateway logs are written to files named absg*.log in the Blast Secure
Gateway subdirectory.
View Services
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View Security
10
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View includes several settings that you can use to adjust the security of the configuration. You can access the
settings by using View Administrator or by using the ADSI Edit utility, as appropriate.
NOTE For information about security settings for Horizon Client and View Agent, see the Horizon Client and
View Agent Security document.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
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11
View Security
12
Setting
Description
The password is required when you restore the View LDAP configuration from an
encrypted backup.
When you install View Connection Server version 5.1 or later, you provide a data recovery
password. After installation, you can change this password in View Administrator.
When you back up View Connection Server, the View LDAP configuration is exported as
encrypted LDIF data. To restore the encrypted backup with the vdmimport utility, you
must provide the data recovery password. The password must contain between 1 and 128
characters. Follow your organization's best practices for generating secure passwords.
Determines the security mechanism used when JMS messages are passed between View
components.
n If set to Disabled, message security mode is disabled.
n If set to Enabled, legacy message signing and verification of JMS messages takes place.
View components reject unsigned messages. This mode supports a mix of SSL and
plain JMS connections.
n If set to Enhanced, SSL is used for all JMS connections, to encrypt all messages. Access
control is also enabled to restrict the JMS topics that View components can send
messages to and receive messages from.
n If set to Mixed, message security mode is enabled, but not enforced for View
components that predate View Manager 3.0.
The default setting is Enhanced for new installations. If you upgrade from a previous
version, the setting used in the previous version is retained.
IMPORTANT VMware strongly recommends setting the message security mode to Enhanced
after you upgrade all View Connection Server instances, security servers, and View
desktops to this release. The Enhanced setting provides many important security
improvements and MQ (message queue) updates.
Read-only field that appears when Message security mode is changed from Enabled to
Enhanced. Because the change is made in phases, this field shows the progress through the
phases:
n Waiting for Message Bus restart is the first phase. This state is displayed until you
manually restart either all View Connection Server instances in the pod or the VMware
Horizon View Message Bus Component service on all View Connection Server hosts in
the pod.
n Pending Enhanced is the next state. After all View Message Bus Component services
have been restarted, the system begins changing the message security mode to
Enhanced for all desktops and security servers.
n Enhanced is the final state, indicating that all components are now using Enhanced
message security mode.
Reauthenticate secure
tunnel connections after
network interruption
Disconnects all desktops and applications after the specified number of minutes has passed
since the user logged in to View. All desktops and applications will be disconnected at the
same time regardless of when the user opened them.
The default is 600 minutes.
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Description
Protects application sessions when there is no keyboard or mouse activity on the client
device. If set to After ... minutes, View disconnects all applications and discards SSO
credentials after the specified number of minutes without user activity. Desktop sessions
are disconnected. Users must log in again to reconnect to the applications that were
disconnected or launch a new desktop or application.
If set to Never, View never disconnects applications or discards SSO credentials due to user
inactivity.
The default is Never.
Other clients.
Discard SSO credentials
Discards the SSO credentials after a certain time period. This setting is for clients that do
not support application remoting. If set to After ... minutes, users must log in again to
connect to a desktop after the specified number of minutes has passed since the user logged
in to View, regardless of any user activity on the client device.
The default is After 15 minutes.
Determines whether to use Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) for connections between
security servers and View Connection Server instances. This setting must be disabled
before installing a security server in FIPS mode; otherwise pairing will fail.
By default, IPSec for security server connections is enabled.
View Administrator
session timeout
Determines how long an idle View Administrator session continues before the session
times out.
IMPORTANT Setting the View Administrator session timeout to a high number of minutes
increases the risk of unauthorized use of View Administrator. Use caution when you allow
an idle session to persist a long time.
By default, the View Administrator session timeout is 30 minutes. You can set a session
timeout from 1 to 4320 minutes.
For more information about these settings and their security implications, see the View Administration
document.
NOTE SSL is required for all Horizon Client connections and View Administrator connections to View. If
your View deployment uses load balancers or other client-facing, intermediate servers, you can off-load SSL
to them and then configure non-SSL connections on individual View Connection Server instances and
security servers. See "Off-load SSL Connections to Intermediate Servers" in the View Administration
document.
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View Security
Description
Determines whether Horizon Client makes a further secure connection to the View
Connection Server or security server host when users connect to View desktops and
applications with the PCoIP display protocol.
If this setting is disabled, the desktop or application session is established directly
between the client and the View desktop or the Remote Desktop Services (RDS) host,
bypassing the View Connection Server or security server host.
This setting is disabled by default.
Determines whether Horizon Client makes a further HTTPS connection to the View
Connection Server or security server host when users connect to a View desktop or an
application.
If this setting is disabled, the desktop or application session is established directly
between the client and the View desktop or the Remote Desktop Services (RDS) host,
bypassing the View Connection Server or security server host.
This setting is enabled by default.
Determines whether clients that use a Web browser to access desktops use Blast Secure
Gateway to establish a secure tunnel to View Connection Server.
If not enabled, Web browsers make direct connections to View desktops, bypassing View
Connection Server.
This setting is disabled by default.
For more information about these settings and their security implications, see the View Administration
document.
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Description
csallowunencryptedstartsession
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15
View Security
16
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Certain UDP and TCP ports must be open so that View components can communicate with each other.
Knowing which Windows services run on each type of View server helps identify services that do not
belong on the server.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
Port
Target
Port
Protoc
ol
Security server
55000
View Agent
4172
UDP
Security server
4172
Horizon Client
Varies
UDP
Security server
500
View
Connection
Server
500
UDP
Security server
View
Connection
Server
4001
TCP
JMS traffic.
Security server
View
Connection
Server
4002
TCP
Security server
View
Connection
Server
8009
TCP
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Description
17
View Security
18
Source
Port
Target
Port
Protoc
ol
Security server
View
Connection
Server
ESP
Security server
4500
View
Connection
Server
4500
UDP
Security server
View desktop
3389
TCP
Security server
View desktop
9427
TCP
Security server
View desktop
32111
TCP
Security server
View desktop
4172
TCP
Security server
View desktop
22443
TCP
HTML Access.
View Agent
4172
Horizon Client
Varies
UDP
View Agent
4172
View
Connection
Server or
security server
55000
UDP
View Agent
4172
Access Point
appliance
UDP
Horizon Client
View
Connection
Server or
security server
or Access Point
appliance
80
TCP
Horizon Client
View security
server or
Access Point
appliance
443
TCP
Description
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Port
Target
Port
Protoc
ol
Horizon Client
View
Connection
Server
443
TCP
Horizon Client
View
Connection
Server or
security server
or Access Point
appliance
4172
TCP
and
UDP
Horizon Client
View desktop
3389
TCP
Horizon Client
View desktop
9427
TCP
Horizon Client
View desktop
32111
TCP
Horizon Client
View Agent
4172
TCP
and
UDP
Horizon Client
Varies
View Agent
4172
UDP
Horizon Client
Varies
View
Connection
Server or
security server
4172
UDP
Web Browser
Security server
or Access Point
appliance
8443
TCP
HTML Access.
View
Connection
Server
View
Connection
Server
48080
TCP
View
Connection
Server
vCenter Server
or View
Composer
80
TCP
View
Connection
Server
vCenter Server
443
TCP
View
Connection
Server
View
Composer
18443
TCP
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Description
19
View Security
20
Source
Port
Target
Port
Protoc
ol
View
Connection
Server
55000
View Agent
4172
UDP
View
Connection
Server
4172
Horizon Client
Varies
UDP
View
Connection
Server
View
Connection
Server
4100
TCP
View
Connection
Server
View
Connection
Server
4101
TCP
View
Connection
Server
View desktop
3389
TCP
View
Connection
Server
View desktop
4172
TCP
View
Connection
Server
View desktop
9427
TCP
View
Connection
Server
View desktop
32111
TCP
View
Connection
Server
View
Connection
Server
8472
TCP
View
Connection
Server
View
Connection
Server
22389
TCP
View
Connection
Server
View
Connection
Server
22636
TCP
Access Point
appliance
View
Connection
Server or load
balancer
443
TCP
Access Point
appliance
View desktop
3389
TCP
Access Point
appliance
View desktop
9427
TCP
Access Point
appliance
View desktop
or application
4172
TCP
and
UDP
Access Point
appliance
View desktop
32111
TCP
Access Point
appliance
View desktop
22443
TCP
HTML Access.
Description
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Port
Target
Port
Protoc
ol
Description
View desktop
View
Connection
Server
instances
4002
TCP
View Composer
service
ESXi host
902
TCP
Used when View Composer customizes linkedclone disks, including View Composer internal
disks and, if they are specified, persistent disks and
system disposable disks.
Notes and Caveats for TCP and UDP Ports Used by View
Connection attempts over HTTP are silently redirected to HTTPS, except for connection attempts to View
Administrator. HTTP redirection is not needed with more recent Horizon clients because they default to
HTTPS, but it is useful when your users connect with a Web browser, for example to download Horizon
Client.
The problem with HTTP redirection is that it is a non-secure protocol. If a user does not form the habit of
entering https:// in the address bar, an attacker can compromise the Web browser, install malware, or steal
credentials, even when the expected page is correctly displayed.
NOTE HTTP redirection for external connections can take place only if you configure your external firewall
to allow inbound traffic to TCP port 80.
Connection attempts over HTTP to View Administrator are not redirected. Instead, an error message is
returned indicating that you must use HTTPS.
To prevent redirection for all HTTP connection attempts, see "Prevent HTTP Redirection for Client
Connections to Connection Server" in the View Installation document.
Connections to port 80 of a View Connection Server instance or security server can also take place if you offload SSL client connections to an intermediate device. See "Off-load SSL Connections to Intermediate
Servers" in the View Administration document.
To allow HTTP redirection when the SSL port number was changed, see "Change the Port Number for
HTTP Redirection to Connection Server" in the View Installation document.
NOTE The UDP port number that clients use for PCoIP might change. If port 50002 is in use, the client will
pick 50003. If port 50003 is in use, the client will pick port 50004, and so on. You must configure firewall
with ANY where "Varies" is listed in the table.
Startup
Type
Description
VMware Horizon 6
Blast Secure
Gateway
Automatic
Provides secure HTML Access services. This service must be running if clients
connect to View Connection Server through the HTML Access Secure Gateway.
VMware Horizon 6
Connection Server
Automatic
Provides connection broker services. This service must always be running. If you
start or stop this service, it also starts or stops the Framework, Message Bus,
Security Gateway, and Web services. This service does not start or stop the
VMwareVDMDS service or the VMware Horizon View Script Host service.
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View Security
Startup
Type
Description
VMware Horizon 6
Framework
Component
Manual
Provides event logging, security, and COM+ framework services. This service must
always be running.
VMware Horizon 6
Message Bus
Component
Manual
Provides messaging services between the View components. This service must
always be running.
VMware Horizon 6
PCoIP Secure
Gateway
Manual
Provides PCoIP Secure Gateway services. This service must be running if clients
connect to View Connection Server through the PCoIP Secure Gateway.
VMware Horizon 6
Script Host
Disabled
Provides support for third-party scripts that run when you delete virtual machines.
This service is disabled by default. You should enable this service if you want to
run scripts.
VMware Horizon 6
Security Gateway
Component
Manual
VMware Horizon 6
Web Component
Manual
VMwareVDMDS
Automatic
Provides LDAP directory services. This service must always be running. During
upgrades of View, this service ensures that existing data is migrated correctly.
22
Startup
Type
Description
VMware Horizon 6
Blast Secure
Gateway
Automatic
Provides secure HTML Access services. This service must be running if clients
connect to this security server through the HTML Access Secure Gateway.
VMware Horizon 6
Security Server
Automatic
Provides security server services. This service must always be running. If you start
or stop this service, it also starts or stops the Framework and Security Gateway
services.
VMware Horizon 6
Framework
Component
Manual
Provides event logging, security, and COM+ framework services. This service must
always be running.
VMware Horizon 6
PCoIP Secure
Gateway
Manual
Provides PCoIP Secure Gateway services. This service must be running if clients
connect to this security server through the PCoIP Secure Gateway.
VMware Horizon 6
Security Gateway
Component
Manual
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You can configure the security protocols and cipher suites that are accepted by View Connection Server.
You can define a global acceptance policy that applies to all View Connection Server instances in a
replicated group, or you can define an acceptance policy for individual View Connection Server instances
and security servers.
You also can configure the security protocols and cipher suites that View Connection Server instances
propose when connecting to vCenter Server and View Composer. You can define a global proposal policy
that applies to all View Connection Server instances in a replicated group. You cannot define individual
instances to opt out of a global proposal policy.
NOTE The security settings for View Connection Server do not apply to Blast Secure Gateway (BSG). You
must configure security for BSG separately. See Chapter 5, Configuring Security Protocols and Cipher
Suites for Blast Secure Gateway, on page 31.
Oracle's Unlimited Strength Jurisdiction Policy files are included as standard, allowing 256-bit keys by
default.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
Default Global Policies for Security Protocols and Cipher Suites, on page 24
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23
View Security
TLS 1.2
TLS 1.1
TLS 1.0
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
If all connecting clients support TLS 1.1 and/or TLS 1.2, you can remove TLS 1.0 from the acceptance
policy.
The following attribute lists the cipher suites. The order of the cipher suites is unimportant. This example
shows an abbreviated list:
pae-ServerSSLCipherSuites
= \LIST:TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256,TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
The following attribute lists the cipher suites. This list should be in order of preference. Place the most
preferred cipher suite first, the second-most preferred suite next, and so on. This example shows an
abbreviated list:
pae-ClientSSLCipherSuites
= \LIST:TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256,TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
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Chapter 4 Configuring Security Protocols and Cipher Suites on a View Connection Server Instance or on a Security Server
Familiarize yourself with the View LDAP attributes that define the acceptance and proposal policies.
See Global Acceptance and Proposal Policies Defined in View LDAP, on page 24.
See the Microsoft TechNet Web site for information on how to use the ADSI Edit utility on your
Windows Server operating system version.
Procedure
1
Start the ADSI Edit utility on your View Connection Server computer.
3
4
In the Select or type a Distinguished Name or Naming Context text box, type the distinguished name
In the Select or type a domain or server text box, select or type localhost:389 or the fully qualified
domain name (FQDN) of the View Connection Server computer followed by port 389.
For example: localhost:389 or mycomputer.mydomain.com:389
Expand the ADSI Edit tree, expand OU=Properties, select OU=Global, and select OU=Common in the
right pane.
On the object CN=Common, OU=Global, OU=Properties, select each attribute that you want to change
and type the new list of security protocols or cipher suites.
Restart the Windows service VMware Horizon View Security Gateway Component on each Connection
Server instance and security server if you modified pae-ServerSSLSecureProtocols.
You do not need to restart any service after modifying pae-ClientSSLSecureProtocols.
Create or edit the locked.properties file in the SSL gateway configuration folder on the View
Connection Server or security server computer.
For example: install_directory\VMware\VMware View\Server\sslgateway\conf\
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25
View Security
Add secureProtocols.n and enabledCipherSuite.n entries, including the associated security protocols
and cipher suites.
Restart the VMware Horizon View Connection Server service or VMware Horizon View Security Server
service to make your changes take effect.
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Chapter 4 Configuring Security Protocols and Cipher Suites on a View Connection Server Instance or on a Security Server
RFC 5746 Transport Layer Security (TLS) Renegotiation Indication Extension, also known as secure
renegotiation, is enabled by default.
NOTE Client-initiated renegotiation is disabled by default on Connection Servers and security servers.
To enable, edit registry value [HKLM\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc.\VMware
VDM\plugins\wsnm\TunnelService\Params]JvmOptions and remove
-Djdk.tls.rejectClientInitiatedRenegotiation=true from the string.
RFC 6797 HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), also known as transport security, is enabled by
default.
RFC 7034 HTTP Header Field X-Frame-Options, also known as counter clickjacking, is enabled by
default. You can disable it by adding the entry x-frame-options=OFF to the file locked.properties. For
information on how to add properties to the file locked.properties, see Configure Acceptance Policies
on Individual View Servers, on page 25.
TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
For View Composer and View Agent Direct-Connection (VADC) machines, you can enable DHE cipher
suites by adding the following to the list of ciphers when you follow the procedure "Disable Weak Ciphers
in SSL/TLS for View Composer and View Agent Machines" in the View Installation document.
TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
NOTE It is not possible to enable support for ECDSA certificates. These certificates have never been
supported.
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27
View Security
SSLv3
For more information, see http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7568.
For Connection Server instances, security servers, and View desktops, you can enable SSLv3 by removing
server.
For View Composer and View Agent Direct-Connection (VADC) machines, you can enable SSLv3 by adding
the following values (REG_DWORD) to the registry key
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\SSL 3.0\Server:
DisabledByDefault=0
Enabled=1
RC4
For more information, see http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7465.
For Connection Server instances, security servers, and View desktops, you can enable RC4 on a Connection
Server, security server, or a View Agent machine by editing the configuration file C:\Program
Files\VMware\VMware View\Server\jre\lib\security\java.security. At the end of the file is a multi-line
entry called jdk.tls.legacyAlgorithms. Remove RC4_128 and the comma that follows it from this entry and
restart the Connection Server, security server, or the View Agent machine, as the case may be.
For View Composer and View Agent Direct-Connection (VADC) machines, you can enable RC4 by adding
the following to the list of ciphers when you follow the procedure "Disable Weak Ciphers in SSL/TLS for
View Composer and View Agent Machines" in the View Installation document.
TLS_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_SHA
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Chapter 4 Configuring Security Protocols and Cipher Suites on a View Connection Server Instance or on a Security Server
For example:
acceptContentType.1=x-www-form-urlencoded
Origin Checking
By default, protection against cross-site request forging is disabled.
You can enable this protection by adding the following entry to the file locked.properties:
checkOrigin=true
If multiple Connection Servers or security servers are load balanced, you must specify the load balancer
address by adding the following entry to the file locked.properties. Port 443 is assumed for this address.
balancedHost=load-balancer-name
When this option is enabled, connections to View can be made only to the address given in the external
URL, to the balancedHost address, or to localhost.
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View Security
30
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The security settings for View Connection Server do not apply to Blast Secure Gateway (BSG). You must
configure security for BSG separately.
Procedure
1
To enable only one protocol, specify the same protocol for both localHttpsProtocolLow and
localHttpsProtocolHigh.
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31
View Security
32
Restart the Windows service VMware Horizon View Blast Secure Gateway.
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USB devices can be vulnerable to a security threat called BadUSB, in which the firmware on some USB
devices can be hijacked and replaced with malware. For example, a device can be made to redirect network
traffic or to emulate a keyboard and capture keystrokes. You can configure the USB redirection feature to
protect your View deployment against this security vulnerability.
By disabling USB redirection, you can prevent any USB devices from being redirected to your users' View
desktops and applications. Alternatively, you can disable redirection of specific USB devices, allowing users
to have access only to specific devices on their desktops and applications.
The decision whether to take these steps depends on the security requirements in your organization. These
steps are not mandatory. You can install USB redirection and leave the feature enabled for all USB devices in
your View deployment. At a minimum, consider seriously the extent to which your organization should try
to limit its exposure to this security vulnerability.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
When you install View Agent on a desktop image or RDS host, deselect the USB redirection setup
option. (The option is deselected by default.) This approach prevents access to USB devices on all
remote desktops and applications that are deployed from the desktop image or RDS host.
In View Administrator, edit the USB access policy for a specific pool to either deny or allow access.
With this approach, you do not have to change the desktop image and can control access to USB devices
in specific desktop and application pools.
Only the global USB access policy is available for RDS desktop and application pools. You cannot set
this policy for individual RDS desktop or application pools.
In View Administrator, after you set the policy at the desktop or application pool level, you can
override the policy for a specific user in the pool by selecting the User Overrides setting and selecting a
user.
Set the Exclude All Devices policy to true, on the View Agent side or on the client side, as appropriate.
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If you set the Exclude All Devices policy to true, Horizon Client prevents all USB devices from being
redirected. You can use other policy settings to allow specific devices or families of devices to be redirected.
If you set the policy to false, Horizon Client allows all USB devices to be redirected except those that are
blocked by other policy settings. You can set the policy on both View Agent and Horizon Client. The
following table shows how the Exclude All Devices policy that you can set for View Agent and
Horizon Client combine to produce an effective policy for the client computer. By default, all USB devices
are allowed to be redirected unless otherwise blocked.
Table 61. Effect of Combining Exclude All Devices Policies
Exclude All Devices Policy on View
Agent
If you have set Disable Remote Configuration Download policy to true, the value of Exclude All Devices
on View Agent is not passed to Horizon Client, but View Agent and Horizon Client enforce the local value
of Exclude All Devices.
These policies are included in the View Agent Configuration ADM template file (vdm_agent.adm). For more
information, see "USB Settings in the View Agent Configuration ADM Template" in the Setting Up Desktop
and Application Pools in View document.
Enabled
IncludeVidPid
o:vid-0123_pid-abcd
NOTE This example configuration provides protection, but a compromised device can report any vid/pid,
so a possible attack could still occur.
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By default, View blocks certain device families from being redirected to the remote desktop or application.
For example, HID (human interface devices) and keyboards are blocked from appearing in the guest. Some
released BadUSB code targets USB keyboard devices.
You can prevent specific device families from being redirected to the remote desktop or application. For
example, you can block all video, audio, and mass storage devices:
ExcludeDeviceFamily
o:video;audio;storage
Conversely, you can create a whitelist by preventing all devices from being redirected but allowing a
specific device family to be used. For example, you can block all devices except storage devices:
ExcludeAllDevices
Enabled
IncludeDeviceFamily
o:storage
Another risk can arise when a remote user logs into a desktop or application and infects it. You can prevent
USB access to any View connections that originate from outside the company firewall. The USB device can
be used internally but not externally.
Be aware that if you block TCP port 32111 to disable external access to USB devices, time zone
synchronization will not work because port 32111 is also used for time zone synchronization. For zero
clients, the USB traffic is embedded inside a virtual channel on UDP port 4172. Because port 4172 is used for
the display protocol as well as for USB redirection, you cannot block port 4172. If required, you can disable
USB redirection on zero clients. For details, see the zero client product literature or contact the zero client
vendor.
Setting policies to block certain device families or specific devices can help to mitigate the risk of being
infected with BadUSB malware. These policies do not mitigate all risk, but they can be an effective part of an
overall security strategy.
These policies are included in the View Agent Configuration ADM template file (vdm_agent.adm). For more
information, see "USB Settings in the View Agent Configuration ADM Template" in the Setting Up Desktop
and Application Pools in View document.
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Index
origin checking 29
cipher suites
configure for Blast Secure Gateway 31
configuring for Blast Secure Gateway 31
configuring for View Connection Server 23
default global policies 24
editing in View LDAP 25
Connection Server service 21
content type checking 28
cross-site scripting attacks 28
D
desktops, configuring proposal policies 26
F
firewall settings 17
Framework Component service 21, 22
G
global security settings in View Administrator 12
H
HTTP, redirection 21
I
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Standards 27
L
locked.properties, configuring acceptance
policies 25
log files 7, 8
M
Message Bus Component service 21
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R
RC4, disabled in View 27
resources 7, 8
T
TCP ports, 80 and 443 21
U
UDP ports 17
USB redirection
deploying devices securely 33
disabling all devices 33
disabling specific devices 34
V
View Connection Server, services 21
View LDAP, global acceptance and proposal
policies 24
View LDAP security settings 15
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VMwareVDMDS service 21
W
Web Component service 21
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