Advanced Configuration
Overview
Section titled “Overview”Evidence: Advanced Configuration
Description: ESXi Advanced Configuration
Category: System
Platform: esxi
Short Name: advconf
Is Parsed: Yes
Sent to Investigation Hub: Yes
Collect File(s): No
Background
Section titled “Background”ESXi advanced configuration settings control low-level hypervisor behavior, security policies, and system parameters. These settings can be modified to weaken security, enable backdoors, or alter logging behavior, making them valuable for detecting unauthorized system modifications.
Data Collected
Section titled “Data Collected”This collector gathers structured data about advanced configuration.
Advanced Configuration Data
Section titled “Advanced Configuration Data”| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
AccessTime | Access Time | 2023-10-15 14:30:25+03:00 |
AccessCount | Access Count | 123 |
URL | URL | Example value |
Browser | Browser | Example value |
Title | Title | Example value |
VisitDuration | Visit Duration | Example value |
Referrer | Referrer | Example value |
TypedCount | Typed Count | 123 |
IsHidden | Is Hidden | true |
TransitionType | Transition Type | Example value |
VisitID | Visit ID | 123 |
TransitionQualifiers | Transition Qualifiers | Example value |
User | User | Example value |
Profile | Profile | Example value |
HistoryFilePath | History File Path | Example value |
Collection Method
Section titled “Collection Method”This collector parses the advanced configuration file containing key-value pairs of ESXi system settings, extracting configuration parameter names and their corresponding values as defined in the host’s advanced options.
Forensic Value
Section titled “Forensic Value”Advanced configuration analysis reveals security policy changes, unauthorized parameter modifications, and potential indicators of compromise. Comparing settings against baselines helps detect malicious configuration changes, disabled security features, or altered logging that may hide attacker activities.