VCP-VVF IT Architectures Technologies Standards Practice Question
A security architect is hardening a vSphere Foundation 9.0 environment and needs to restrict access to the ESXi host CIM (Common Information Model) service. Which design practice aligns with modern security hardening standards?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Disable the CIM server service on ESXi hosts if hardware monitoring is handled out-of-band via IPMI/iLO/iDRAC.
Disabling unused or insecure management services like CIM (or restricting access) reduces the attack surface of the ESXi hypervisor.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Grant CIM access permissions to all authenticated Active Directory users.
Why it's wrong here
Access should follow strict principle of least privilege, not granted broadly.
- ✗
Configure the CIM service to use unencrypted HTTP ports for faster hardware polling.
Why it's wrong here
Unencrypted HTTP violates security standards; all management traffic should be encrypted.
- ✓
Disable the CIM server service on ESXi hosts if hardware monitoring is handled out-of-band via IPMI/iLO/iDRAC.
Why this is correct
Correct. Disabling unused services like CIM when out-of-band management is present hardens the ESXi host.
- ✗
Route all CIM traffic through the vCenter Server database layer.
Why it's wrong here
CIM is a direct host-level protocol, not routed through the vCenter database.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every VCP-VVF question from scratch — 517 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official VMware exam blueprint
This VCP-VVF practice question is part of Courseiva's free VMware certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the VCP-VVF exam.