ovfenv command returns "Unable to find the ovf environment." in VMware provided appliance

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• vApp Options in the vSphere Client UI>Inventory>VM>Configure>vApp Options>Properties are set
• vApp contains the ovfenv command line tool at /opt/vmware/bin/ovfenv
• Running the command results in:
  Unable to find the ovf environment.
• vApp Options are enabled.
• OVF environment transport is set to VMware Tools.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8.x

Resolution

1. Shutdown the guest OS via the vSphere client.
2. Edit the VM, and go to the vApp Options tab, then click OK. (This will trigger a reconfigure virtual machine task, which should reset the ovfenv).
3. Power on the VM.
4. Test /opt/vmware/bin/ovfenv, it should return the data set in the vApp Options