The OVF runtime environment gets mounted on each VM deployed through Aria Automation and it contains the local administrator password in plain text for Windows servers

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

When a VM is deployed from Aria Automation a OVF runtime gets mounted that contains an admin password

 

Environment

Aria Automation 8.18.1

Resolution

There are a few options to resolve this issue.

1) use public-private key authentication.  

https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/aria/aria-automation/8-18/assembler-on-prem-using-and-managing-master-map-8-18/maphead-designing-your-deployments/remote-access.html

2) discount CDROM after cloning using a subscription

https://community.broadcom.com/vmware-cloud-foundation/discussion/how-to-umount-cd-drive-after-cloudinit-completed