Error: Privilege check failed for missing permission VirtualMachine.Interact.DeviceConnection in vCenter

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Virtual machine restore operations fail with the following error: Privilege check failed for user for missing permission VirtualMachine.Interact.DeviceConnection.

Cause

The service account used by the backup software lacks the mandatory granular privileges required by the vSphere 8.x security auditing framework.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, assign the missing VirtualMachine.Interact.DeviceConnection privilege to the role used by the service account:

1. Log in to the vSphere Client with Administrator privileges.
2. Navigate to Administration > Access Control > Roles.
3. Select the role assigned to the affected service account (e.g., "Backup Service Role") and click Edit.
4. In the privileges hierarchy, navigate to Virtual Machine > Interaction.
5. Enable the checkbox for Connect devices.
6. Click Save.
7. Retry the restoration operation.

Additional Information

• For a complete list of required permissions for backup operations, refer to your vendor's documentation: VM Restore Permissions.