Oracle Database Security Assessment Report - Database Configuration

Displays information about the user account initialization parameters.

SEC_MAX_FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS configures the maximum number of failed login attempts in a single session before the connection is closed. This is independent of the user profile parameter FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS, which controls locking the user account after multiple failed login attempts. RESOURCE_LIMIT should be set to TRUE to enable enforcement of any resource constraints set in user profiles.

• SEC_MAX_FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS
• Configuration of the Maximum Number of Authentication Attempts

• Restricting Operations on PDBs Using PDB Lockdown Profiles
• PDB_LOCKDOWN

Checks if control files are multiplexed and lists all the control file locations.

The REMOTE_LOGIN_PASSWORDFILE set to EXCLUSIVE, allows passwords to be updated using the ALTER USER command.

• Managing Control Files
• CONTROL_FILES

• Managing the Redo Log

• Choosing Between NOARCHIVELOG and ARCHIVELOG Mode

Displays information about Database backup records.

Database should be backed up regularly to prevent loss of data in the event of a system failure. Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN) allows performing backup and recovery tasks on your databases. Unencrypted backup data should not be transported on tape or disk to offsite storage for safekeeping.

• RMAN Backup concepts
• Ransomware and Cybersecurity-ZDLRA

Displays whether the instance name contains the Database version number.

Instance names should not contain Oracle version numbers. Service names may be discovered by unauthenticated users. If the service name includes version numbers or other database product information, a malicious user may use that information to develop a targeted attack.

• Using SQL Firewall
• Configuring Oracle SQL Firewall

• About Read-Only Oracle Homes
• Enabling a Read-Only Oracle Home

Displays whether access to dictionary objects is properly limited.

When O7_DICTIONARY_ACCESSIBILITY is set to FALSE, tables owned by SYS are not affected by the ANY TABLE system privileges. This parameter should always be set to FALSE because tables owned by SYS control the overall state of the database and should not be subject to manipulation by users with ANY TABLE privileges.

Displays whether data inference attacks are properly blocked.

When SQL92_SECURITY is set to TRUE, UPDATE and DELETE statements that refer to a column in their WHERE clauses will succeed only when the user has the privilege to SELECT from the same column. This parameter should be set to TRUE so that this requirement is enforced in order to prevent users from inferring the value of a column which they do not have the privilege to view.

• SQL92_SECURITY

Displays whether the password file is configured correctly.

The REMOTE_LOGIN_PASSWORDFILE set to EXCLUSIVE allows the password file to contain distinct entries for each administrative user allowing them to be individually audited and tracked for their actions. It also allows passwords to be updated using the ALTER USER command.

• REMOTE_LOGIN_PASSWORDFILE

Displays information about initialization parameters that determine the database server response to malformed packets. Also, includes details on usage of a remote listener and if database server version information is hidden from unauthenticated client requests.

REMOTE_LISTENER allows a network listener running on another system to be used. This parameter should normally be unset to ensure that the local listener is used. The SEC_PROTOCOL_ERROR parameters control the database server's response when it receives malformed network packets from a client. Because these malformed packets may indicate an attempted attack by a malicious client, the parameters should be set to log the incident and terminate the connection.

SEC_RETURN_SERVER_RELEASE_BANNER should be set to FALSE to limit the information that is returned to an unauthenticated client, which could be used to help determine the server's vulnerability to a remote attack.

• Parameters for Enhanced Security of Database Communication

Displays whether the Oracle Database roles are defined and managed by the database itself or by the host operating system (for local and remote authentication).

The OS_ROLES parameter determines whether roles granted to users are controlled by GRANT statements in the database or by the database server's operating system. REMOTE_OS_AUTHENT and REMOTE_OS_ROLES allow the client operating system to set the database user and roles. All of these parameters should be set to FALSE so that the authorizations of database users are managed by the database itself.

• Specifying the Type of Role Authorization
• Role Grants and Revokes When OS_ROLES Is Set to TRUE
• Users of Database Links

Displays information about logon triggers.

A trigger is code that executes whenever a specific event occurs, such as inserting data in a table or connecting to the database. Disabled triggers are a potential cause for concern because whatever protection or monitoring they may be expected to provide is not active.

• Enabling and Disabling triggers
• Trigger Enabling and Disabling

Displays information about disabled constraints.

Constraints are used to enforce and guarantee specific relationships between data items stored in the database. Disabled constraints are a potential cause for concern because the conditions they ensure are not enforced.

• Maintaining Data Integrity in Database Applications
• Managing Integrity Constraints

Displays information about external procedures and services.

External procedures allow code written in other languages to be executed from PL/SQL. Note that modifications to external code cannot be controlled by the database. Be careful to ensure that only trusted code libraries are available to be executed. Although the database can spawn its own process to execute the external procedure, it is advisable to configure a listener service for this purpose so that the external code can run as a less-privileged OS user. The listener configuration should set EXTPROC_DLLS to identify the specific shared library code that can be executed rather than using the default value ANY.

• Default Configuration for External Procedures

• DBMS_OUTPUT package
• PL/SQL Error Handling

Displays information about directory objects.

Directory objects allow access to the server's file system from PL/SQL code within the database. Access to files that are used by the database kernel itself should not be permitted, as this may alter the operation of the database and bypass its access controls.

• Directory Objects
• On never granting WRITE and EXECUTE

Displays information about database links.

Database links allow users to execute SQL statements that access tables in other databases. This allows for both querying and storing data on the remote database. It is advisable to set GLOBAL_NAMES to TRUE in order to ensure that link names match the databases they access.

• Database Links
• Use Database Links with Autonomous Database

Displays information about Network Access Control Lists (ACLs).

Network ACLs control the external servers that database users can access using network packages such as UTL_TCP and UTL_HTTP. Specifically, a database user needs the connect privilege to an external network host computer if he or she is connecting using the UTL_TCP, UTL_HTTP, UTL_SMTP, and UTL_MAIL utility packages. To convert between a host name and its IP address using the UTL_INADDR package, the Resolve privilege is required. Make sure that these permissions are limited to the minimum required by each user.

• Managing Fine-Grained Access in PL/SQL Packages and Types
• Syntax for Configuring Access Control for External Network Services
• DBA_NETWORK_ACL_PRIVILEGE

Displays information about XML Database Access Control Lists (ACLs).

XML ACLs control access to database resources using the XML DB feature. Every resource in the Oracle XML DB Repository hierarchy has an associated ACL. The ACL mechanism specifies a privilege-based access control for resources to principals, which are database users or roles. Whenever a resource is accessed, a security check is performed, and the ACL determines if the requesting user has sufficient privileges to access the resource. Make sure that these privileges are limited to the minimum required by each user.

• Repository Access Control
• Privileges

Displays information about the initialization parameters for trace files.

The hidden parameter _TRACE_FILES_PUBLIC determines whether trace files generated by the database should be accessible to all OS users. Since these files may contain sensitive information, access should be limited by setting this parameter to FALSE.

• ALLOW_GROUP_ACCESS_TO_SGA
• About Resource Manager Administration Privileges
• DBMS_RESOURCE_MANAGER

• ALLOW_GROUP_ACCESS_TO_SGA

Checks for Database Vault integrity.

Validates the presence of both the DVSYS and DVF schemas, checks for invalid Database Vault objects, identifies rules that are not associated with any rule sets, and flags any empty rule sets.