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SQL Server must generate Trace or Audit records when privileges/permissions are deleted.

An XCCDF Rule

Description

<VulnDiscussion>Changes in the permissions, privileges, and roles granted to users and roles must be tracked. Without an audit trail, unauthorized elevation or restriction of privileges could go undetected. Elevated privileges give users access to information and functionality that they should not have; restricted privileges wrongly deny access to authorized users. In SQL Server, deleting permissions is typically done via the REVOKE or DENY command; or with the ALTER SERVER ROLE . . . DROP MEMBER . . . and/or ALTER ROLE . . . DROP MEMBER . . . statements. However, native SQL Server security functionality may be supplemented with application-specific tables and logic, in which case the following actions on these tables and procedures/triggers/functions are also relevant: DELETE EXECUTE Use of SQL Server Audit is recommended. All features of SQL Server Audit are available in the Enterprise and Developer editions of SQL Server 2014. It is not available at the database level in other editions. For this or legacy reasons, the instance may be using SQL Server Trace for auditing, which remains an acceptable solution for the time being. Note, however, that Microsoft intends to remove most aspects of Trace at some point after SQL Server 2016.</VulnDiscussion><FalsePositives></FalsePositives><FalseNegatives></FalseNegatives><Documentable>false</Documentable><Mitigations></Mitigations><SeverityOverrideGuidance></SeverityOverrideGuidance><PotentialImpacts></PotentialImpacts><ThirdPartyTools></ThirdPartyTools><MitigationControl></MitigationControl><Responsibility></Responsibility><IAControls></IAControls>

ID
SV-213885r400831_rule
Severity
Medium
References
Updated



Remediation - Manual Procedure

Where SQL Server Trace is in use, define and enable a trace that captures all auditable events.  The script provided in the supplemental file Trace.sql can be used to do this.

Add blocks of code to Trace.sql for each custom event class (integers in the range 82-91; the same event class may be used for all such triggers) used in these triggers.  

Create triggers to raise a custom event on each locally-defined security table that requires tracking of Insert-Update-Delete operations.  The examples provided in the supplemental file CustomTraceEvents.sql can serve as the basis for these.