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Crunchy Data PostgreSQL Security Technical Implementation Guide
SRG-APP-000100-DB-000201
PostgreSQL must produce audit records containing sufficient information to establish the identity of any user/subject or process associated with the event.
PostgreSQL must produce audit records containing sufficient information to establish the identity of any user/subject or process associated with the event. An XCCDF Rule
PostgreSQL must produce audit records containing sufficient information to establish the identity of any user/subject or process associated with the event.
Medium Severity
<VulnDiscussion>Information system auditing capability is critical for accurate forensic analysis. Without information that establishes the identity of the subjects (i.e., users or processes acting on behalf of users) associated with the events, security personnel cannot determine responsibility for the potentially harmful event.
Identifiers (if authenticated or otherwise known) include, but are not limited to, user database tables, primary key values, user names, or process identifiers.
1) Linux's sudo and su feature enables a user (with sufficient OS privileges) to emulate another user, and it is the identity of the emulated user that is seen by PostgreSQL and logged in the audit trail. Therefore, care must be taken (outside of Postgresql) to restrict sudo/su to the minimum set of users necessary.
2) PostgreSQL's SET ROLE feature enables a user (with sufficient PostgreSQL privileges) to emulate another user running statements under the permission set of the emulated user. In this case, it is the emulating user's identity, and not that of the emulated user, that gets logged in the audit trail. While this is definitely better than the other way around, ideally, both identities would be recorded.</VulnDiscussion><FalsePositives></FalsePositives><FalseNegatives></FalseNegatives><Documentable>false</Documentable><Mitigations></Mitigations><SeverityOverrideGuidance></SeverityOverrideGuidance><PotentialImpacts></PotentialImpacts><ThirdPartyTools></ThirdPartyTools><MitigationControl></MitigationControl><Responsibility></Responsibility><IAControls></IAControls>