Detections
Analytics

1.62 SQLI-22-016200

Information

The SQL Server default account [sa] must be disabled.

GROUP ID: V-274444
RULE ID: SV-274444r1137654

SQL Server's [sa] account has special privileges required to administer the database. The [sa] account is a well-known SQL Server account and is likely to be targeted by attackers and thus more prone to providing unauthorized access to the database.

This [sa] default account is administrative and could lead to catastrophic consequences, including the complete loss of control over SQL Server. If the [sa] default account is not disabled, an attacker might be able to gain access through the account. SQL Server by default disables the [sa] account at installation.

Some applications that run on SQL Server require the [sa] account to be enabled for the application to function properly. These applications that require the [sa] account to be enabled are usually legacy systems.

Solution

Modify the enabled flag of SQL Server's [sa] (system administrator) account by running the following script:

USE master;
GO
ALTER LOGIN [sa] DISABLE;
GO

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/26144

Item Details

Category: ACCESS CONTROL

References: 800-53|AC-3, CAT|II, CCI|CCI-000213, Rule-ID|SV-274444r1137654_rule, STIG-ID|SQLI-22-016200, Vuln-ID|V-274444

Plugin: MS_SQLDB

Control ID: 9b78a9c0f1e53270e058864d9382d933151527af1a237b6dd8ea5f806cd99683