Detections
Analytics

SQLI-22-010400 - SQL Server must prevent nonprivileged users from executing privileged functions, to include disabling, circumventing, or altering implemented security safeguards/countermeasures.

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This audit has been deprecated and will be removed in a future update.

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Information

Preventing nonprivileged users from executing privileged functions mitigates the risk that unauthorized individuals or processes may gain unnecessary access to information or privileges.

System documentation should include a definition of the functionality considered privileged.

Depending on circumstances, privileged functions can include, for example, establishing accounts, performing system integrity checks, or administering cryptographic key management activities. Nonprivileged users are individuals that do not possess appropriate authorizations. Circumventing intrusion detection and prevention mechanisms or malicious code protection mechanisms are examples of privileged functions that require protection from nonprivileged users.

A privileged function in SQL Server/database context is any operation that modifies the structure of the database, its built-in logic, or its security settings. This would include all Data Definition Language (DDL) statements and all security-related statements. In an SQL environment, it encompasses, but is not necessarily limited to:
CREATE
ALTER
DROP
GRANT
REVOKE
DENY

There may also be Data Manipulation Language (DML) statements that, subject to context, should be regarded as privileged. Possible examples include:
TRUNCATE TABLE;
DELETE, or
DELETE affecting more than n rows, for some n, or
DELETE without a WHERE clause;

UPDATE or
UPDATE affecting more than n rows, for some n, or
UPDATE without a WHERE clause;

Any SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE to an application-defined security table executed by other than a security principal.

Depending on the capabilities of SQL Server and the design of the database and associated applications, the prevention of unauthorized use of privileged functions may be achieved by means of DBMS security features, database triggers, other mechanisms, or a combination of these.

NOTE: Nessus has provided the target output to assist in reviewing the benchmark to ensure target compliance.

Solution

Restrict the granting of permissions to server-level securables to only those authorized, most notably: members of sysadmin and securityadmin built-in instance-level roles, CONTROL SERVER permission, and use of the GRANT with GRANT permission.

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/U_MS_SQL_Server_2022_Y25M06_STIG.zip

Item Details

References: CAT|II, CCI|CCI-002235, Rule-ID|SV-271341r1111081_rule, STIG-ID|SQLI-22-010400, Vuln-ID|V-271341

Plugin: MS_SQLDB

Control ID: 9779b533138fbe1d238e4ee8eafb1449a3ff58b3990b325b0478803c863ae209