EPAS-00-006300 - The EDB Postgres Advanced Server and associated applications must reserve the use of dynamic code execution for situations that require it.

Warning! Audit Deprecated

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

Information

With respect to database management systems, one class of threat is known as SQL Injection, or more generally, code injection. It takes advantage of the dynamic execution capabilities of various programming languages, including dialects of SQL. In such cases, the attacker deduces the manner in which SQL statements are being processed, either from inside knowledge or by observing system behavior in response to invalid inputs. When the attacker identifies scenarios where SQL queries are being assembled by application code (which may be within the database or separate from it) and executed dynamically, the attacker is then able to craft input strings that subvert the intent of the query. Potentially, the attacker can gain unauthorized access to data, including security settings, and severely corrupt or destroy the database.

The principal protection against code injection is not to use dynamic execution except where it provides necessary functionality that cannot be utilized otherwise. Use strongly typed data items rather than general-purpose strings as input parameters to task-specific, precompiled stored procedures, functions, and triggers.

This calls for inspection of application source code, which will require collaboration with the application developers. It is recognized that in many cases, the database administrator (DBA) is organizationally separate from the application developers, and may have limited, if any, access to source code. Nevertheless, protections of this type are so important to the secure operation of databases that they must not be ignored. At a minimum, the DBA must attempt to obtain assurances from the development organization that this issue has been addressed, and must document what has been discovered.

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

Solution

Install and configure SQL/Protect as documented here for the specific version being used: https://www.enterprisedb.com/docs/epas/latest/epas_security_guide/02_protecting_against_sql_injection_attacks/02_configuring_sql_protect/

Alternatively, implement, document, and maintain another method of checking for the validity of inputs.

Item Details

Audit Name: EnterpriseDB PostgreSQL Advanced Server DB v1r1

Plugin: PostgreSQLDB

Control ID: c9f93a8fea0bd47a2dd537f0e0208a739563c97dc663bb4c7e61998d6eb8f532

Detections

Analytics

EPAS-00-006300 - The EDB Postgres Advanced Server and associated applications must reserve the use of dynamic code execution for situations that require it.

Warning! Audit Deprecated

Information

Solution

See Also

Item Details