System privileges granted using the WITH ADMIN OPTION must not be granted to unauthorized user accounts.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-219834	O121-BP-022300	SV-219834r879887_rule		Medium

Description
The WITH ADMIN OPTION allows the grantee to grant a privilege to another database account. Best security practice restricts the privilege of assigning privileges to authorized personnel. Authorized personnel include DBAs, object owners, and, where designed and included in the application's functions, application administrators. Restricting privilege-granting functions to authorized accounts can help decrease mismanagement of privileges and wrongful assignments to unauthorized accounts.

Description

The WITH ADMIN OPTION allows the grantee to grant a privilege to another database account. Best security practice restricts the privilege of assigning privileges to authorized personnel. Authorized personnel include DBAs, object owners, and, where designed and included in the application's functions, application administrators. Restricting privilege-granting functions to authorized accounts can help decrease mismanagement of privileges and wrongful assignments to unauthorized accounts.

STIG	Date
Oracle Database 12c Security Technical Implementation Guide	2023-06-01

Details

Check Text ( C-21545r666929_chk )
A default Oracle Database installation provides a set of predefined administrative accounts and non-administrative accounts. These are accounts that have special privileges required to administer areas of the database, such as the CREATE ANY TABLE or ALTER SESSION privilege, or EXECUTE privileges on packages owned by the SYS schema. The default tablespace for administrative accounts is either SYSTEM or SYSAUX. Non-administrative user accounts only have the minimum privileges needed to perform their jobs. Their default tablespace is USERS. To protect these accounts from unauthorized access, the installation process expires and locks most of these accounts, except where noted below. The database administrator is responsible for unlocking and resetting these accounts, as required. Non-Administrative Accounts - Expired and locked: APEX_PUBLIC_USER, DIP, FLOWS_040100, FLOWS_FILES, MDDATA, SPATIAL_WFS_ADMIN_USR, XS$NULL Administrative Accounts - Expired and Locked: ANONYMOUS, CTXSYS, EXFSYS, LBACSYS, MDSYS, OLAPSYS, ORACLE_OCM, ORDDATA, OWBSYS, ORDPLUGINS, ORDSYS, OUTLN, SI_INFORMTN_SCHEMA, SPATIAL_CSW_ADMIN_USR, WK_TEST, WK_SYS, WKPROXY, WMSYS, XDB Administrative Accounts - Open: DBSNMP, MGMT_VIEW, SYS, SYSMAN, SYSTEM, SYSKM Subject to change based on version installed Run the SQL query: From SQL*Plus: select grantee, privilege from dba_sys_privs where grantee not in () and admin_option = 'YES' and grantee not in (select grantee from dba_role_privs where granted_role = 'DBA'); (With respect to the list of special accounts that are excluded from this requirement, it is expected that the DBA will maintain the list to suit local circumstances, adding special accounts as necessary and removing any that are not supposed to be in use in the Oracle deployment that is under review.) If any accounts that are not authorized to have the ADMIN OPTION are listed, this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-21545r666929_chk )

A default Oracle Database installation provides a set of predefined administrative accounts and non-administrative accounts. These are accounts that have special privileges required to administer areas of the database, such as the CREATE ANY TABLE or ALTER SESSION privilege, or EXECUTE privileges on packages owned by the SYS schema. The default tablespace for administrative accounts is either SYSTEM or SYSAUX. Non-administrative user accounts only have the minimum privileges needed to perform their jobs. Their default tablespace is USERS.

To protect these accounts from unauthorized access, the installation process expires and locks most of these accounts, except where noted below. The database administrator is responsible for unlocking and resetting these accounts, as required.

Non-Administrative Accounts - Expired and locked:
APEX_PUBLIC_USER, DIP, FLOWS_040100*, FLOWS_FILES, MDDATA, SPATIAL_WFS_ADMIN_USR, XS$NULL

Administrative Accounts - Expired and Locked:
ANONYMOUS, CTXSYS, EXFSYS, LBACSYS, MDSYS, OLAPSYS, ORACLE_OCM, ORDDATA, OWBSYS, ORDPLUGINS, ORDSYS, OUTLN, SI_INFORMTN_SCHEMA, SPATIAL_CSW_ADMIN_USR, WK_TEST, WK_SYS, WKPROXY, WMSYS, XDB

Administrative Accounts - Open:
DBSNMP, MGMT_VIEW, SYS, SYSMAN, SYSTEM, SYSKM

* Subject to change based on version installed

Run the SQL query:

From SQL*Plus:
select grantee, privilege from dba_sys_privs
where grantee not in ()
and admin_option = 'YES'
and grantee not in
(select grantee from dba_role_privs where granted_role = 'DBA');

(With respect to the list of special accounts that are excluded from this requirement, it is expected that the DBA will maintain the list to suit local circumstances, adding special accounts as necessary and removing any that are not supposed to be in use in the Oracle deployment that is under review.)

If any accounts that are not authorized to have the ADMIN OPTION are listed, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-21544r533042_fix)
Revoke assignment of privileges with the WITH ADMIN OPTION from unauthorized users and re-grant them without the option. From SQL*Plus: revoke [privilege name] from user [username]; Replace [privilege name] with the named privilege and [username] with the named user. Restrict use of the WITH ADMIN OPTION to authorized administrators. Document authorized privilege assignments with the WITH ADMIN OPTION in the System Security Plan.

Fix Text (F-21544r533042_fix)

Revoke assignment of privileges with the WITH ADMIN OPTION from unauthorized users and re-grant them without the option.

From SQL*Plus:

revoke [privilege name] from user [username];

Replace [privilege name] with the named privilege and [username] with the named user.

Restrict use of the WITH ADMIN OPTION to authorized administrators.

Document authorized privilege assignments with the WITH ADMIN OPTION in the System Security Plan.