The document discusses security best practices for IBM Informix including: 1) Enabling role separation to restrict access and privileges for database administrators, application administrators, and backup administrators. 2) Configuring file permissions and ownership for key Informix directories and files to restrict access. 3) Enabling encrypted connections using SSL or other encryption mechanisms to protect data in transit. 4) Configuring firewalls, virtual private networks, and the sqlhosts file to control which clients and users can connect to the database server.

1. © 2015 IBM Corporation
Security Best Practices for Informix
2050A
Jonathan Leffler
jleffler@us.ibm.com

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Performance is based on measurements and projections using standard IBM benchmarks in a
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user‘s job stream, the I/O configuration, the storage configuration, and the workload processed.
Therefore, no assurance can be given that an individual user will achieve results similar to those stated
here.
Please Note:
2

3. 2
Agenda
• Server Administration
• Access to Server Files
• Connection Security
• Access to Server Data
• Audit
• Server Log

4. 3
Users root and informix
• The root user can ultimately do anything
 Who knows the root password?
 How do users become root?
• The informix user is omnipotent on the IDS server
 Who knows the informix password?
 How do administrators become informix?
• sudo
• Use Role Separation as an alternative

5. 4
Role Separation
• Alternative to all administrators using user informix
• Do not add users to group informix
• DBSA depends on group of INFORMIXDIR/etc
• DBSSO group depends on group of INFORMIXDIR/dbssodir
• AAO group depends on group of INFORMIXDIR/aaodir
• Backup and Recovery group — bargroup

6. 5
How to Enable Role Separation
• On Windows, role separation is enabled during install
 Re-install IDS if necessary
 No other supported way of doing it
• On Unix, role separation can be set during install
 Choose the option (AAO and DBSSO only)

7. 6
How to Enable Role Separation
• On Unix, role separation can be changed after install
 DBSA etc
 AAO aaodir
 DBSSO dbssodir
 Change group that owns relevant directory
• Set SGID bit on directory
• Restart IDS
 Fix permissions on oninit for the DBSA group
• chmod o+x $INFORMIXDIR/bin/oninit
 Fix group permissions on $ONCONFIG (dbsa group)
 Fix group permissions on aaodir/adtcfg (aao group)

8. 7
Server File Access
• IDS depends on several files
 Server installation
 Configuration files
 Data files — chunks
• Required owner, group, mode
 World access – NO
• onsecurity utility

9. 8
Server Installation and Setup
• Isolate the Data Server
 Place the data server on its own machine
• Use appropriate controls on who can access the server machine
• Use firewalls as appropriate
• Don‘t let arbitrary users on arbitrary machines access the server
ports
 Separate the data server from application servers
• Especially web servers
 When not possible to use separate hardware
• Split client INFORMIXDIR from server

10. 9
Insulate Servers from Change
• Always install new versions in a new directory
 This limits downtime
 And provides safe backout strategy
• Make sure INFORMIXDIR is a symbolic link
• Standardize the ONCONFIG file
• If you have multiple instances on a single machine
 Keep each one in a separate INFORMIXDIR
• Always deny public write access
• Usually deny public read access

11. 10
Insulate Servers from Change
• Keep things that stay constant out of INFORMIXDIR
 Device files
 Log files
• Think of INFORMIXDIR as ‗long-term temporary‘
 It will be removed after next upgrade

12. 11
Insulate Servers from Change
• DUMPDIR should not point to /tmp
• DUMPDIR big enough for 2 shared memory dumps
• Use standard names and locations for chunks
 Always use symbolic links to the actual chunks
• Ensure security of sub-directories of $INFORMIXDIR
 Also security of directories to device (chunk) directory
• Use a separate directory for user informix‘s home
 Do not use $INFORMIXDIR

13. 12
The onsecurity Utility (UNIX and Linux)
• onsecurity utility checks the security of a file, directory, or
path
• Troubleshoots security problems if any are detected
• Use the onsecurity command to:
 Check the security of the path leading to a directory or a file
 Generate diagnostic output to explain the security problems
 Generate a script that can be run by root to fix the problems
• You can use the script as generated
• Or modify it to your environment‘s security needs

14. 13
The onsecurity Utility (UNIX and Linux)
• For special circumstances only:
• Specify that particular users, groups, or directories can be
trusted:
 Add the information to files in the /etc/informix directory
• trusted.users
• trusted.groups
• trusted.insecure.directories
• Normally, you will be told that the path is secure
• If the path is secure, you do not need to do anything more

15. 14
An example of onsecurity at work
$ onsecurity /work/informix/ids-11
# !!! SECURITY PROBLEM !!!
# /work/informix/ids-11 (path is not trusted)
# Analysis:
# User Group Mode Type Secure Name
# 0 root 0 root 0755 DIR YES /
# 0 root 0 root 0755 DIR YES /work
# 203 unknown 8714 ccusers 0777 DIR NO /work/informix
# 200 informix 102 informix 0755 DIR NO /work/informix/ids-11
# Name: /work/informix
# Problem: owner <unknown> (uid 203) is not trusted
# Problem: group ccusers (gid 8714) is not trusted but can
modify the directory
# Problem: the permissions 0777 include public write access

16. • The informix directory of the path /work/informix has problems:
 the owner of this directory is not a trusted user
 the group that controls the directory is not trusted
 the directory has public write access
• Possible fixes:
 Change the owner to root or informix
 Change the group to a system group or informix
 Remove public write access
• Or grant exemptions
 Dangerous, in general!
The onsecurity Utility example
15

17. 16
• At server startup, oninit checks the security of key directories:
Subdirectory Owner Group Permissions
INFORMIXDIR informix informix 755
bin informix informix 755
lib informix informix 755
gls informix informix 755
msg informix informix 755
etc informix DBSA 775
aaodir informix AAO 775
dbssodir informix DBSSO 775
tmp informix informix 770
Security checking at server startup

18. 17
INFORMIXDIR permissions
• Many Informix utilities check file permissions at startup
• Errors detected at this point will be reported
 And the program will exit
• Run onsecurity with appropriate options
• Refer to Chapter 1, IBM Informix Security Guide

19. 18
Backup and Restore (BAR)
• Members of bargroup are allowed to do backup and restore
 bargroup is a Unix group with a fixed name
• Backup is just as sensitive as live data
 Data has been compromised by loss of backup media
 Protect the backup copy

20. 19
Connection Security
• Control who can connect to the server
 by default anyone with login access to machine
 or a ―trusted‖ machine (hosts.equiv, .rhosts)
• Think about using PAM
 even for UNIX type access
 can be used to deny access to certain accounts
• e.g. Linux pam_access.so
• Encrypted connections to server
 Without encryption, passwords are sent in plain text.
 ENCCSM
 SPWDCSM
 SSL

21. • Avoid using the old r-command configuration files
• Use new configuration parameters
 REMOTE_SERVER_CONFIG
• Which remote machines should be trusted
 REMOTE_USERS_CONFIG
• Which remote users should be trusted
• Instead of /etc/hosts.equiv and ~/.rhosts
Connection Security
20

22. 21
Enabling Encrypted Communications
• Create or modify server entry in sqlhosts file
 server_1_enc olsoctcp host 9089 csm=(s1_enc)
• Create or modify concsm.cfg file
 s1_enc("/usr/informix/lib/csm/libixenc.so",
"cipher[aes:cbc],timeout[cipher:1440,key=60],
mac[levels:<high,medium>,files:<builtin>]”)
• Add new server alias to ONCONFIG
• Restart IDS

23. 22
Enabling Encrypted Communications
• ODBC can use ENCCSM
• JDBC can use an equivalent of ENCCSM
 String Url = "jdbc:informix-
sqli://host:9089/sysmaster:informixserver=serve
r_1_enc;user=bob;password=bobpass;csm=(classnam
e=com.informix.jdbc.Crypto,config=concsm.cfg";
• For more details, see Informix Security Guide

24. 23
JCC and JDBC
• Java Common Client (JCC) provides encryption
 Using GSKit and SSL
• http://tinyurl.com/467gpr
• http://tinyurl.com/4jr4yu
• Legacy JDBC type IV driver provides encryption
 Password encryption
• SPWDCSM
 Full encryption
• ENCCSM

25. • New communication protocol
 drsocssl — SSL for DRDA clients
 olsocssl — SSL for SQLI client
• Also supported for server to server communications
• I-Star, HDR, ER, RSS, SDS
• Example sqlhosts file entries
 horus_31_ol_ssl olsocssl horus horus_ol_ssl
 horus_31_dr_ssl drsocssl horus horus_dr_ssl
Setting up SSL — sqlhosts
24

26. • SSL_KEYSTORE_LABEL
 Specifies label of server digital certificate in keystore
• If not specified in ONCONFIG, uses default label in keystore
• But default label is officially deprecated — be explicit
• SSL_KEYSTORE_LABEL ids_ssl_label
• Extra options for NETTYPE
 NETTYPE protocol, poll threads, connections, VP class
• Specify the protocol as iiippp
• Where:
– iii=[ipc||soc|tlli]
– ppp=[shm|str|tcp|spx|ssl]
• NETTYPE socssl, 3, 50, NET
Setting up SSL — onconfig
25

27. • All encryption/decryption options performed on encrypt VPs
• Encrypt VPs configured via VPCLASS
 VPCLASS encrypt,num=5
• Support encrypted and non-encrypted connections
 DBSERVERNAME horus_31
 DBSERVERALIASES horus_31_ol_ssl,horus_31_dr_ssl
Setting up SSL — onconfig
26

28. • IBM‘s Global Security Kit, GSKit, is installed with Informix
 Server
 ClientSDK and Connect
• GSKit contains gsk8capicmd_64 utility
 Used to create keystores and manage digital certificates
 Needed for SSL communication
• More information on gsk8capicmd_64 at
 http://www-
01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSVJJU_6.2.0/com.ibm.IB
MDS.doc/admin_gd174.htm
Keystores and Digital Certificates
27

29. • The keystore for server is password protected
• Password is stored encrypted in stash file
 Also created by gsk8capicmd_64 utility
• One keystore per server instance.
 It stores server‘s digital certificate
 And root CA certificates of other servers it connects to
• As in I-STAR, HDR, ER, SDS, RSS
Keystores and Digital Certificates
28

30. • The location and name of the files are fixed
 Server keystore
• $INFORMIXDIR/ssl/server.kdb
 Server password stash
• $INFORMIXDIR/ssl/server.sth
 Based on value of DBSERVERNAME
• Ownership and permissions must be correct
 User informix, group informix, 660
Keystores and Digital Certificates
29

31. • Client keystore stores root CA certificates
 For all servers the client connects to
• SQLI and DRDA clients can share same keystore
• Password is optional for client keystore
• Location and name of client keystore and its password stash
file can be configured via new configuration file:
 $INFORMIXDIR/etc/conssl.cfg
• Note you need to set the permissions on client files correctly
Setting up SSL — Client
30

32. • Configuration parameters in conssl.cfg
 SSL_KEYSTORE_FILE
• Absolute path name for client keystore file
 SSL_KEYSTORE_STH
• Absolute path name for client stash file
• If conssl.cfg does not exist, defaults to
 $INFORMIXDIR/etc/client.kdb
 $INFORMIXDIR/etc/client.sth
• Permissions on these files should be:
 User informix, group informix, permissions 664
Setting up SSL — Client
31

33. 32
Access to Data
• Who creates databases?
 DBCREATE_PERMISSION
 Add a DBCREATE_PERMISSION entry
• For each user who needs to create databases
• Discretionary Access Control
 Users should be granted appropriate level of access to
databases and database objects.
 Use roles for ease of administration
• GRANT privilege to role
• GRANT role to user
• GRANT default role
 Privileges can be granted at DATABASE and TABLE level

34. 33
Other ONCONFIG parameters
• IFX_EXTEND_ROLE
 Controls whether administrators can use the EXTEND role to
specify which users can register external routines.
• 0 Any user can register external routines
• 1 Only users granted the EXTEND role can register external
routines (Default)
• DB_LIBRARY_PATH
 Specifies the locations from which Informix can use UDR or UDT
shared libraries.

35. 34
Other ONCONFIG parameters
• SECURITY_LOCALCONNECTION
 Specifies whether IDS performs security checking for local
connections.
• 0 Off
• 1 Validate userid
• 2 Validate userid and port
• UNSECURE_ONSTAT
 Controls whether non-DBSA users are allowed to run all onstat
commands.
• 0 Disabled (Default)
• 1 Enabled

36. 35
Other ONCONFIG parameters
• ADMIN_USER_MODE_WITH_DBSA
 Controls who can connect to IDS in administrative mode
• 0 Only informix user (Default)
• 1 DBSAs, users specified by ADMIN_MODE_USERS, and user
informix
• ADMIN_MODE_USERS
 Specifies the user names who can connect to IDS in
administrative mode,
• SSL_KEYSTORE_LABEL
 The label, up to 512 characters, of the IDS certificate used in
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol communications.

37. 36
Column Level Encryption (CLE)
• Column-level encryption stores sensitive data as encrypted
strings
• Use it to selectively encrypt sensitive data
 Such as credit card numbers
• Only users who can provide the password can decrypt the data
• Use the ENCRYPT_AES() and ENCRYPT_TDES() functions
to encrypt data in columns
• You can sometimes use SET ENCRYPTION PASSWORD
 To set an encryption password for a session
• INSERT INTO tab1(ssn) VALUES
(ENCRYPT_AES("111-22-3333", "password"));
• SELECT DECRYPT(ssn, "password") from tab1;

38. 37
Label Based Access Control – LBAC
• Label-based access control (LBAC)
 Enterprise Edition only
 An implementation of multi-level security (MLS)
 You control who has read access and who has write access
• To individual rows and columns of data
• MLS systems process information with different security levels
 Permit simultaneous access by users with different security
clearances
 Allow users access only to information for which they have
authorization

39. 38
Label Based Access Control – LBAC
• Create Security Policy and attach it to a table
• Create Security Labels and attach labels to data
• Grant labels to users
• Users can only access data with labels that ―match‖ theirs

40. 39
Audit
• Audit allows you to keep a log of important server events
• You should enable IDS auditing
 Decide which events need to be audited
 Decide which users need to be audited
• Audit the DBSA
 Setup Appropriate Audit Masks
• Examine the audit logs for unexpected events
 onshowaudit
• Save the audit logs
 Easily compressible
 Event generated when change to next audit log file
• Protect the audit logs carefully

41. 40
IDS Server Log
• Lots of valuable information is written to the server log
 Failed login attempts
 Audit Mode changes
 Audit log file changes
• But you have to look!
 Be sure to monitor its contents

42. 41
IBM Data Server Security Blueprint

43. 42
IDS Security Guide
• Read and follow the IDS Security Guide

44. © 2015 IBM Corporation
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Best Security Practices for Informix
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