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V-256599

CAT III (Low)

VMware Postgres must require authentication on all connections.

Rule ID

SV-256599r887583_rule

STIG

VMware vSphere 7.0 vCenter Appliance PostgreSQL Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V1R2

CCIs

CCI-000764

Discussion

To ensure accountability and prevent unauthenticated access, organizational users must be identified and authenticated to prevent potential misuse and compromise of the system. VMware Postgres client authentication configuration is configured in "pg_hba.conf". In this file are a number of lines that specify who can connect to the service, from where, and using what authentication methods. In Postgres there is a concept of a trusted connection where a specific network mask can connect without any authentication to any account. This connection is termed "trust" in "pg_hba.conf", and it must not be present. Out of the box, VMware Postgres requires standard password authentication for all connections.

Check Content

At the command prompt, run the following command:

# grep -v "^#" /storage/db/vpostgres/pg_hba.conf|grep -z --color=always "trust"

If any lines are returned, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Navigate to and open /storage/db/pgdata/pg_hba.conf.  

Find and remove the line that has a method of "trust" in the far-right column.

A correct, typical line will look like the following:

# TYPE  DATABASE        USER            ADDRESS                 METHOD
host       all                        all                 127.0.0.1/32           md5