lacework-global-288
Do not configure 'user options' database flag for Cloud SQL on SQL Server instance (Automated)
Profile Applicability
• Level 1
Description
Best practices recommend not configuring user options
database flag for Cloud SQL on SQL Server instance.
Rationale
The user options
option specifies global defaults for all users. A list of default query processing options is established for the duration of a user's work session. The user options option allows you to change the default values of the SET options (if the server's default settings are not appropriate).
A user can override these defaults by using the SET statement. You can configure user options dynamically for new logins. After you change the setting of user options, new login sessions use the new setting; current login sessions are not affected. This recommendation is applicable to SQL Server database instances.
Impact
Setting custom flags via command line on certain instances will cause all omitted flags to be reset to defaults. This may cause you to lose custom flags and could result in unforeseen complications or instance restarts. Because of this, it is recommended you apply these flags changes during a period of low usage.
Audit
From Console:
- Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page in the Google Cloud Console by visiting https://console.cloud.google.com/sql/instances.
- Select the instance to open its
Instance Overview
page - Ensure the database flag
user options
that has been set is not listed under theDatabase flags
section.
From Command Line:
- Ensure the below command returns empty result for every Cloud SQL SQL Server database instance
gcloud sql instances list --format=json | jq '.settings.databaseFlags[] | select(.name=="user options")|.value'
Remediation
From Console:
- Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page in the Google Cloud Console by visiting: https://console.cloud.google.com/sql/instances.
- Select the SQL Server instance for which you want to enable to database flag.
- Click
Edit
. - Scroll down to the
Flags
section. - Click the X next
user options
flag shown. - Click
Save
to save your changes. - Confirm your changes under
Flags
on the Overview page.
From Command Line:
- List all Cloud SQL database Instances:
gcloud sql instances list
Clear the
user options
database flag for every Cloud SQL on SQL Server database instance using either of the below commands.Clearing all flags to their default value:
gcloud sql instances patch <instance_name> --clear-database-flags
To clear only
user options
database flag, configure the database flag by overriding theuser options
. Excludeuser options
flag and its value, and keep all other flags you want to configure.gcloud sql instances patch <instance_name> --database-flags [FLAG1=VALUE1,FLAG2=VALUE2]
This command overwrites all database flags previously set. To keep those and add new ones, include the values for all flags you want set on the instance; any flag not specifically included uses the default value. For flags that do not take a value, specify the flag name followed by an equals sign ("=").
References
https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/sqlserver/flags
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/database-engine/configure-windows/configure-the-user-options-server-configuration-option?view=sql-server-ver15
https://www.stigviewer.com/stig/ms_sql_server_2016_instance/2018-03-09/finding/V-79335
Additional Information
This patch modifies database flag values, which may require you to restart your instance. The list of supported flags is on this page, along with details of which flags require a restart: https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/sqlserver/flags.
Some database flag settings can affect instance availability or stability, and remove the instance from the Cloud SQL Service-Level Agreement (SLA). For information about these flags, see Operational Guidelines.
Configuring the preceding flag does not restart the Cloud SQL instance.