If passwords are used for authentication, the EDB Postgres Advanced Server must store only hashed, salted representations of passwords.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-224167	EP11-00-004300	SV-224167r508023_rule		Medium

Description
The DoD standard for authentication is DoD-approved PKI certificates. Authentication based on User ID and Password may be used only when it is not possible to employ a PKI certificate, and requires AO approval. In such cases, database passwords stored in clear text, using reversible encryption, or using unsalted hashes would be vulnerable to unauthorized disclosure. Database passwords must always be in the form of one-way, salted hashes when stored internally or externally to the DBMS. In Postgres, encrypted passwords may be generated and stored using either MD5 or SRAM-SHA-256 encryption algorithms. The Postgres password_encryption parameter identifies which algorithm is being used by the Postgres cluster (i.e., instance). In general, MD5 is not approved for use within DoD systems. However, SCRAM-SHA-256 is approved for use within the DoD.

Description

The DoD standard for authentication is DoD-approved PKI certificates. Authentication based on User ID and Password may be used only when it is not possible to employ a PKI certificate, and requires AO approval. In such cases, database passwords stored in clear text, using reversible encryption, or using unsalted hashes would be vulnerable to unauthorized disclosure. Database passwords must always be in the form of one-way, salted hashes when stored internally or externally to the DBMS. In Postgres, encrypted passwords may be generated and stored using either MD5 or SRAM-SHA-256 encryption algorithms. The Postgres password_encryption parameter identifies which algorithm is being used by the Postgres cluster (i.e., instance). In general, MD5 is not approved for use within DoD systems. However, SCRAM-SHA-256 is approved for use within the DoD.

STIG	Date
EDB Postgres Advanced Server v11 on Windows Security Technical Implementation Guide	2020-09-23

Details

Check Text ( C-25840r495519_chk )
Execute the following SQL as enterprisedb: SHOW password_encryption; If the value returned for the password_encryption parameter is not "scram-sha-256", this is a finding unless otherwise documented as approved for the system.

Fix Text (F-25828r495520_fix)
Execute the following SQL as enterprisedb: ALTER SYSTEM SET password_encryption = "scram-sha-256"; SELECT pg_reload_conf();