Microsoft SQL Server products must be a version supported by the vendor.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-259739	SQL6-D0-018300	SV-259739r947237_rule		High

Description
Unsupported commercial and database systems should not be used because fixes to newly identified bugs will not be implemented by the vendor. The lack of support can result in potential vulnerabilities. Systems at unsupported servicing levels or releases will not receive security updates for new vulnerabilities, which leaves them subject to exploitation. When maintenance updates and patches are no longer available, the database software is no longer considered supported and should be upgraded or decommissioned.

Description

Unsupported commercial and database systems should not be used because fixes to newly identified bugs will not be implemented by the vendor. The lack of support can result in potential vulnerabilities. Systems at unsupported servicing levels or releases will not receive security updates for new vulnerabilities, which leaves them subject to exploitation. When maintenance updates and patches are no longer available, the database software is no longer considered supported and should be upgraded or decommissioned.

STIG	Date
MS SQL Server 2016 Instance Security Technical Implementation Guide	2024-01-24

Details

Check Text ( C-54617r947235_chk )
Review the system documentation and interview the database administrator. Identify all database software components. Review the version and release information. Verify the SQL Server version via one of the following methods: Connect to the server by using Object Explorer in SQL Server Management Studio. After Object Explorer is connected, it will show the version information in parentheses, together with the user name that is used to connect to the specific instance of SQL Server. Or, from SQL Server Management Studio: SELECT @@VERSION; More information for finding the version is available at the following link: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/find-my-sql-version Access the vendor website or use other means to verify the version is still supported. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/sql-server-2016 If the installed version or any of the software components are not supported by the vendor, this is a finding.

Check Text ( C-54617r947235_chk )

Review the system documentation and interview the database administrator.

Identify all database software components.

Review the version and release information.

Verify the SQL Server version via one of the following methods:
Connect to the server by using Object Explorer in SQL Server Management Studio. After Object Explorer is connected, it will show the version information in parentheses, together with the user name that is used to connect to the specific instance of SQL Server.

Or, from SQL Server Management Studio:

SELECT @@VERSION;

More information for finding the version is available at the following link:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/find-my-sql-version

Access the vendor website or use other means to verify the version is still supported.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/sql-server-2016

If the installed version or any of the software components are not supported by the vendor, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-54571r947236_fix)
Remove or decommission all unsupported software products. Upgrade unsupported DBMS or unsupported components to a supported version of the product. More information can be found here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/sql-server/end-of-support/sql-server-end-of-support-overview?view=sql-server-ver16