1. Administrator's Guide
  2. Getting Started with Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall
  3. Configuring Targets, Audit Trails, and Database Firewall Monitoring Points

7 Configuring Targets, Audit Trails, and Database Firewall Monitoring Points

Learn about configuring targets, audit trails, and Database Firewall monitoring points.

7.1 About Configuring Targets

Learn about configuring targets.

Targets can be supported databases or operating systems that Audit Vault and Database Firewall monitors. You must register all of the targets in the Audit Vault Server, regardless of whether you are deploying the Audit Vault Agent, the Database Firewall, or both.

If you want to collect audit trails from your targets, you must configure an audit trail for each target and start collection manually.

If you want to monitor a target with the Database Firewall, you must create a monitoring point for that target.

For Oracle Database targets that you monitor with the Database Firewall, you can configure Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall to monitor the native network encrypted traffic. To do so, you must run scripts on the target computers to configure the necessary privileges.

If you are using the Database Firewall, you can also monitor the target database's responses to incoming SQL traffic. The following sections contain the high-level workflow for configuring the Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall system.

See Also:

7.2 Registering Targets and Creating Groups

Learn about registering targets and creating groups.

7.2.1 Registering or Removing Targets in Audit Vault Server

Learn about registering and removing targets in Audit Vault Server.

7.2.1.1 About Targets in the Audit Vault Server

Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall (Oracle AVDF) super administrators can create targets and grant other administrators access on those targets.

Administrators can also create targets, but the targets that they create are accessible only to the creator and to the super administrator who created the administrator.

The following guidelines apply when creating and accessing targets:

  • Both super administrators and administrators can create targets.
  • Super administrators can grant access on targets or target groups to specific administrators.
  • Super administrators have access to all targets, and administrators have access only to those targets on which they have been granted access.

In Oracle Database 12c, if you are not using a multitenant container database (CDB), then register a target for your database as you would for previous versions of Oracle Database. If you use a CDB, then you must register a target for the CDB, as well as for each pluggable database (PDB).

7.2.1.2 Registering Targets

Learn about registering targets for audit collection and Database Firewall monitoring.

This section explains how to register targets in Oracle Audit Vault Server:

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab.

    The Targets tab in the left navigation is selected by default. The main page contains a list of configured targets. You can sort or filter the list of targets.

  3. Click Register in the top right corner.
  4. Enter the Name and optionally the Description for the new target.
  5. From the Type menu, select from the list of available options.
  6. Choose the Retention Policy. All the pre-configured policies and user-defined policies from the Archiving tab are listed in the drop down menu. The pre-configured policy with 1 year online and 1 year archive is set by default. In case the super administrator has set a user-defined policy as default, then that specific policy is selected by default.

    This field Retention Policy is available starting with Oracle AVDF release 20.7.

  7. Enter the Audit Connection Details. If you know the connection string, then select Advanced. If you do not know the connect string, then choose the Basic option.
  8. If you select the Basic option, then enter the following details:
    1. Host Name / IP Address (IP address can be a virtual IP address).
    2. Enter the Port number.
    3. In the Service Name field, if the target is an Oracle database, then enter the Oracle database service name or SID.
    4. Select the Protocol from drop down menu.
    5. In the User Name field, enter the name of the existing database user on the target.
    6. In the Password field, enter the database user's password.
  9. If you select the Advanced option, then enter the following details:
    1. Select the Protocol from drop down menu.
    2. In the Target Location field, enter the connection string or connection URL. This connection string is required for the Agent to collect audit data, but is not required to deploy Database Firewall only.

      Note:

      • For Oracle Database, the string may look like: jdbc:oracle:thin:@//<IP address of the Database server host>:<port number>/hrdb
      • When you configure an Oracle RAC (Real Application Clusters) as a target for Agent data collection, enter the SCAN host name. Oracle RAC can be secured using Oracle Database Firewall by configuring as a target.
      • In case the target is Microsoft SQL Server Cluster, a mandatory collection attribute needs to be set. See section Microsoft SQL Server Plug-in for Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall for complete information.
    3. In the User Name field, optionally enter the name of the existing database user on the target. This user should have access to the audit data generated by the target.
    4. In the Password field, enter the database user's password.
  10. Click the Audit Collection Attributes tab.
  11. Enter details of the collection attributes in the Name and Value fields. Click the Add icon to add more entries.

    Note:

    Collection attributes may be required by the Audit Vault Agent depending on the target type. Refer to the following table for the mandatory collection attributes to be entered in the Name fields for different target types.

    Target Type Mandatory Collection Attributes

    Microsoft SQL Server Cluster

    av.collector.clusterEnabled

    PostgreSQL

    av.collector.securedTargetVersion

    Oracle Database for Transaction Log Audit Collection

    AV.COLLECTOR.TIMEZONEOFFSET

    Note: This attribute is a timezone offset of Oracle Database.

    For PostgreSQL, ensure to enable pgaudit extension. The audit collection is incomplete and operational details are missed out from the reports in case this extension is not enabled.

  12. Optionally use the information here to improve the audit collection rate or effectively utilize the resources of the Agent and Audit Vault Server.

    Note:

    This functionality is not applicable to Host Monitor Agent or network trails.

    • Oracle AVDF 20.4 (and later) provides configuration option to improve audit collection performance. The audit collection rate can be increased by setting the target attribute av.collfwk.MULTI_THREADED to true. This is applicable to all audit trails belonging to the specific target. This configuration improves the audit collection rate. However, the resource (CPU and memory) requirement on the Agent machine also increases. There may be increase in resource utilization on the Audit Vault Server. It is recommended to use this configuration if the target audit record generation rate is between 86 and 172 million records per day (or between 1000 to 2000 records per second).

    • In Oracle AVDF 20.5 (and later), the Audit Vault Agents automatically choose the best possible configuration for improving audit collection rate. This dynamic multi-threaded collector functionality effectively utilizes the resources of the Audit Vault Server and Audit Vault Agent.

      This functionality is the default behavior and increases the throughput of the audit trail by increasing the number of threads when the target audit generation rate is high. It also reduces the number of threads when the target audit generation rate is low. This functionality improves the audit collection rate and can support targets generating records up to 2000 per second or 172 million per day. When the target audit generation rate is very high, the resource (CPU and memory) requirement on the Agent machine is also increased. There may be increase in resource utilization on the Audit Vault Server.

      It is recommended to avoid setting the av.collfwk.MULTI_THREADED attribute and rely on the dynamic multi-threaded collector functionality.

      In case high throughput is not required due to Agent machine resource constraints, then use the single threaded collector by setting the target attribute av.collfwk.MULTI_THREADED to false. This is the default behavior prior to Oracle AVDF 20.5.

      In case high throughput is always required due to audit data generation rate of 86 to 172 million records per day, then use the static multi-threaded collector (always uses maximum threads) by setting the target attribute av.collfwk.MULTI_THREADED to true.

  13. Click Save to complete the target registration for audit collection. Continue with the remaining steps to configure the target for Database Firewall monitoring.
  14. Click the Database Firewall Monitoring tab.
  15. Click Add. The Database Firewall Monitor dialog is displayed.
  16. In the Core tab (or Basic tab), select from the list in the Database Firewall field.
  17. Select a Mode from the following:

    • Monitoring (Out-of-Band) - In this deployment mode, Oracle Database Firewall can monitor and alert on SQL traffic, but cannot block or substitute SQL statements.

    • Monitoring (Host Monitor) - In this deployment mode, Oracle Database Firewall can monitor and alert on SQL traffic, but cannot block or substitute SQL statements.

    • Monitoring / Blocking (Proxy) - In this deployment mode the Database Firewall can block or substitute SQL statements.

    Note:

    Ensure you select the right mode in accordance with Firewall policy defined for the target. If the Firewall policy specified contains SQL blocking rules, but you select for monitoring only, SQL statements are not blocked. Therefore, if you want to block SQL statements according to policy rules, you should use monitoring and blocking mode.
  18. In the Network Interface Card field, select one from the list.
  19. Select the Proxy Ports from the list.

    Note:

    For a RAC instance, select the Network Interface Card and Proxy Ports for Monitoring / Blocking (Proxy) mode. The proxy port is not mandatory for Monitoring only modes.
  20. Select the RAC Instance/Autonomous DB check box (RAC Instance check box in Oracle AVDF 20.7 and earlier) if the target is Oracle Real Application Clusters.
  21. In the Connection Details section, add one or more targets. You can add or delete targets from the list. Enter the following information for each available connection of the database. Click the Add button to add more targets and enter the following fields:

    • Host Name / IP Address

    • Port

    • Service Name (Optional, for Oracle Database only)

      For Monitoring Only (Host-Monitor) and Monitoring Only (Out-Of-Band) mode, you can enter multiple SIDs or service names, each on a separate line. For Monitoring/Blocking (proxy-mode) mode, only one connection detail is allowed. If you want to enforce different Database Firewall policies for different service names or SIDs on the same database, then you must create a separate target for each service name or SID.

      If you provide a service name or SID, Database Firewall applies policies only to the sessions that match that service name or SID. All other traffic is ignored by default. In Monitoring/Blocking(proxy-mode) mode, that traffic is passed to the target database. Starting with Oracle AVDF 20.8, you can block those sessions by selecting the Block Traffic for Unregistered Service Names check box on the Advanced tab.

  22. In the Advanced tab, enter the number of Database Firewall Monitor Threads (minimum and default value is 1). This controls the number of traffic handling threads in the Database Firewall monitoring point. Use due caution before modifying the value.
  23. If the target database is an Oracle Database and Mode is set to Monitoring / Blocking (proxy), the check box for Block Traffic for Unregistered Service Names is available for selection. When this check box is selected, Database Firewall blocks sessions that use service names other than the one that is configured in the target Connection Details section.
  24. If the database client and server are communicating over the TLS protocol, enable TLS.
    With this option, the Database Firewall acts as a TLS proxy. It serves as a TLS server for the database client and acts as a TLS client to the database server. The Database Firewall and the Audit Vault Server have access to the decrypted SQL traffic for further analysis. This feature applies only for Database Firewalls that are deployed in Monitoring / Blocking (Proxy) mode.
    1. Select Enable TLS support.

      Note:

      If you select this option, the Decrypt With Native Network Encryption Key check box is hidden.
    2. In Oracle AVDF release 20.8 and later, select the certificate type under Inbound TLS (From client to DBFW).
      The TLS protocol uses the certificate to authenticate the communication participant. You can use the default certificate that is signed by the Database Firewall or a certificate that is signed by an external Certificate Authority (CA).
    3. If you use the default self-signed certificate, then click Download DBFW Certificate.
      You need to install this certificate on the database client to enable Database Firewall authentication.
    4. If you use the external CA signed certificate, then select the certificate from the drop-down list.
    5. Select the cipher suite level.
      Level 4 - strongest, is the default.
    6. If you don't need database client authentication, then deselect Client Authentication.
      This option is available only for the inbound connection. The outbound connection is always authenticated. If you deselect this option, the Client Trusted Certificates button is disabled.
    7. To manage certificates for client authentication, click Client Trusted Certificates.
    8. Click Choose File and select the certificate on the local machine.
    9. Click Open to load the certificate and add it to the Database Firewall.
      The details of the uploaded certificate appear in the dialog box.
    10. Click Cancel to exit the dialog box.
    11. Follow a similar process to select and manage certificates and the cipher suite level under Outbound TLS (From DBFW to Database).

      To manage the certificates for server authentication, click Database Trusted Certificates.

  25. If Oracle Database uses native network encryption, select Decrypt With Native Network Encryption Key to enable the decryption of traffic.

    Note:

    If the Enable TLS support check box is selected, the Decrypt With Native Network Encryption Key check box is hidden.

    For Oracle AVDF release 20.5 and earler, the check box is Decrypt With Network Native Encryption Key.

    This option also supports the retrieval of session information for Oracle Database. Complete the remaining fields as applicable.

    For Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC) targets (if the RAC Instance/Autonomous DB check box is selected on the Core tab), enter the SCAN Listener IP address.

    (In Oracle AVDF 20.7 and earlier, it's the RAC Instance check box, and in Oracle AVDF 20.2 and earlier, it's the Basic tab.)

    For Oracle standalone database targets, enter the IP address of the database listener.

    For other database types (non-Oracle), the field is Retrieve session information from target DB.

    Note:

    Ensure that the Database Firewall is allowed to make a network connection to the database listener.
  26. Select the check box for Capture Database Response field. If you check this field, the Database Firewall monitors the SQL response from the database. Select Full Error Message check box to capture the database response codes and error codes.
  27. Click Save at the bottom of the dialog to save the configuration of the monitoring point.
  28. Click Save at the top right corner of the main page.

    Note:

    TCPS must be configured for registering Hybrid Cloud Oracle Databases. See Securing the Agent and Oracle Database Target Connection.

    See Also:

7.2.1.3 Modifying Targets

Learn about modifying targets.

To modify a target:

  1. Log in to Oracle Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab.

    The Targets tab in the left navigation menu is selected by default. It lists the configured targets to which you have access. You can sort or filter the list of targets.

  3. Click the name of the target that you want to modify.
    A page showing details about the target appears.
  4. Make your changes and then click Save.

Note:

If you change the name of a target, then the new name does not appear in Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall reports until you restart the Audit Vault Agent.

See Also:

7.2.1.4 Removing Targets

Learn about removing targets.

If you no longer need to have a target registered with Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall, then you can use either the console or the command-line utility to remove the target. After you have removed the target, the audit data pertaining to the target still resides in the data warehouse within its retention period (according to the archiving policy).

After you have removed a target, its identity data remains so that there will be a record of targets that have been dropped. Remove the target only if you no longer want to collect its data or if it has moved to a new host computer.

To remove a target:

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab.
  3. The Targets tab in the left navigation menu is selected by default. Select the check boxes against the targets that you want to remove.
  4. Click Delete button in the top right corner of the page.

    See Also:

7.2.2 Creating a Target Group

Learn how to create target groups.

As a super administrator you can create target groups to grant other administrators access to targets as a group rather than individually.

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as a super administrator.

  2. Click the Targets tab.

  3. In the left navigation menu, click Target Groups.

  4. Click Create button in the top right corner.

  5. In the Create Target Group dialog, do the following:

  6. Click Save.

7.2.3 Modifying a Target Group

You can modify the contents of a target group or change the target group name and description.

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as a super administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab.
  3. In the left navigation menu, click Target Groups.
  4. Click the name of the target group that you want to modify.
  5. In the Modify Target Group dialog, perform any of the following modifications:
  6. Click Save.

7.2.4 Controlling Access to Targets and Target Groups

Learn about controlling access to targets and target groups.

Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall super administrators can control which administrators have access to targets or target groups. You can control access for an individual user or for an individual target or group.

See Also:

Managing User Access Rights to Targets and Groups

7.2.5 Moving a Target from One Host Machine to Another

Learn how to handle when a target is moved from one host machine to another.

There are a few changes to be made in Audit Vault Server console when a target is moved from one host machine to another. This depends on the type of the Audit Vault Agent.

An Audit Vault Agent can be of two types:

  1. When the Audit Vault Agent is installed on the target host machine, it is called as a local Agent.
  2. When the Audit Vault Agent is not installed on the target host machine and is installed remotely, it is called as a remote Agent.

The following table contains the configuration and the steps to be followed in the Audit Vault Server console when the target is moved from one host machine to another.

Note:

Oracle Automatic Storage Management Cluster File System (Oracle ACFS) or Oracle Advanced Cluster File System was deprecated in Oracle AVDF release 20.7 and is desupported in 20.8.

Sybase SQL Anywhere was deprecated in Oracle AVDF release 20.7 and is desupported in 20.8.

Agent Type Trail Type Target Type Steps in Audit Vault Server Console

Local

TABLE

Oracle Database

Oracle Key Vault

Sybase ASE

Step 1: Update the target Connection Details by following these steps:

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab. The Targets tab in the left navigation menu is selected by default.
  3. Select and click the specific target.
  4. In the Database Firewall Monitoring section on the main page, click to modify the connection details. The Database Firewall Monitor dialog is displayed.
  5. Modify and update the Connection Details in the dialog.
  6. Click Save.
  7. Click Save in the main page.

Step 2: Delete existing trail by following these steps:

  1. Click the Targets tab.
  2. Click Audit Trails in the left navigational menu.
  3. Select the specific audit trail and click Stop.
  4. Click Delete.

Step 3: Create a new trail and configure the Audit Vault Agent installed on the new host machine. Refer to Adding Audit Trails in Audit Vault Server

Local

DIRECTORY

SYSLOG

EVENT LOG

TRANSACTION LOG

Oracle Database

Step 1: Update the target Connection Details.

Step 2: Delete the existing trail.

Step 3: Create a new trail by configuring the Audit Vault Agent installed on the new host machine and using the new trail location of the new host machine.

Local

DIRECTORY

SYSLOG

EVENT LOG

TRANSACTION LOG

MySQL

Microsoft SQL Server

PostgreSQL

IBM DB2

Quick JSON

Oracle Solaris

Linux

IBM AIX

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Active Directory

Oracle ACFS

Step 1: Delete the existing trail.

Step 2: Create a new trail by configuring the Audit Vault Agent installed on the new host machine and using the new trail location of the new host machine.

Local

NETWORK

Oracle Database

MySQL

Microsoft SQL Server

IBM DB2

Sybase ASE

Sybase SQL Anywhere

Step 1: Delete the existing trail.

Step 2: Create a new trail by configuring the Audit Vault Agent installed on the new host machine.

Remote

TABLE

Oracle Database

Oracle Key Vault

Sybase ASE

Step 1: Update the target Connection Details.

Step 2: There is no need to delete and recreate the trails. Stop the existing trail.

Step 3: Start the trail.

Remote

DIRECTORY

SYSLOG

EVENT LOG

TRANSACTION LOG

Oracle Database

Step 1: Update the target Connection Details.

Step 2: In case the trail location has changed, then delete the existing trail.

Step 3: Create a new trail and specify the new trail location.

Remote

DIRECTORY

SYSLOG

EVENT LOG

TRANSACTION LOG

MySQL

Microsoft SQL Server

PostgreSQL

IBM DB2

Quick JSON

Oracle Solaris

Linux

IBM AIX

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Active Directory

Oracle ACFS

Step 1: In case the trail location has changed, then delete the existing trail.

Step 2: Create a new trail and specify the new trail location.

7.3 Preparing Targets for Audit Data Collection

Learn about preparing targets for audit data collection.

7.3.1 Using an NTP Service to Set Time on Targets

Learn how to use NTP Service to configure time settings on targets.

Oracle recommends that you use an It is recommended that you also use a Network Time Protocol (NTP) service on both your targets and the Audit Vault server. This will help to avoid confusion on timestamps on the alerts raised by the Audit Vault Server.

See Also:

Specifying the Server Date, Time, and Keyboard Settings for instructions on using an NTP server to set time for the Audit Vault Server.

7.3.2 Ensuring that Auditing is Enabled on the Target

Learn how to enable auditing.

To collect audit data from a target, you must ensure that auditing is enabled on that target and, where applicable, note the type of auditing that the target is using. Check the product documentation for your target type for details.

To check if auditing is enabled on an Oracle Database target:

  1. Log in to the Oracle database as a user with administrative privileges. For example:
    sqlplus trbokuksa
Enter password: password
Connected.
  2. Run the following command: 
    SHOW PARAMETER AUDIT_TRAIL

NAME                                 TYPE        VALUE
------------------------------------ ----------- -------
audit_trail                          string      DB
  3. If the output of the SHOW PARAMETER command is NONE or if it is an auditing value that you want to change, then you can change the setting as follows.

    For example, if you want to change to XML, and if you are using a server parameter file, you would enter the following: 

    CONNECT SYS/AS SYSDBA
Enter password: password

ALTER SYSTEM SET AUDIT_TRAIL=XML SCOPE=SPFILE;
System altered.

SHUTDOWN
Database closed.
Database dismounted.
ORACLE instance shut down.

STARTUP
ORACLE instance started.
  4. Make a note of the audit trail setting.

    You will need this information when you configure the audit trail in Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall.

7.3.3 Setting User Account Privileges on Targets

Learn about setting account privileges on targets.

Some target types require credentials in order for Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall to access them. If you plan to collect audit data from a target, perform stored procedure auditing (SPA), entitlements auditing, or monitor native network encrypted traffic for Oracle Database, then you must create a user account on the target with the appropriate privileges to enable Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall to access the required data.

Setup scripts for database targets: Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall provides scripts to configure user account privileges for database target types.

Non-database targets: You must create a user that has the appropriate privileges to access the audit trail required. For example, for a Windows target, this user must have administrative permissions in order to read the security log.

Note:

Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall does not accept user names with quotation marks. For example, "J'Smith" would not be a valid user name for an Audit Vault and Database Firewall user account on targets.

See Also:

Scripts for Oracle AVDF Account Privileges on Targets for information on scripts to configure user account privileges for database target types.

7.3.4 Scheduling Audit Trail Cleanup

Learn about scheduling audit trail cleanup.

Oracle AVDF supports audit trail cleanup for Oracle Database, Microsoft SQL Server, IBM DB2, and MySQL.

See Also:

Audit Trail Cleanup

7.4 Configuring and Managing Audit Trail Collection

Learn about configuring and managing audit trail collection.

7.4.1 Prerequisites for Adding Audit Trails in Oracle Audit Vault Server

Learn about the prerequisites for adding audit trails in Oracle Audit Vault Server.

Before configuring an audit trail for any target, you must:

7.4.2 Adding Audit Trails in Audit Vault Server

Learn about adding audit trails in Audit Vault Server.

To begin collecting audit data, configure an audit trail for each target in Audit Vault Server and then start the audit trail collection manually.

Note:

The Audit Vault Agent must be installed on the same host containing the audit directory in case of directory trails.

To configure an audit trail for a target:

  1. Create a new target.

  2. Click the Targets tab. The Targets tab in the left navigation menu is selected by default.

  3. Click on the name of the target for which the audit trail needs to be added.

  4. Under Audit Data Collection, select Add.

    The Add Audit Trail dialog appears.

  5. Select the value in the Audit Trail Type menu based on the target.

    Note:

    For complete details on the audit trail types, see Plug-ins That are Shipped with Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall.

    There are different audit trail types available in the drop down list. Select one of the following:

    • CUSTOM

    • DIRECTORY

    • EVENT LOG

    • NETWORK

    • SYSLOG

      This trail type can collect from either syslog or rsyslog files. If both are present, you must give the exact Trail Location in the following step ahead, if you want to collect audit data from rsyslog files. See Table C-25 for details.

      Note:

      Ensure that records generated by rsyslog have the same time zone information as the Audit Vault Agent running on the collection host.

    • TABLE

    • TRANSACTION LOG

    See Table C-19 for details on which types of audit trails can be collected for a specific target type.

  6. In the Trail Location field, enter the location of the audit trail on the target computer. The trail location depends on the type of target.

    For example, unified_audit_trail.

    For complete details on the target type and trail location, see Plug-ins That are Shipped with Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall.

    Note:

    If you select DIRECTORY or TRANSACTION LOG as Audit Trail Type, then the trail location must be a directory mask. See Table C-25 for important details.

  7. In the Agent Host field, select the host computer where the Audit Vault Agent is deployed.

  8. The Agent Plug-in field automatically contains the appropriate plug-in name.

  9. Click Save.

    The audit trail is added to the list on the Audit Trails tab. The collection status displays a red circle initially. This indicates the status of the trail as stopped. The audit trail starts automatically shortly after it is added.

See Also:

7.4.3 Stopping, Starting, and Autostart of Audit Trails in Oracle Audit Vault Server

Lean about stopping, starting, and setting up autostart of audit trails in Oracle Audit Vault Server.

An audit trail starts automatically shortly after you add it. To start an audit trail, the Audit Vault Agent must be running on a host computer.

Audit trails that are started will automatically restart if the Audit Vault Agent is restarted, or updated due to an Audit Vault Server update.

An audit trail can go down at times such as when the target goes down temporarily. With Autostart, the system automatically attempts to restart an audit trail if it goes down. Autostart is normally enabled unless you have manually stopped the trail. You can set parameters on when and how many times the system attempts Autostart using the AVCLI utility.

To start or stop audit trail collection for a target:

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab. The Targets tab in the left navigation menu is selected by default.
  3. Select the specific target by clicking on the name.
  4. Under the Audit Data Collection section, select the targets that have the audit trails that you want to start or stop.
  5. Click Stop or Start accordingly.

    Note:

    • You cannot start an audit trail while the Audit Vault Agent is updating.
    • If your environment has a large number of audit files to collect, for example one million or more, then the audit trail may take a few minutes to start.

    See Also:

7.4.4 Checking the Status of Trail Collection in Audit Vault Server

Learn about checking the status trail collection in Audit Vault Server.

To check the status of audit trails:

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.

  2. Click the Targets tab. The Targets tab in the left navigation menu is selected by default.

  3. Click Audit Trails tab in the left navigation menu.

    It lists targets that have audit trails configured. Check the Collection Status column. The status can be one of the following:

    • Idle - Trail is up and running, no new audit data to collect. In this state, the trail is waiting for the target to generate new audit data.

    • Starting - Collection process is starting.

    • Collecting - Trail is currently actively collecting audit data.

    • Stopping - Collection process is stopping.

    • Stopped - Trail is currently stopped.

    • Recovering - Trail is recovering after it has been stopped previously. The trail was stopped before updating the checkpoint for the records collected. In the recovery state, the trail reads records starting from the current checkpoint and filter out the duplicate records which were already read. The recovery state can take a while depending on the server load.

    • Unreachable - A heartbeat timeout has occurred, indicating that a heartbeat message has not been received from the trail in the last 30 minutes. This status is temporary unless the trail has crashed. The Audit Vault Server checks the status of the audit trail. It attempts to check the status 5 times (by default) in Oracle AVDF releases 20.1 to 20.6. In Oracle AVDF release 20.7 and onwards, the Audit Vault Server attempts 20 times (by default) to reach the audit trail before concluding it is Unreachable.

    • Archive data files are required (link) - If you see this link, it means a new audit trail contains expired audit records that must be archived, and that the required archive data files are not available.

    The Trail Autostart Details column indicates whether autostart is enabled for a trail, and whether there have been attempts to restart a failed audit trail (for example, if a target goes down temporarily).

Tip: You can sort and filter the audit trail list.

Note:

  • To view audit trails status for a specific agent host, click the name of the trail.
  • If an audit trail fails to start, then you can get more information by looking at the Error Message column.

See Also:

Handling New Audit Trails with Expired Audit Records

Checking Downtime History of the Trail

Audit Vault Server console displays the current status of the trail. Starting Oracle AVDF 20.6, the Audit Vault Server console maintains record of the trail downtime. It also displays the reason for the downtime. This information is available in the Downtime Report. This report contains downtime information of every trail and a cumulative downtime report of all the trails in the Audit Vault Server. It captures the intervals during which the specific trail may have gone down either due to an error, or if it was manually stopped through the Audit Vault Server console, or it had changed status to one of the following:

Note:

Not all the status information is available in the reports.

To capture downtime report for the trail and to view the history of the trail, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab.
  3. Click Audit Trails in the left navigation menu.
  4. Select the trails for which the downtime report needs to be generated.
  5. Click Downtime button. The downtime report for the selected trails is displayed. Use the filter option, download the report, or click the back button to navigate to the Audit Trails tab.

The downtime of the Audit Vault Agent, the specific time as to when the Agent went down, the duration for which the data has not been captured, and the reason for the Agent going down is also made available in the reports.

Note:

  • This downtime data is available, archived, and purged like any other data managed by Oracle AVDF. By default in release 20.6, the downtime data is available for a period of one month and is purged after that.
  • The history of trails configured prior to upgrade to Oracle AVDF 20.6 is not captured or available.
  • The report for new trails configured after upgrade to Oracle AVDF 20.6 is available.
  • Data for the trails configured after upgrade to Oracle AVDF 20.6 is available from the time the trail was started.

7.4.5 Audit Collection Best Practices

Learn about best practices for audit collection.

  • There may be too many records (more than a million) in a table audit trail. This can slow down audit data collection. This in turn results in reduced throughput of the table audit trail.
  • In case of directory trail, there may be too many files (more than a thousand) with a size of more than 1GB. This can slow down audit data collection. This in turn results in reduced throughput of the directory trail.
  • It is advised to periodically purge the records which have been already read by the audit trail. For some targets, Audit Vault Agent contains scripts for cleanup. Refer to Audit Trail Cleanup for more information. In case of remaining targets where the records have already been read by the audit trail, it can be manually cleaned up.

For directory audit trail and transaction log audit trail, if the agent user does not have read permission on audit files, then provide agent user read permission on the audit files by running the following commands.

Operating System Command
Linux 
setfacl -Rm u:<agent user name>:r-x <audit data directory>
setfacl -Rdm u:<agent user name>:r-- <audit data directory>
Solaris 
chmod A+user:<agent user name>:rx:fd:allow <audit data directory>
chmod A+user:<agent user name>:r:allow <audit data directory>/*
AIX/HP-UX Add the agent user to the group which has read permission on the audit data.

7.4.6 Handling New Audit Trails with Expired Audit Records

Learn about handling new audit trails with expired audit records.

With established audit trail collection, audit data is retained in Oracle Audit Vault Server for the Months Online period of a retention (or archiving) policy. After this period, the data files are made available for archiving. The data is then kept in archives for the Months Archived period of the retention policy, and is available to retrieve to the Audit Vault Server during that period.

However, when you add a new audit trail to an existing target, the audit data collected may contain records that fall into the Months Archived period in the retention policy assigned to this target. That is, the online period for these audit records has expired and they should be archived according to the retention policy.

In this case, Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall attempts to automatically archive these expired records during the new audit trail collection. In some cases, you may need to make the archive data files available in order for the audit trail to complete collection.

When collecting a new audit trail for an existing target, follow these instruction if you see an Archive data files are required link in the Collection Status of the audit trail.

To make archive data files accessible:

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab, and then click Audit Trails.
  3. In the Collection Status column, if applicable, click the Archive data files are required link.

    The required archive data files are listed.

  4. Check that required data files are available in the archive location, and that the connection to the location is set up correctly.
  5. After you make the required data files available, restart this audit trail.

See Also:

7.4.7 Deleting an Audit Trail

Learn how to delete an audit trail.

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab.
  3. In the left navigational menu, click Audit Trails.
  4. Select the audit trails that you want to delete and then, if necessary, click Stop to stop the audit trail.
  5. Select the audit trails that you want to delete, and then click Delete.

7.4.8 Converting Audit Record Formats for Collection

You can use special tools to convert audit record formats so that Audit Vault and Database Firewall can collect these records.

7.4.8.1 Prerequisites for Converting Oracle Audit Vault Record MySQL Formats

Learn about the prerequsites for converting Oracle Audit Vault record MySQL formats.

Before you begin the format conversion process, ensure that you have completed the following tasks.

7.4.8.2 Running the XML Transformation Utility for MySQL Audit Formats

Learn how to run the XML transformation utility for MySQL audit formats.

Audit records of some databases are in the format that cannot be read directly by Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall collectors. Such audit records are first converted to a readable format and then collected.
For MySQL targets, Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall provides a utility to transform the MySQL XML audit format log file into a required format for audit data collection. You must run this utility on the MySQL host machine before adding an audit trail.

Note:

This procedure is only applicable for the old audit format. The default audit format of MySQL 5.5 and 5.6 is old. The default audit format of MySQL 5.7 is new. The audit format can be changed by modifying the configuration on MySQL Server.

To run the XML Transformation Utility:

  1. On the MySQL host computer, go to the directory AGENT_HOME/av/plugins/ com.oracle.av.plugin.mysql/bin/
  2. Run the following command:
    MySQLTransformationUtility.bat inputPath=path_to_log_folder 
outputPath=path_to_converted_xml agentHome=path_to_AGENT_HOME 
interval=interval_in_minutes xslPath=XSL_file_path securedTargetName=registered_secured_target_name

    This command contains the following variables:

    • path_to_log_folder:

      • For MySQL version prior to 5.7.21: The path to the MySQL log folder listed in my.ini

      • For MySQL version 5.7.21 and later: The path to the MySQL log folder listed in my.ini\<audit file name>.*.log

    • path_to_converted_xml - The path to the folder where the converted XML files will reside. You will use this path as the Trail Location when creating the audit trail for this MySQL target in the Audit Vault Server, or when starting audit trail collection using the AVCLI command line.

    • path_to_AGENT_HOME - The path to the installation directory of the Audit Vault Agent

    • interval_in_minutes - (Optional) The waiting time, in minutes, between two transformation operations. If not specified, the default it is 60 minutes. To run the transformation utility once, specify -ve for this argument.

    • XSL_file_path - (Optional) The path to the XSL file to use for the transformation.

    • registered_secured_target_name - The name of the MySQL target registered in the Audit Vault Server.

    Example:

    For MySQL version prior to 5.7.21: MySQLTransformationUtility.bat inputPath=D:\MySQLLog outputPath=D:\ConvertedXML agentHome=E:\MySQLCollector interval=1 securedTargetName=MYSQL_DEV

    For MySQL version 5.7.21 and later: MySQLTransformationUtility.bat inputPath=D:\MySQLLog\audit.*.log outputPath=D:\ConvertedXML agentHome=E:\MySQLCollector interval=1 securedTargetName=MYSQL_DEV

7.4.8.3 Converting Binary Audit Files to ASCII Format for IBM DB2

Learn about converting binary audit files to ASCII format for IBM DB2.

IBM DB2 creates its audit log files in a binary file format that is separate from the DB2 database. For IBM DB2 targets, you must convert the binary file to an ASCII file before each time you collect audit data (start an audit trail) for a DB2 database, using the script instructions in this section.
Ideally, schedule the script to run periodically. If the script finds older text files that have already been collected by the DB2 audit trail, then the script deletes them. It creates a new, timestamped ASCII text file each time you run it. Optionally, you can set the script to purge the output audit files.

Note:

It is recommended that you extract audit log files for each database and each instance in a separate directory. You must configure separate audit trails for each database and each instance in Oracle AVDF.

  1. Identify a user who has privileges to run the db2audit command.

    This user will extract the binary files to the text files.

  2. This user must have execute privileges to run the conversion script from the Oracle AVDF directory. The script name is DB295ExtractionUtil (for Microsoft Windows, this file is called DB295ExtractionUtil.bat.)
  3. This user identified in the initial step, must have read permission for the $AGENT_HOME/av/atc directory and its contents.
  4. In the server where you installed the IBM DB2 database, open a shell as the SYSADM DB2 user.
  5. Set the following variables:

    • AGENT_HOME (this is the Audit Vault Agent installation directory)

    • DB2AUDIT_HOME (this directory points to the main directory that contains the db2audit command)

  6. Ensure that the Oracle AVDF owner of the agent process has read permissions for the audit text files that will be generated by the extraction utility.
  7. Log in as the DB2 user that you identified in IBM DB2 for LUW Setup Scripts.
  8. Run one of the following scripts, depending on the version of DB2 that you have installed:

    • For supported DB2 databases:

      DB295ExtractionUtil -archivepath archive_path -extractionpath extraction_path -audittrailcleanup yes/no -databasename database_name

      In this specification:

      • archive_path: This is DB2 archive path configured using the db2audit utility.

      • extraction_path: This is the directory where the DB2 extraction utility places the converted ASCII text file. This file is created in either the db2audit.instance.log.0.YYYYDDMMHHMMSS.out or db2audit.db.database_name.log.0.20111104015353.out format.

      • audittrailcleanup yes/no: Enter yes or no, to enable or disable the audit trail cleanup. Entering yes deletes the archived IBM DB2 audit files that were collected by the Oracle AVDF DB2 audit trail. If you omit this value, then the default is no.

      • database_name: (Optional) This is the name, or names separated by spaces, of the database(s) that contain the audit records.

        The utility creates a separate ASCII file for each database named in the command. If this parameter is omitted, then the utility converts the instance binary to an ASCII file. This parameter enables you to collect categories of audit records such as object maintenance (objmaint) records, which capture the creation and dropping of tables.

        Important: If you enter more than one database name in this command, be sure to put the ASCII file for each database in a separate directory after you run the command.

      • audittrailcleanup yes/no: Enter yes or no, to enable or disable the audit trail cleanup. Entering yes deletes the archived IBM DB2 audit files that were collected by the Oracle AVDF DB2 audit trail. If you omit this value, then the default is no.

    • Support for IBM DB2 Database Partition Feature

      Starting Oracle AVDF 20.5, IBM DB2 Database Partition Feature is supported on Linux and AIX platforms. This functionality is supported for DB2 version 10.5 and later. The Database Partition functionality is not supported on Windows platform.

      Specify the following parameters in the DB295ExtractionUtil script:

      • databasepartition yes/no: (Optional) Enter yes if current DB2 setup has Database Partition Feature setup, else enter no. If you omit this value, then the default is no.

      • nodes: (Optional) This is the name of the node (or multiple nodes) separated by spaces, of the DB2 Database Partition Feature setup.

    Note:

    • If the archive path and extraction path are on the shared location, that is accessible by all the nodes in the Database Partition Feature (DPF) setup, then you can exclude the nodes input parameter. The script generates the archive data and audit data for all the nodes in the Database Partition Feature setup, in the shared location.

    • If the archive path and extraction path are host machine specific locations, that are accessible only by the nodes on that machine, then it is recommended to run the script on every machine of the Database Partition Feature setup. Include the nodes input parameter with only the nodes present on the specific machine.

      For example: Machine 1 has Node 0 and Node 1. Machine 2 has Node 2 and Node 3. The script must be run on Machine 1 with parameters -databasepartition yes -nodes 0 1. The script must be run on Machine 2 with parameters -databasepartition yes -nodes 2 3.

    Example 1: The following command creates an ASCII file for the TOOLSDB database, places the file in the /home/extract_dir directory, and deletes the archive files after audit data is collected: 

    DB295ExtractionUtil -archivepath /home/archive_dir -extractionpath /home/extract_dir -audittrailcleanup yes -databasename TOOLSDB

    Example 2: The following command creates an ASCII file for the database instance, places the file in the /home/extract_dir directory, and deletes the archive files after audit data is collected: 

    DB295ExtractionUtil -archivepath /home/archive_dir -extractionpath /home/extract_dir -audittrailcleanup yes

    Example 3: The following command creates an ASCII file for all the nodes of the database instance with Database Partition Feature setup, places the file in the /home/extract_dir directory, and deletes the archive files after audit data is collected: 

    DB295ExtractionUtil -archivepath /home/archive_dir -extractionpath /home/extract_dir -audittrailcleanup yes -databasepartition yes

    Example 4: The following command creates an ASCII file for the specified nodes (0, 1, and 2) of the database instance with Database Partition Feature setup, places the file in the /home/extract_dir directory, and deletes the archive files after audit data is collected: 

    DB295ExtractionUtil -archivepath /home/archive_dir -extractionpath /home/extract_dir -audittrailcleanup yes -databasepartition yes -nodes 0 1 2

    Example 5: The following command creates an ASCII file for all the nodes of the TOOLSDB database with Database Partition Feature setup, places the file in the /home/extract_dir directory, and deletes the archive files after audit data is collected: 

    DB295ExtractionUtil -archivepath /home/archive_dir -extractionpath /home/extract_dir -audittrailcleanup yes -databasename TOOLSDB -databasepartition yes

    Example 6: The following command creates an ASCII file for the specified nodes (0, 1, and 2) of the TOOLSDB database with Database Partition Feature setup, places the file in the /home/extract_dir directory, and deletes the archive files after audit data is collected: 

    DB295ExtractionUtil -archivepath /home/archive_dir -extractionpath /home/extract_dir -audittrailcleanup yes -databasename TOOLSDB -databasepartition yes -nodes 0 1 2

To schedule the script to run automatically, follow these guidelines:

  • UNIX: Use the crontab UNIX utility. Provide the same information that you would provide using the parameters described previously when you normally run the script.

  • Microsoft Windows: Use the Windows Scheduler. Provide the archive directory path (for release 9.5 databases only), extraction path, and target database name in the scheduled task.

7.4.9 Configuring Audit Trail Collection for Oracle Real Application Clusters

You can configure audit trail collection for Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC).

Configure a SCAN listener for the RAC and use the SCAN listener IP as the single IP during target registration.

To configure Audit Trail collection for Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC), follow these guidelines.

Audit Trail Type Number of Audit Trails

TABLE

To configure table trail audit data collection from Oracle RAC environment, 1 audit trail is sufficient.

DIRECTORY

To configure directory audit data collection from Oracle RAC environment, separate audit trails are required. The trail location must be different directories in the shared storage of the Oracle RAC environment.

TRANSACTION LOG

To configure Transaction Log audit data collection from Oracle RAC environment, 1 audit trail is sufficient.

See Also:

Adding Audit Trails in Audit Vault Server to configure an audit trail.

7.4.10 Configuring Audit Trail Collection for CDBs and PDBs

Learn about configuring audit trail collection for CDBs and PDBs.

Oracle Database can work as Container Database (CDB) or Pluggable Databases (PDB). A PDB is a portable collection of schemas, schema objects, and nonschema objects that appears to an Oracle Net client as a non-CDB. All Oracle databases before Oracle Database 12c are non-CDB.

The PDB and CDB can be registered as targets. Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall supports CDB and PDB level audit collection. To collect audit data from multiple PDB instances within a CDB, adopt either one of the following approaches:

Approach 1: Create a separate target for each PDB instance and create audit trail for each PDB target, which collects data from UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL table.

Approach 2: Create one target for the CDB and create audit trail which collects data from CDB_UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL table.

Note:

  • In Oracle AVDF 20 data will be collected from CDB_UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL, only if all the PDBs are up and running.
  • CDB_UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL provides audit records from all PDB instances in a multitenant environment. The performance of audit collection from CDB_UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL is lower than audit collection from UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL of every PDB instance. If the number of audit records generated per day in CDB_UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL is higher than 8 million, then configure audit collection from UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL of every PDB instance.

To configure Audit Trail collection for CDB or PDB, follow these guidelines:

Audit Trail Type Guidelines

TABLE

  • Audit records specific to CDB activities can be collected from UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL table of the CDB target. Audit records corresponding to CDB activities and all PDB activities can be collected from CDB_UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL.

  • Every PDB stores it's own audit data in it's own UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL table which does not contain audit data of other PDBs. Separate audit trails can be configured for the PDB target to collect data corresponding to that specific PDB only.

  • For PDB target, collection from CDB_UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL is not supported.

Note:

Audit collection from CDB_UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL is supported in release 20.1.0.0.0.

DIRECTORY

  • Audit from directory trail can be collected for CDB, by providing directory trail location as <value of AUDIT_FILE_DEST> (database parameter).

  • Audit from directory trail can be collected for each PDB, by providing directory trail location as <value of AUDIT_FILE_DEST>/<GUID of the PDB>.

Note:

If you are using a multitenant container database (CDB) in Oracle Database 12c, then for a CDB you must register a target for the CDB as well as for every PDB.

CDB Trail Enhancement in Oracle AVDF 20.2

In Oracle AVDF 20.2.0.0.0 (or 20 RU2), audit data is collected from CDB_UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL for PDBs that are up and running, even if some of the PDBs are down. When a PDB is down, the data corresponding to the PDB with status down is not visible in CDB_UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL. When the PDB which was earlier down comes up, then the data corresponding to the specific PDB is collected from CDB_UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL.

If any PDB is down, then the last archive timestamp is not set on the CDB_UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL, even if other PDBs are up and running. Hence those records that have already been read by the audit trail are not purged from the CDB_UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL and this can lead to severe performance degradation of the audit trail.

If there are any PDBs that are permanently taken down or taken down for few days, then they must be specified in the AV.COLLECTOR.IGNORE_PDB_IF_DOWN_LIST target attribute. The value of the AV.COLLECTOR.IGNORE_PDB_IF_DOWN_LIST target attribute is a list of PDBs separated by a colon. For example, PDB1:PDB2:PDB5.

If a PDB is down, but is present in the AV.COLLECTOR.IGNORE_PDB_IF_DOWN_LIST, then the audit trail ignores the specific PDB if it is down and sets the last archive timestamp on the CDB_UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL if all the other PDBs are up and running.

Audit data collection from PDBs which are mentioned in the AV.COLLECTOR.IGNORE_PDB_IF_DOWN_LIST is not completely accurate. Some of the audit records for these PDBs may be missed. It is also possible that the data is purged from these PDBs, depending on when the last archive timestamp was set.

If there is a PDB with status down, that was present in the AV.COLLECTOR.IGNORE_PDB_IF_DOWN_LIST, and has to brought up, then first remove it from AV.COLLECTOR.IGNORE_PDB_IF_DOWN_LIST. Wait for 10 minutes so that the audit trail reads and processes the updated AV.COLLECTOR.IGNORE_PDB_IF_DOWN_LIST attribute. After approximately 10 minutes, bring up the PDB. This ensures that all future records are successfully collected from this PDB without any data loss.

See Also:

Adding Audit Trails in Audit Vault Server to configure an audit trail.

7.5 Configuring Database Firewall Monitoring Points

Learn about configuring Database Firewall monitoring points.

Note:

If you are using Transparent Application Failover (TAF), Fast Application Notification (FAN), or the Oracle Notification Service (ONS), then SQL commands are not sent through this channel. There is no need to route them through Oracle Database Firewall. ONS communications bypass the Database Firewall and connect directly to the ONS listener. ONS communications, including destination host and port, are configured in the ons.config properties file located on the ONS server.

7.5.1 About Configuring Database Firewall Monitoring Points for Targets

Learn about configuring Database Firewall monitoring points for the target.

If you are monitoring databases with a Database Firewall, you must configure one monitoring point for every target database that you want to monitor with the firewall. The monitoring point configuration allows you to specify:

  • Firewall monitoring mode
  • Database Firewall used for the monitoring point
  • Identify the target database being monitored
  • Network traffic sources to the database

Oracle Database Firewall can be deployed in the following modes:

  • Monitoring (Out-of-Band) - In this deployment mode, Oracle Database Firewall can monitor and alert on SQL traffic, but cannot block or substitute SQL statements.

  • Monitoring (Host Monitor) - In this deployment mode, Oracle Database Firewall can monitor and alert on SQL traffic, but cannot block or substitute SQL statements.

  • Monitoring / Blocking (Proxy) - In this deployment mode the Database Firewall can monitor, alert, block, and substitute SQL statements.

Before configuring monitoring points, configure network traffic sources as part of database firewall configuration.

See Also:

Configuring the Database Firewall and Its Traffic Sources on Your Network

7.5.2 Creating and Configuring a Database Firewall Monitoring Point

Learn about creating and configuring Database Firewall monitoring points.

Configure Database Firewall monitoring points using the Audit Vault Server console. If you have configured a resilient pair of Audit Vault Servers, configure the monitoring points on the primary server.

Prerequisites

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab.

    The Targets tab in the left navigation menu is selected by default.

  3. Select and click the target you wish to modify.
  4. From the Database Firewall Monitoring section on the main page, click on Add. The Database Firewall Monitor dialog is displayed.
  5. In the Basic tab (for 20.3 or later the name of the tab is Core), enter the name for this Database Firewall instance or select one from the list.
  6. Select a Mode from the following:
    • Monitoring (Out-of-Band)
    • Monitoring (Host Monitor)
    • Monitoring / Blocking (Proxy)
  7. In the Network Interface Card field, select one from the list. For Monitoring (Host Monitor) mode, see Creating a Monitoring Point for the Host Monitor Agent.
  8. Select the Proxy Ports from the list for Monitoring / Blocking (Proxy) mode. This field does not apply to other modes of Database Firewall deployment.
  9. In the Connection Details section, select one or more targets. You can Add the targets from the list.

    Note:

    • Select the RAC Instance/Autonomous DB check box (RAC Instance check box in Oracle AVDF 20.7 and earlier) if the target is Oracle Real Application Clusters. Select this option for Oracle Databases where the monitoring point is in Monitoring / Blocking (Proxy) mode. For Monitoring (Out-of-Band) mode, uncheck this box. Enter the IP address of the individual RAC node in Target Connections field.
    • Select the Network Interface Card and Proxy Ports for Monitoring / Blocking (Proxy) mode. The proxy port is not applicable for monitoring only modes.

    Enter the following information for each network location of the database. Click the Add button to configure the following additional details of the target instance:

    • Host Name / IP Address

      Note:

      For an Oracle RAC target, if the RAC Instance/Autonomous DB check box (RAC Instance check box in Oracle AVDF 20.7 and earlier) is selected, enter the FQDN of the SCAN Listener as the host name.
    • Port
    • Service Name (Optional, for Oracle Database only). SID can be used in this field. To enter multiple service names and/or SIDs, enter a new line for each of them, and then click Add. Multiple entries are allowed for monitoring only mode. For Monitoring / Blocking (Proxy) mode, only one target detail is allowed. To enforce different Database Firewall policies for different service names or SIDs on the same database, create a separate monitoring point, and register a separate target for each of the service name or SID.

    Note:

    Targets are listed here with the policy details. Choose the right deployment mode as per the requirement. Choose Monitoring / Blocking (Proxy) for monitoring, blocking, and alerting. Choose Monitoring (Out-of-Band) or Monitoring (Host Monitor) modes for monitoring and alerting only.
  10. In the Advanced tab, enter the number of Database Firewall Monitor Threads (minimum and default value is 1). This controls the number of traffic handling threads in the Database Firewall monitoring point. Use due caution before modifying the value.
  11. If the target database is an Oracle Database and Mode is selected as Monitoring / Blocking (proxy), the check box for Block Traffic for Unregistered Service Names is available for selection. When this check box is selected, Database Firewall blocks sessions that use service names other than the one that is configured in the target Connection Details section.
  12. If the database client and server are communicating over the TLS protocol, enable TLS.
    With this option, the Database Firewall acts as a TLS proxy. It serves as a TLS server for the database client and acts as a TLS client to the database server. The Database Firewall and the Audit Vault Server have access to the decrypted SQL traffic for further analysis. This feature applies only for Database Firewalls that are deployed in Monitoring / Blocking (Proxy) mode.
    1. Select Enable TLS support.

      Note:

      If you select this option, the Decrypt With Native Network Encryption Key check box is hidden.
    2. In Oracle AVDF release 20.8 and later, select the certificate type under Inbound TLS (From client to DBFW).
      The TLS protocol uses the certificate to authenticate the communication participant. You can use the default certificate that is signed by the Database Firewall or a certificate that is signed by an external Certificate Authority (CA).
    3. If you use the default self-signed certificate, then click Download DBFW Certificate.
      You need to install this certificate on the database client to enable Database Firewall authentication.
    4. If you use the external CA signed certificate, then select the certificate from the drop-down list.
    5. Select the cipher suite level.
      Level 4 - strongest, is the default.
    6. If you don't need database client authentication, then deselect Client Authentication.
      This option is available only for the inbound connection. The outbound connection is always authenticated. If you deselect this option, the Client Trusted Certificates button is disabled.
    7. To manage certificates for client authentication, click Client Trusted Certificates.
    8. Click Choose File and select the certificate on the local machine.
    9. Click Open to load the certificate and add it to the Database Firewall.
      The details of the uploaded certificate appear in the dialog box.
    10. Click Cancel to exit the dialog box.
    11. Follow a similar process to select and manage certificates and the cipher suite level under Outbound TLS (From DBFW to Database).

      To manage the certificates for server authentication, click Database Trusted Certificates.

  13. If Oracle Database uses native network encryption, select Decrypt With Native Network Encryption Key to enable the decryption of traffic.

    Note:

    If the Enable TLS support check box is selected, the Decrypt With Native Network Encryption Key check box is hidden.

    For Oracle AVDF release 20.5 and earler, the check box is Decrypt With Network Native Encryption Key.

    This option also supports the retrieval of session information for Oracle Database. Complete the remaining fields as applicable.

    For Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC) targets (if the RAC Instance/Autonomous DB check box is selected on the Core tab), enter the SCAN Listener IP address.

    (In Oracle AVDF 20.7 and earlier, it's the RAC Instance check box, and in Oracle AVDF 20.2 and earlier, it's the Basic tab.)

    For Oracle standalone database targets, enter the IP address of the database listener.

    For other database types (non-Oracle), the field is Retrieve session information from target DB.

    Note:

    Ensure that the Database Firewall is allowed to make a network connection to the database listener.
  14. Select the check box for Capture Database Response field. If you check this field, the Database Firewall monitors the SQL response from the database. Select Full Error Message check box to capture the database response codes and error codes.
  15. Click Save at the bottom of the dialog to save the configuration of the monitoring point.

    The new monitoring point appears in the list and starts automatically.

    Note:

    Default Database Firewall Policy will be applied for this Database Firewall Monitoring Point. This message is displayed at the bottom of the dialog.
  16. Click Save in the main page.
  17. To stop or restart the monitoring point, select it from the Database Firewall Monitoring section and click Stop or Start.

Note:

When you use the Monitoring / Blocking (Proxy) mode, you must configure any external devices that use IP or MAC address spoofing detection rules such that they ignore database IP or MAC address changes made by the Database Firewall.

See Also:

7.5.3 Modifying a Database Firewall Monitoring Point

After you create a Database Firewall monitoring point, you can modify the settings, enable database response monitoring, monitor native network encrypted traffic for Oracle Database, and host monitoring.

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click Targets tab.
    The Targets tab in the left navigation menu is selected by default.
  3. Select and click on a specific target from the list.
  4. From the Database Firewall Monitoring section on the main page, click the name of the monitoring point you want to modify.
  5. In the Database Firewall Monitor dialog, you can change some of the settings.
  6. Select a different Mode from the following:

    • Monitoring (Out-of-Band) - In this deployment mode, Database Firewall can monitor and alert on SQL traffic, but cannot block or substitute SQL statements.

    • Monitoring / Blocking (Proxy) - In this deployment mode, the Database Firewall can block or substitute SQL statements.

    • Monitoring (Host Monitor) - In this deployment mode, Database Firewall can monitor and alert on SQL traffic, but cannot block or substitute SQL statements.

    Note:

    • For Oracle AVDF 20.2 and earlier, while configuring the Monitoring (Host Monitor) deployment mode, you must select a network interface card that is not used as a Management Interface.
    • For Oracle AVDF release 20.3 and later, while configuring the Monitoring (Host Monitor) deployment mode, you must select a NIC which has an IP address configured. This may be the Management Interface. This is the NIC to which the Host Monitor Agent will connect. When you select Monitoring (Host Monitor) as the deployment type, only those network interface cards which have IP address configured are displayed in the Network Interface Card field.
  7. Select a different traffic source in the field Network Interface Card.
  8. In the Advanced tab, enter the number of Database Firewall Monitor Threads (minimum value is 1). This controls the number of traffic handling threads in the Database Firewall monitoring point. This value should be left at the default (1) unless there are indications that the Database Firewall is unable to cope with the amount of traffic it is receiving.
  9. If the target database is an Oracle Database and Mode is selected as Monitoring / Blocking (proxy), the check box for Block Traffic for Unregistered Service Names is available for selection. When this check box is selected, Database Firewall blocks sessions that use service names other than the one that is configured in the target Connection Details section.
  10. If the database client and server are communicating over the TLS protocol, enable TLS.
    With this option, the Database Firewall acts as a TLS proxy. It serves as a TLS server for the database client and acts as a TLS client to the database server. The Database Firewall and the Audit Vault Server have access to the decrypted SQL traffic for further analysis. This feature applies only for Database Firewalls that are deployed in Monitoring / Blocking (Proxy) mode.
    1. Select Enable TLS support.

      Note:

      If you select this option, the Decrypt With Native Network Encryption Key check box is hidden.
    2. In Oracle AVDF release 20.8 and later, select the certificate type under Inbound TLS (From client to DBFW).
      The TLS protocol uses the certificate to authenticate the communication participant. You can use the default certificate that is signed by the Database Firewall or a certificate that is signed by an external Certificate Authority (CA).
    3. If you use the default self-signed certificate, then click Download DBFW Certificate.
      You need to install this certificate on the database client to enable Database Firewall authentication.
    4. If you use the external CA signed certificate, then select the certificate from the drop-down list.
    5. Select the cipher suite level.
      Level 4 - strongest, is the default.
    6. If you don't need database client authentication, then deselect Client Authentication.
      This option is available only for the inbound connection. The outbound connection is always authenticated. If you deselect this option, the Client Trusted Certificates button is disabled.
    7. To manage certificates for client authentication, click Client Trusted Certificates.
    8. Click Choose File and select the certificate on the local machine.
    9. Click Open to load the certificate and add it to the Database Firewall.
      The details of the uploaded certificate appear in the dialog box.
    10. Click Cancel to exit the dialog box.
    11. Follow a similar process to select and manage certificates and the cipher suite level under Outbound TLS (From DBFW to Database).

      To manage the certificates for server authentication, click Database Trusted Certificates.

  11. If Oracle Database uses native network encryption, select Decrypt With Native Network Encryption Key to enable the decryption of traffic.

    Note:

    If the Enable TLS support check box is selected, the Decrypt With Native Network Encryption Key check box is hidden.

    For Oracle AVDF release 20.5 and earler, the check box is Decrypt With Network Native Encryption Key.

    This option also supports the retrieval of session information for Oracle Database. Complete the remaining fields as applicable.

    For Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC) targets (if the RAC Instance/Autonomous DB check box is selected on the Core tab), enter the SCAN Listener IP address.

    (In Oracle AVDF 20.7 and earlier, it's the RAC Instance check box, and in Oracle AVDF 20.2 and earlier, it's the Basic tab.)

    For Oracle standalone database targets, enter the IP address of the database listener.

    For other database types (non-Oracle), the field is Retrieve session information from target DB.

    Note:

    Ensure that the Database Firewall is allowed to make a network connection to the database listener.
  12. Select the check box for Capture Database Response field. If you check this field, the Database Firewall monitors the SQL response from the database. Select Full Error Message check box to capture the database response codes and error codes.
  13. Click Save at the bottom of the dialog to save the configuration of the monitoring point.
  14. Click Save in the main page.

7.5.4 Starting, Stopping, or Deleting Database Firewall Monitoring Points

Learn about starting, stopping, and deleting Database Firewall monitoring points.

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab.
  3. Click on a specific target. The details of the target are displayed on the main page.
  4. Under Database Firewall Monitoring tab, select a specific Database Firewall monitoring point.
  5. Click one of the following buttons:

    • Start - To start the monitoring point

    • Stop - To stop the monitoring point

    • Delete - To delete the monitoring point

    See Also:

    Using Audit Vault Server Console

7.5.5 Viewing the Status of Database Firewall Monitoring Points

Learn about viewing Database Firewall monitoring point status.

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab.
  3. Select a specific target. The details of the specific target are displayed on the main page.
  4. Under Database Firewall Monitoring section, click on a specific Database Firewall monitoring point.

    A list of monitoring points and their status is displayed. Possible status values are:

    • Up - The monitoring point is up and running, and there are no errors.

    • Suspended - The user has stopped the monitoring point, and there are no errors.

    • Down - The monitoring point is not working, probably due to errors.

    • Unreachable - There are communication errors between the Database Firewall and the Audit Vault Server.

    See Also:

    Using Audit Vault Server Console

7.5.6 Finding the Port Number Used by a Database Firewall Monitoring Point

Learn about finding Database Firewall monitoring point port numbers.

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab.
  3. Select a specific target. The details of the specific target are displayed on the main page.
  4. Under Database Firewall Monitoring section, click on a specific Database Firewall monitoring point.
  5. The port number is displayed in the field Proxy Ports.

7.5.7 Configuring a Database Firewall to Connect to an Oracle Autonomous Database

Learn how to configure a Database Firewall to connect to an Oracle Autonomous Database.

Prerequisite: Log in to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) account and download the wallet credentials ZIP file that is associated with the user account.
  1. Create a TLS-enabled Database Firewall monitoring point for the Oracle Autonomous Database target.
    • On the Core tab, select RAC Instance/Autonomous DB.
    • On the Advanced tab, select Enable TLS support.

    For complete instructions, see Creating and Configuring a Database Firewall Monitoring Point.

  2. Complete the TLS configuration for inbound connections.
  3. Import the wallet ZIP file that is associated with the user account (which you downloaded earlier) to the Database Firewall instance.
    1. Copy the wallet ZIP file to the file system on the Database Firewall (for example, /tmp/Wallet_DBXXXXXXXXXX.zip).
    2. Log in to the Database Firewall through SSH and switch to the root user.
    3. Extract the contents of the wallet ZIP file.
      unzip /tmp/Wallet_DBXXXXXXXXXX.zip -d my_cloud_wallet
    4. Run the following command to deploy the wallet for the appropriate Database Firewall secured target:
      /opt/avdf/bin/deploy-wallet  <PATH-TO-UNZIPPED-CLOUD-WALLET>  <SECURED-TARGET-NAME>

      Note:

      To view the list of all available secured targets, run the following command:

      /opt/avdf/bin/deploy-wallet --list-targets

7.6 Configuring Stored Procedure Auditing (SPA)

Learn about configuring stored procedure auditing (SPA).

Stored procedure auditing (SPA) enables Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall auditors to audit changes to stored procedures on target databases. Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall connects to the database server at scheduled intervals and discovers any changes or additions that have been made to stored procedures.

To enable SPA, you simply configure the user account privileges necessary for Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall to do stored procedure auditing on a target. Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall provides scripts for setting up these privileges. Run the scripts specific to the target type.

An Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall auditor can view changes to stored procedures in reports if the auditor enables Stored Procedure Auditing in the target configuration.

See Also:

7.7 Configuring Database Firewall for Databases That Use Native Network Encryption

Learn about monitoring native network encrypted traffic for Oracle Database.

You can monitor native network encrypted traffic for Oracle Database to obtain the name of the database user, operating system, and client program that originated a SQL statement, if this information is not available from the network traffic. This information is then made available in the reports.

Note:

In order to fetch the session information successfully, the target database should have configuration to do a reverse DNS lookup under certain cases where client machine is a Windows instance or uses network host names.

To configure monitoring of native network encrypted traffic for Oracle Database, follow the steps in this section.

7.7.1 Step 1: Apply the Specified Patch to the Oracle Database

Learn how to apply the specified patch to Oracle Database.

Note:

This step is not required for Oracle Database versions 11.2.0.4 or later. For all versions prior to 11.2.0.4, apply the patch specified in this section on the Oracle Database that is using Network Encryption.

To apply the patch:

  1. Shut down the Oracle Database.
  2. Get the patch identified by the bug number 13051081.

    The patch file will be in the format: p13051081_OracleVersion_Platform.zip. For example: p13051081_112030_Linux-x86-64.zip

  3. Unzip the patch .zip file in a directory, identified here as Patch_Directory.
  4. Go to the directory Patch_Directory/13051081.
  5. Execute the command:

    $ opatch apply

  6. Start the Oracle Database.

7.7.2 Step 2: Run the Oracle Advance Security Integration Script

Learn how to run the Oracle Advance Security integration script.

To run the Network Encryption integration script:

  1. From the Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall utilities file dbfw-utility.zip (downloaded with the software), copy the database directory to a location from which you can connect to the Oracle Database being patched.
  2. In this location, go to the database/ddi directory and uncompress one of the two oracle compressed files (both contain the same content), preferably into a directory called oracle.

    This directory now contains the uncompressed file: advanced_security_integration.sql.

  3. Execute the following command as a user with privileges to create users and grant privileges.

    sqlplus / as sysdba @advanced_security_integration <param1> <param2> <param3>

    where <param1> is the schema or username

    <param2> is the password to be set for the username

    <param3> valid values are ASO and SESSION_INFO

    ASO retrieves native network encryption key and session information.

    SESSION_INFO retrieves session information.

    Note:

    The third parameter (<param3>) is mandatory. In case it is missed, the system prompts with a help message.

    In case value of the third parameter (<param3>) is incorrect, the following help message is displayed: 

    
Invalid value is provided for <param3>
The valid values are ASO, SESSION_INFO.
ASO retrieves oracle native network encryption key and session information
SESSION_INFO retrieves session information

7.7.3 Step 3: Provide the Database Firewall Public Key to Oracle Database

Learn how to provide Database Firewall public keys to Oracle Database.

In order to decrypt traffic using native network encrypted traffic for Oracle Database, you must provide the Database Firewall public key.

To provide the public key to the Oracle Database:

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as administrator.
  2. Click Database Firewall tab.
  3. Click the specific Database Firewall instance from the list.
  4. Click Oracle Native Encryption under Configuration section.

  5. Click Copy Key to copy the public key and paste it into a text file. For example, dbfw_public_key.txt.

    Each Database Firewall has its own public key. In a case where you have Database Firewall high availability or monitoring point resiliency, when you have more than one Database Firewall monitoring this target, each Database Firewall public key must be copied and appended to the dbfw_public_key.txt file.

    Note: For security purposes the dbfw_public_key.txt file must have the same access permissions as the sqlnet.ora file on the Oracle Database server.

  6. Modify the sqlnet.ora file in the Oracle Database to include the public key and to require native network traffic encryption:

    1. Put the file you created in the earlier step on the Oracle Database server, preferably in the same directory as the sqlnet.ora file.

    2. Open the sqlnet.ora file and append the following parameters (in this example the public key file is dbfw_public_key.txt): 

      SQLNET.ENCRYPTION_TYPES_SERVER=AES256
SQLNET.DBFW_PUBLIC_KEY="/path_to_file/dbfw_public_key.txt"
SQLNET.ENCRYPTION_SERVER=REQUIRED

      Note:

      • If the sqlnet.ora file contains the optional parameter SQLNET.ENCRYPTION_CLIENT, its value must not be REJECTED. Otherwise, an error will occur.
      • The parameter SQLNET.ENCRYPTION_SERVER must never have the value REJECTED.

    3. Save and close the sqlnet.ora file.

See Also:

Oracle Database Security Guide for more information on network encryption.

7.7.4 Step 4: Enable Native Network Encrypted Traffic Monitoring for Oracle Database

You can enable native network encrypted traffic monitoring for Oracle Database.

Follow the procedure in Monitor Native Network Encrypted Traffic Through Database Firewall for Oracle Databases to complete the configuration for Oracle Databases that use network encryption.

7.8 Configuring Advanced Settings for Database Firewall

Learn about configuring database connection details under advanced options.

7.8.1 About Native Network Encryption for Oracle Databases

Learn about using native network encryption for Oracle Databases.

If you are using the Database Firewall to monitor an Oracle Database target that uses network encryption, then you must use native network encryption monitoring in order to decrypt statements sent to, and responses received from, that database so they can be analyzed.

Limitations on Decryption of Oracle Database Statements

Configuring Audit Vault and Database Firewall to decrypt traffic with Network Encryption has the following limitations:

  • There is no statement substitution in Audit Vault and Database Firewall when Network Encryption checksum is used.
  • There is no support for Network Encryption RC4 cipher.
  • Supported versions of Oracle Database.
  • Database Firewall doesn't support running the Oracle Advance Security Integration Script on root container databases (CDB$ROOT). It also doesn't monitor and apply policies on traffic with native network encryption for root container databases (CDB$ROOT).

See Also:

Configuring Database Firewall for Databases That Use Native Network Encryption

7.8.2 Monitor Native Network Encrypted Traffic Through Database Firewall for Oracle Databases

Learn how to enable monitoring of native network encrypted traffic through Database Firewall for Oracle Databases.

This functionality enables Database Firewall to monitor native network encrypted traffic for supported Oracle Database targets.

Note:

Native Network Encrypted traffic monitoring was earlier known as Database Interrogation.

Prerequisite

Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as administrator. See Using Audit Vault Server Console for more information.

To enable this functionality for a Database Firewall monitoring point:

  1. Click the Targets tab. The Targets tab in the left navigation menu is selected.
  2. Click on the specific target. The details of the target are displayed on the main page.
  3. Under Database Firewall Monitoring section, select the monitoring point for which native network encrypted traffic monitoring needs to be enabled.
  4. In the Advanced tab, select the check box Decrypt With Native Network Encryption Key, for enabling decryption of traffic if Oracle Database is using Native Network Encryption. Decrypt with native network encryption key option also supports retrieval of session information for Oracle Database. Fill in the remaining fields as applicable.

    For an Oracle RAC target (if the RAC Instance/Autonomous DB check box is selected on the Core tab), enter the SCAN Listener IP address.

    (In Oracle AVDF 20.7 and earlier, it's the RAC Instance check box, and in Oracle AVDF 20.2 and earlier, it's the Basic tab.)

    For Oracle standalone database targets, enter the IP address of the database listener.

    Note:

    Ensure the Database Firewall is allowed to make a network connection to the above mentioned database listener.
  5. Once the above mentioned field is checked, the following fields are populated. Enter the values in the appropriate fields.
    • Host Name / IP Address - Enter the host name or the IP address of the target database. For Oracle standalone Database targets, enter the IP address of the database host machine. For Oracle RAC target, enter the SCAN Listener IP address.

    • Port - Enter the port number of the target database.

    • Service Name - Enter the service name of the database or database instance.

    • User Name - Enter the user name that was set up for this target.

    • Password - Enter the password for the user name.

  6. Click Save.

7.8.3 Disabling Encrypted Traffic Monitoring for Oracle Databases

Learn about disabling encrypted traffic monitoring for Oracle Databases.

You can temporarily disable encrypted traffic monitoring. Oracle AVDF saves the configuration information that you have created for the next time that you want to enable it.

To disable encrypted traffic monitoring:

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab. The Targets tab in the left navigation menu is selected.
  3. Click on the specific target. The details of the target are displayed on the main page.
  4. Under Database Firewall Monitoring section, select the monitoring point for which native network encrypted traffic monitoring needs to be disabled.

    Alternatively, navigate to Database Firewalls tab and then click Database Firewall Monitoring tab in the left navigation menu. A list of monitoring points are displayed on the page. The list can be sorted or filtered. Select the monitoring point for which native network encrypted traffic monitoring needs to be disabled.

  5. In the Advanced tab, uncheck the box against Decrypt With Native Network Encryption Key for disabling decryption of traffic if Oracle Database is using Native Network Encryption. Upon deselection the remaining fields disappear.
  6. Click Save.

7.8.4 Retrieve Session Information for Non Oracle Databases

Learn how to obtain session information for non Oracle databases.

You can retrieve session information for non Oracle databases like Microsoft SQL Server and Sybase SQL Anywhere database to obtain the name of the database user, operating system, and client program that originated a SQL statement. Enable this functionality only if this information is not available from the network traffic. This information is then made available in the reports.

While configuring this functionality choose the field Retrieve session information from target DB in the Advanced tab.

7.8.4.1 Setting Permissions to Retrieve Session Information in Microsoft SQL Server

Learn about retrieving session information in Microsoft SQL Server.

  1. Create a user account for Oracle AVDF for querying session information on the database. This database should be registered as a target in the Audit Vault Server console.

    Make a note of the user name and password for this account.

  2. Grant the following permissions to the user account you created in the previous step:

    • VIEW ANY DEFINITION and VIEW SERVER STATE for SQL Server

    • SELECT on the master.dbo.sysdatabases table

  3. Enable retrieving session information for the Database Firewall monitoring point that is associated with this target database, using the credentials created in the earlier step. Ensure the following steps are accurate while registering Microsoft SQL Server as a target.
    • In the User Name field, enter the user name of the user created in the earlier step.
    • In the Password field, enter the password of the user.
    • In the Host Name / IP Address field, enter the IP address of the SQL Server.
    • In the Port field, enter the port of the SQL server listening port.
    • In the Database Name field, enter a valid database service name on SQL Server. In case the database service name is not correct, then SQL server DDI requests fail on the SQL Server with invalid request error.

    See Also:

    Monitor Native Network Encrypted Traffic Through Database Firewall for Oracle Databases

7.8.4.2 Setting Permissions to Retrieve Session Information in Sybase SQL Anywhere Database

Learn about retrieving session information in Sybase SQL Anywhere databases.

Note:

Before you can use Sybase SQL Anywhere, you must download and install the SQL Anywhere ODBC driver for Linux.
  1. Create a user account Oracle AVDF for querying session information on the database. This database should be registered as a target in the Audit Vault Server console.

    Make a note of the user name and password for this account.

  2. Grant the following permissions to the user account created in the earlier step:

    • CONNECT

    • SELECT on these system tables: 

      sys.sysuser
sys.sysuserauthority
sys.sysremoteuser
sys.sysloginmap
sys.sysgroup
  3. Enable retrieving session information for the Database Firewall monitoring point that is associated with this target database, using the credentials created in the earlier step.

7.9 Monitoring TLS Encrypted SQL Traffic

Learn how to enable monitoring of TLS encrypted SQL traffic between the database clients and Oracle Database.

Note:

  • This functionality does not support database clients using PKI authentication.
  • This functionality is not supported for Oracle Real Application Cluster (RAC) as a target in Oracle AVDF release 20.7.
  • This functionality is supported for Oracle Real Application Cluster (RAC) as a target starting with Oracle AVDF release 20.8.
  • The Database Firewall acts as a proxy and terminates TLS session from the database clients. In all cases, Database Firewall becomes the client for the database server.
  • Native Network Encryption is disabled in case this functionality is enabled.

7.9.1 Using Default Self Signed Certificates Created During Monitoring Point Creation

Learn how to use self signed certificates created by default when creating a Database Firewall monitoring point.

Starting with Oracle AVDF release 20.7, Database Firewall supports monitoring of TLS encrypted SQL traffic between the database client and Oracle Database. Database Firewall acts a TLS proxy terminating the session from the database client and creating a new TLS outbound session to the database server. Different TLS levels can be set for:

  1. Inbound connection from the database client to Database Firewall
  2. Outbound connection from Database Firewall to Oracle Database

TLS Level-4 is the strictest and set by default. Mutual authentication is enabled by default for both inbound and outbound connections.

Database Firewall decrypts the network traffic from the database clients, extracts SQL traffic, and acts on the SQL statements based on the configured policies. It creates a new TLS session to the database server if the traffic needs to be passed on.

Note:

For production instances it is recommended to use third party CA signed certificates than self signed certificates as per your organizational policy.

Follow these steps to enable TLS encrypted traffic monitoring capability for a target database:

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab. The Targets tab in the left navigation menu is selected.
  3. Click the specific target. The details of the target are displayed on the main page.
  4. Under Database Firewall Monitoring section, click Add to create a new monitoring point. The Database Firewall Monitor dialog is displayed.
  5. In the Core tab, select the Database Firewall instance from the list.
  6. Select Monitoring / Blocking (Proxy) as the deployment mode from the list.
  7. Enter the remaining details.
  8. In the Advanced tab, select the check the box against Enable TLS Support field. All the necessary self signed certificates for this monitoring point are created. Mutual authentication is also enabled by default for inbound and outbound TLS connections.
  9. Complete the configuration of mutual authentication for the monitoring point.

7.9.2 Configuring Mutual Authentication for Inbound or Outbound TLS Communication

Learn how to configure mutual authentication for inbound or outbound TLS communication between the database clients and Oracle Database.

You can configure mutual authentication for TLS communication between:

  1. Database client to Database Firewall (inbound connection)
  2. Database Firewall to Oracle Database (outbound connection)

The configuration file for the Database Firewall monitoring point is /var/dbfw/va/x/etc/appliance.conf. In this case x is the Database Firewall monitoring point identifier. The database client always authenticates the associated Database Firewall it is connecting to.

Follow these steps:

  1. Log in to the Database Firewall appliance.
  2. Switch user to root.
  3. Configure the mutual authentication of database client and Database Firewall by following these steps:

    1. Import the monitoring point inbound certificate (/usr/local/dbfw/va/xx/pki/in/in.crt) into the key store of the database client as a trusted CA certificate. In this case xx refers to the monitoring point identifier.

      For Oracle Database clients, this involves importing the inbound certificate of the monitoring point into the client's wallet. Refer to the SQLNET Administrator Guide for complete information.

      For other (non Oracle) database clients, refer to respective database documentation.

    2. Copy the database client's trusted CA certificate into the monitoring point's inbound CA directory /usr/local/dbfw/va/xx/pki/in/ca.

      In this case xx refers to the monitoring point identifier. The permissions of the CA certificate for the clients must be 0440:dbfw:dbfw.

  4. Configure the mutual authentication of Database Firewall and database server by following these steps:

    1. Configure mutual authentication for outbound TLS connection. Copy the trusted CA certificate of the target database into the corresponding outbound CA directory of the monitoring point /usr/local/dbfw/va/xx/pki/out/ca.

      In this case xx refers to monitoring point identifier. The permissions of database CA certificate must be 0440:dbfw:dbfw.

    2. Import the outbound certificate of the monitoring point /usr/local/dbfw/va/xx/pki/out/out.crt into the key store of the target database as trusted CA certificate.

      For Oracle Database target this involves importing the outbound CA certificate of the monitoring point into wallet of the target database. Refer to the SQLNET Administrator Guide for complete information.

      For other (non Oracle) database clients, refer to respective database documentation.

  5. Restart the services. Run the following commands to restart the monitoring points which had changes to the configuration:
    systemctl stop monitor
    /usr/local/dbfw/bin/dbfwctl stop xx
    systemctl start monitor

    In this case xx refers to monitoring point identifier.

  6. Test the connections. TLS connection initiated from the database client to the above monitoring point should result in a successful connection.

7.9.3 Using External Certificates Signed by Certificate Authority

Learn how to use certificates signed by an external CA in Database Firewall.

You can use a certificate signed by an external Certification Authority (CA) based on your organization policy. Starting with Oracle AVDF release 20.7, Database Firewall supports external CA signed certificates for inbound and outbound TLS connections. Database Firewall provides a utility (config-pki_identity) to generate a CSR (Certificate Signing Request) which can be signed externally.

Follow these steps to use one pair of externally signed certificates for all Database Firewall monitoring points:

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Create Database Firewall monitoring points and enable TLS encrypted SQL traffic monitoring. Select the appropriate TLS levels in the Inbound TLS (From client to DBFW) and Outbound TLS (From DBFW to Database) sections. See Creating and Configuring a Database Firewall Monitoring Point for details.

    Relevant self signed certificates are created for these Database Firewall monitoring points.

  3. Connect to the Database Firewall through SSH as support user.
  4. Switch user to root.
  5. Delete the self signed certificates for above Database Firewall monitoring points using the /opt/avdf/config-utils/bin/config-pki_identity utility.
  6. Create a CSR (Certificate Signing Request) to be signed externally.

    Note:

    Important aspects to be noted while creating a CSR:

    • The alt_* values are optional, depending on the certificate usage requirements.
    • The key_path and cert_path directories must exist.
    • The value of cert_uid/gid/mode must always be dbfw:dbfw:444.
    • The value of key_uid/gid/mode must always be root:arbitercerts:440.
    • Use the add command in /opt/avdf/config-utils/bin/config-pki_identity utility to create a CSR.

    For example: To create a CSR (in.csr) for the key (in.key), then use the following: 

    
/opt/avdf/config-utils/bin/config-pki_identity add \
key_path=/usr/local/dbfw/va/in.key \
cert_path=/usr/local/dbfw/va/in.csr \
cert_uid=dbfw \
cert_gid=dbfw \
cert_mode=444 \
key_uid=root \
key_gid=arbitercerts \
key_mode=440 \
common_name=test.certificate \
country=--- \
email=first.last@example.invalid \
locality=city \
organisation=company \
organisational_unit=group \
state=area \
alt_dns=foobar.example.org,foobar2.example.org \
alt_email=first.last2@example.invalid,first.last3@example.invalid \
alt_ip='192.0.2.0,192.0.2.1' \
alt_uri=https://<exampleuri.1>,https://<exampleuri.2>
  7. Use the example to create a /usr/local/dbfw/va/out.csr.
  8. Get both the CSRs signed externally:
    1. /usr/local/dbfw/va/in.csr
    2. /usr/local/dbfw/va/out.csr
  9. Copy both the externally signed certificates (in.crt and out.crt) to the /usr/local/dbfw/va directory.
  10. Validate and import both the externally signed certificates using the following example command:
    /opt/avdf/config-utils/bin/config-pki_identity set cert_path=/usr/local/dbfw/va/in.crt
  11. Create a symbolic link for the in.crt from every Database Firewall monitoring point inbound directory to /usr/local/dbfw/va/in.crt.

    Note:

    Add all the trusted certificates that constitute the certificate chain in the corresponding pki/in/ca path before adding externally signed certificate into pki/in path of a monitoring point.
  12. Create a symbolic link for the in.key from every Database Firewall monitoring point inbound directory to /usr/local/dbfw/va/in.key.
  13. Create a symbolic link for the out.crt from every Database Firewall monitoring point outbound directory to /usr/local/dbfw/va/out.crt.

    Note:

    Add all the trusted certificates that constitute the certificate chain in the corresponding pki/out/ca path before adding externally signed certificate into pki/out path of a monitoring point.
  14. Create a symbolic link for the out.key from every Database Firewall monitoring point outbound directory to /usr/local/dbfw/va/out.key.

    For example:

    ln -s /var/dbfw/va/in.crt /var/dbfw/va/xx/pki/in/in.crt ; ln -s /var/dbfw/va/out.crt /var/dbfw/va/xx/pki/out/out.crt

    In this case xx refers to the Database Firewall monitoring point identifier.

  15. Configure mutual authentication for the inbound TLS connection. The inbound connection is the connection from the database client to the Database Firewall.
  16. Configure mutual authentication for the outbound TLS connection. The outbound connection is the connection from the Database Firewall to Oracle Database.
  17. Restart all the modified Database Firewall monitoring points.

7.9.4 Disabling Mutual Authentication for Inbound or Outbound TLS Communication

Learn how to disable mutual authentication for inbound or outbound TLS communication between the database clients and Oracle Database.

You can disable mutual authentication for TLS communication between:

  1. Database client to Database Firewall (inbound connection)
  2. Database Firewall to Oracle Database (outbound connection)

Mutual authentication can be optionally disabled for inbound or outbound TLS communication. The configuration file for the Database Firewall monitoring point is /var/dbfw/va/x/etc/appliance.conf. In this case x is the Database Firewall monitoring point identifier. The database client always authenticates the associated Database Firewall it is connecting to.

Follow these steps to disable mutual authentication for inbound TLS communication:

  1. Modify the following value in the configuration file /var/dbfw/va/x/etc/appliance.conf:

    TLS_CLIENT_AUTH="0"

  2. Import the Database Firewall monitoring point inbound certificate (/usr/local/dbfw/va/xx/pki/in/in.crt or /usr/local/dbfw/va/in.crt) into the SQL client's key store as a trusted CA certificate.

    Note: For Oracle SQL clients this involves importing the Database Firewall monitoring point CA certificate into the SQL client's wallet. Refer to the SQLNET Administrator Guide for complete information. For other (non Oracle) SQL clients, refer to the respective database documentation.

Database Firewall authenticates the database it is connecting to. Follow these steps to disable mutual authentication for outbound TLS communication:

  1. Modify the following value in the sqlnet.ora configuration file:

    SSL_CLIENT_AUTHENTICATION = FALSE

  2. Copy the trusted CA certificate of the target database into the corresponding Database Firewall monitoring point's outbound CA directory (/usr/local/dbfw/va/xx/pki/out/ca).

7.9.5 Configuring a TLS Proxy for an Oracle Real Application Clusters Database

Learn about additional steps that are required to configure a TLS proxy for Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC).

Oracle AVDF release 20.7 supports monitoring TLS encrypted SQL traffic between the database clients and Oracle Database. Starting with Oracle AVDF release 20.8, this functionality is supported for Oracle RAC.

Prerequisites

  • The database client must have a wallet that is configured with credentials to communicate with the Oracle RAC database instance.
  • The Oracle RAC database instance must have a wallet that is configured to communicate with the client.
  • The client and the Oracle RAC database instance must be able to connect by using TCPS.
  • You must have an externally created Oracle wallet for the Database Firewall to use, and it must be configured with credentials to communicate with the Oracle RAC database instance. See Managing Oracle Wallets with the orapki Utility for creating and managing oracle wallets.
  1. Create a TLS-enabled Database Firewall monitoring point for the Oracle RAC target. Select Oracle RAC and TLS in the Audit Vault Server console. See Creating and Configuring a Database Firewall Monitoring Point.
  2. Complete the TLS configuration for inbound connections. See Modifying a Database Firewall Monitoring Point.
  3. Import the externally created wallet to the Database Firewall instance.

    1. Copy the externally created wallet to the file system in the Database Firewall (for example, /tmp/my_rac_wallet).

    2. Switch to the root user.

    3. Run the following command to deploy the wallet for the appropriate Database Firewall secured target:

      /opt/avdf/bin/deploy-wallet  <PATH-TO-WALLET> 
      <SECURED-TARGET-NAME>

    Note:

    To view a list of all available secured targets, run the following command:

    /opt/avdf/bin/deploy-wallet
    --list-targets

7.9.6 (Optional) Enabling Common Name Verification for the Database Server

In addition to verifying that the target database's certificate is valid, you can verify the database server's common name from the database certificate. This verification matches the server's common name against a set of allowed common names that you configure.

To enable this additional check of the database certificate's common name, follow these steps:

  1. Connect to the Database Firewall through SSH.
  2. Switch to the root user.
  3. Identify the secured target for which you want to enable this feature.
  4. Edit the appliance.conf file for the secured target.

    For example, in the following file path, x represents the monitoring point identifier: /usr/local/dbfw/va/x/etc/appliance.conf

    1. Locate the following keyword in the file: TLS_PROXY_OUTBOUND_ALLOWED_CN_LIST
    2. Provide an allowed list of values in one of the following formats, depending on whether the secured target type is an Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC) database.
      Secured Target Type Description of Allowed List of Values Example
      Non-Oracle RAC database Provide a list of allowed common names that the Database Firewall is allowed to connect to 
      TLS_PROXY_OUTBOUND_ALLOWED_CN_LIST = "CN=<db_cn_name>:CN=<other_db_cn_name>"
      Oracle RAC database Provide the distinguished name for the peer RAC database 
      TLS_PROXY_OUTBOUND_ALLOWED_CN_LIST = "CN=<db_cn_name>, O=<db_org_name>, L=<db_location_name>"
  5. Save the edited configuration.
  6. Restart the monitoring point.

7.10 Configuring and Using Database Response Monitoring

Learn about configuring and using database response monitoring.

7.10.1 About Database Response Monitoring

Learn about database response monitoring.

Enabling the Database Response Monitoring feature enables Oracle Database Firewall to record responses that the target database makes to login requests, logout requests and SQL statements sent from database clients, as shown in Figure 7-1. This feature allows you to determine whether the database executed logins, logouts and statements successfully, and can provide useful information for audit and forensic purposes.

Figure 7-1 illustrates the process flow of database response monitoring.

Figure 7-1 Database Response Monitoring

Description of Figure 7-1 follows
Description of "Figure 7-1 Database Response Monitoring"

The Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall auditor can view database responses in audit reports.

Database Response Monitoring records database responses for all SQL statements, logins, and logouts that are logged by the Database Firewall policy.

The information recorded includes the response interpreted by Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall (such as "statement fail"), the detailed status information from the database, and the database response text (which may be displayed in the database client).

Note:

The Event Status value in the reports is displayed only if Database Response Monitoring is enabled for the respective monitoring point.

7.10.2 Enabling Database Response Monitoring

Learn about enabling database response monitoring.

To enable database response monitoring for a target:

  1. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.
  2. Click the Targets tab. The Targets tab in the left navigation menu is selected.
  3. Click on the specific target. The details of the target are displayed on the main page.
  4. Under Database Firewall Monitoring section, select the monitoring point for which native network encrypted traffic monitoring needs to be enabled.
  5. In the Database Firewall Monitor dialog, click the Advanced tab.
  6. Select the check box against Capture Database Response field.

    After this field is checked, the Full error message check box is displayed. If this field is checked, any detailed error message text generated by the database is logged along with the error code.

  7. Click Save.

    See Also:

7.11 Securing the Agent and Oracle Database Target Connection

Learn how secure the Agent and Oracle Database target connection.

Data security between an Audit Vault Agent and an Oracle Database target is achieved by default, through network encryption over TCP connection. Data security can also be achieved by using a TCPS/SSL connection.

If the target has been setup to accept TCPS/SSL connections, then follow these steps to configure the Agent:

  1. Ensure that in the target's sqlnet.ora file, the following parameters are set:

    • SQLNET.ENCRYPTION_SERVER = REQUESTED, REJECTED, or the default, ACCEPTED.

    • SQLNET.CRYPTO_CHECKSUM_SERVER = REJECTED or the default, ACCEPTED

  2. Log in to the Audit Vault Server console as an administrator.

  3. Click the Targets tab.

  4. In the left navigation menu, select Targets.

  5. Select the name of the target that you want to modify.

  6. In the target page, do the following:

    1. In the Audit Data Collection section, enter the details in Host Name/IP Address, choose TCPS protocol, Server DN, and upload the wallet file.

    2. Or alternately, select the Advanced option, choose TCPS protocol, upload the wallet file, and then in the Target Location field, provide the TCPS connection string.

      For example:

      jdbc:oracle:thin:@(DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCPS)(HOST=host_ip)(PORT=port_number))(CONNECT_DATA=(SERVICE_NAME=service_name)(SERVER=DEDICATED))(SECURITY= (SSL_SERVER_CERT_DN="dn")))

    3. Click Save.

See Also:

7.12 Upgrading the Target Database

If you're upgrading the target database, perform the following tasks to ensure that Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall (Oracle AVDF) continues to function properly.