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Description

It is recommended to set remote access database flag for Cloud SQL SQL Server instance to off.

Rationale​

The remote access option controls the execution of stored procedures from local or remote servers on which instances of SQL Server are running. This default value for this option is 1. This grants permission to run local stored procedures from remote servers or remote stored procedures from the local server. To prevent local stored procedures from being run from a remote server or remote stored procedures from being run on the local server, this must be disabled. The Remote Access option controls the execution of local stored procedures on remote servers or remote stored procedures on local server. 'Remote access' functionality can be abused to launch a Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack on remote servers by off-loading query processing to a target, hence this should be disabled. This recommendation is applicable to SQL Server database instances.

Impact​

Setting custom flags via command line on certain instances will cause all omitted flags to be reset to defaults. This may cause you to lose custom flags and could result in unforeseen complications or instance restarts. Because of this, it is recommended you apply these flags changes during a period of low usage.

Audit​

From Google Cloud Console​

  1. Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page in the Google Cloud Console by visiting https://console.cloud.google.com/sql/instances.
  2. Select the instance to open its Instance Overview page
  3. Ensure the database flag remote access that has been set is listed under the Database flags section.

From Google Cloud CLI​

  1. Ensure the below command returns off for every Cloud SQL SQL Server database instance

         gcloud sql instances describe <INSTANCE_NAME> --format=json | jq '.settings.databaseFlags[] | select(.name=="remote access")|.value'

In the output, database flags are listed under the settings as the collection databaseFlags.

Default Value​

By default remote access is on.

References​

  1. https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/sqlserver/flags
  2. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/database-engine/configure-windows/configure-the-remote-access-server-configuration-option?view=sql-server-ver15
  3. https://www.stigviewer.com/stig/ms_sql_server_2016_instance/2018-03-09/finding/V-79337

Additional Information​

WARNING: This patch modifies database flag values, which may require your instance to be restarted. Check the list of supported flags - https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/sqlserver/flags - to see if your instance will be restarted when this patch is submitted.

Note: some database flag settings can affect instance availability or stability, and remove the instance from the Cloud SQL SLA. For information about these flags, see Operational Guidelines.

Note: Configuring the above flag does not restart the Cloud SQL instance.