Oracle International Corporation

Vikram Reddy Pesati

Thomas F Keefe

Tanvir Ahmed

Chao Liang

Eric Sedlar

Janaki Narasinghanallur

Chon Hei Lei

Min-Hank Ho

Yi Ru

Nipun Agarwal

Sam Idicula

Chi Ching Chui

Mohammed Irfan Rafiq

Vikram Kapoor

Thomas Baby

Srividya Tata

Rafae Bhatti

Roger Wigenstam

Thomas Keefee

Shiu Kau Wong

Mincai Wang

Embodiments allow, within database security policies, the grant of data change operation-specific privileges to particular users to be applied within particular data realms in a given table. Furthermore, according to one or more embodiments, User Privilege column-level privileges are explicitly associated with one or more data access operations such that the grant of such a column-level privilege allows the user to perform only those data access operations that are explicitly associated with the column-level privilege. Enforcement of the data security policies includes prevention of data leakage via WHERE and RETURNING INTO clauses. According to one or more embodiments, a two-phase rewrite is used to optimize enforcement of column-level privileges. During the two-phase rewrite of a given query, the privileges checked during enforcement of the User Privilege data security policies are pruned to avoid unnecessary privilege checks given the columns that are accessed in the query.

Fine-grained access control for data manipulation language (DML) operations on relational data

Techniques for identifying unused privileges are provided. Database accesses are monitored to generate privilege usage data. Privilege usage data for each database access may indicate a user, a utilized privilege, an object that is the target of the privilege, and a role to which the privilege is granted. The privilege usage data is compared to database authorization data that indicates all (or a subset) of granted privileges. A result of the comparison is unused privilege data that indicates what granted privileges were not utilized. A role graph may be generated that indicates one or more privileges that were utilized and one or more privileges that were not utilized along with role paths providing the privileges.

Identifying unused privileges in a database system

Techniques for efficient cursor sharing to enforce fine-grained access control are provided. In one technique, the authorization context of a database statement is stored in (or in association with) a corresponding cursor. The authorization context indicates multiple authorization results, each of which indicates whether a user (or role) associated with the database statement is allowed to access a different data set of multiple data sets that the database statement targets. An authorization context of an incoming database statement may be compared to the authorization context of a cursor in a single comparison to determine whether the authorization contexts match. If so, then the cursor may be shared. In another technique, one or more normalizations are applied to a cursor predicate that is generated based on the authorization context of a database statement. The one or more normalizations may result in removing one or more predicates from the cursor predicate.

Optimized enforcement of fine grained access control on data

Techniques are provided for integrating application-level user security context with a database. A session manager, in a middle tier that includes an application, obtains the security context of a user and establishes, in the database, a light-weight session (LWS) that reflects the security context. The security context is synchronized between the middle tier and database before application code execution. The database maintains an isolated copy of the LWS for the unit of application code executed as the security context. The database sends to the session manager the identifier of the copy of LWS. Before allowing a request from an application to be sent to the database, the session manager, transparent to the application, inserts an identifier that identifies the LWS. In this way, the database processes an application request in the context of the corresponding user's security context that is the same as the security context in the middle tier.

Asserting identities of application users in a database system based on delegated trust

An application platform examines, at runtime, various specified aspects of an application environment in which an application interacts with a user. Such examinations are made to determine a state for each of the various specified aspects. Further, the platform automatically activates particular application environment roles for the user depending on the result of the examinations. For example, an application environment role may be activated representing a particular detected mode of communication (e.g., encrypted network communications) or a particular detected manner of authentication (e.g., password authentication). Such activations are based on the detected states and specified states for the various specified aspects of the application environment. Such activations may occur in the context of an application attempting to perform an operation on an access controlled object on behalf of a user. Further, such activations may occur in the context of establishing or maintaining a user session for a user of an application.

Techniques for enforcing application environment based security policies using role based access control

Integrating a user's security context in a database for access control

A method and apparatus are described for sharing a session to access a database. A database server receives, in a session, a session context identifier and a command. The session context identifier identifies a session context to use for the session. The session context is a set of information or commands that plug into a session state and specify how commands in the session are to be performed for a particular user or privilege level. In response to receiving the identifier, the database server associates the session context with the database session for the connection. The database server uses the session context to process the command. The session context may then be detached from the session, allowing another user to attach to the session via another session context.

Pluggable session context

A system providing a method for implementing effective date constraints in a role hierarchy is described. In one embodiment, for example, the method comprises the steps of: storing data that represents a first effective date constraint on a role of a role hierarchy, the first effective date constraint having a start date and an end date; storing data in a database that represents a second effective date constraint on a grant of the role to a grantee, the second effective date constraint having a start date and an end date; storing data in a database that represents a third effective date constraint on the grantee, the third effective date constraint having a start date and an end date; and computing a net effective date constraint for the role by computing the intersection of the first effective date constraint, the second effective date constraint, and the third effective date constraint.

System and method for implementing effective date constraints in a role hierarchy

Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and techniques for creating, updating, and using an ACL (access control list). A database system may include a constraining ACL which represents a global security policy that is to be applied to all applications that interact with the database. By ensuring that all ACLs inherit from the constraining ACL, the database system can ensure that the global security policy is applied to all applications that interact with the database. During operation, the system may receive a request to create or update an ACL. Before creating or updating the ACL, the system may modify the ACL to ensure that it inherits from the constraining ACL. In an embodiment, the system grants a privilege to a user only if both the ACL and the constraining ACL grant the privilege.

Method and apparatus to support privileges at multiple levels of authentication using a constraining ACL

Techniques are provided for a database server to identify a query that comprises an access check operator specifying a data access control policy, and if so, to re-write the query to produce an optimized query execution plan. A first technique rewrites a query comprising an access check operator based on the privileges associated with the database principal requesting the query. The rewritten query exposes the access predicates relevant to the requesting principal to subsequent database optimization processes. A second technique rewrites a query comprising an access check operator that specifies a data security policy that does not include a denied privilege. A third technique rewrites a query that comprises an access check operator specifying one or more database table columns that store row-specific access control lists. The rewritten queries are used to generate a query execution plan that provides for several query execution optimizations.

SQL transformation-based optimization techniques for enforcement of data access control

Techniques are provided for access control in a system. A request is received for checking whether a subject has a privilege for a resource. A security class that defines a plurality of privileges that include the requested privilege is determined. One or more access control lists have been configured for the security class. The one or more access control lists comprise one or more access control entries. Each of the one more access control entry defines whether one or more subjects has been granted or denied to zero, one or more of the plurality of privileges defined in the security class. Based on the access control lists configured for the security class, it is determined whether the subject should be granted the privilege for the requested resource.

Access control model of function privileges for enterprise-wide applications

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that implements a security policy in a database. During operation, the system receives a request associated with a set of objects in the database. Next, the system obtains a set of access control lists (ACLs) associated with the database, wherein a respective ACL specifies one or more access privileges associated with a user or user group, and wherein a respective ACLs is not specific to a particular object in the database. The system then evaluates the ACLs to obtain a set of ACL results associated with the request and processes the request by applying the set of ACL results to the objects without evaluating the ACLs repeatedly for each of the objects.

Method and system for optimizing row level security in database systems

A method and storage media for performing access resolution using ACL types is provided. Under an AND semantic, an intersection set formed from the types of multiple ACLs protecting a resource may be utilized to efficiently determine whether a request for a privilege to access the resource is granted or denied. If the privilege is not a member of the intersection set, the privilege cannot be granted. A union set may be used for an OR semantic. A global ACL type may represent all privileges system-wide or application-wide. A global ACL may represent a system-wide or application-wide access policy. A conjunction of a global ACL and a regular ACL may be stored in a cache. The union set, intersection set, or access resolution may also be cached for subsequent request processing.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Vikram Reddy Pesati