Control: 4.5 Ensure that Azure Active Directory Admin is configured
Description
It is recommended to use Azure Active Directory Authentication for authentication with SQL Database. It is a mechanism to connect to Microsoft Azure SQL Database and SQL Data Warehouse by using identities in Azure Active Directory (Azure AD). With Azure AD authentication, identities of database users and other Microsoft services can be managed in one central location. Central ID management provides a single place to manage database users and simplifies permission management.
- It provides an alternative to SQL Server authentication.
- Helps stop the proliferation of user identities across database servers and manage password rotation in a one place.
- Customers can manage database permissions using external (AAD) groups.
- Azure AD authentication uses contained database users to authenticate identities at the database level.
- Azure AD supports token-based authentication for applications connecting to SQL database.
- Azure AD authentication supports ADFS (domain federation) or native user/password authentication for a local Azure Active Directory without domain synchronization.
- Azure AD supports connections from SQL Server Management Studio that use Active Directory Universal Authentication, which includes Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). MFA includes strong authentication with a range of easy verification options — phone call, text message, smart cards with pin, or mobile app notification.
Remediation
From Console
Perform the following action to check whether access from Azure services is enabled:
- Login to Azure console and navigate to SQL Servers.
- For SQL server, go to
Settingssection from left pane. - Click on
Active Directory admin. - Click on
Set adminand select an admin. - Click Save.
From Command Line
Get ObjectID of user
az ad user list --query "[?mail==<emailId of user>].{mail:mail, userPrincipalName:userPrincipalName, objectId:objectId}"
For each Server, set AD Admin
az sql server ad-admin create --resource-group <resource group name> --server <server name> --display-name <display name> --object-id <object id of user>
Note By default Azure Active Directory Authentication for SQL Database/Server is not enabled.
Usage
Run the control in your terminal:
powerpipe control run azure_compliance.control.cis_v140_4_5Snapshot and share results via Turbot Pipes:
powerpipe loginpowerpipe control run azure_compliance.control.cis_v140_4_5 --shareSQL
This control uses a named query:
sql_db_active_directory_admin_configured