Control: 6.3.6 Ensure '3625 (trace flag)' database flag for Cloud SQL SQL Server instance is set to 'off'

Description

It is recommended to set 3625 (trace flag) database flag for Cloud SQL SQL Server instance to on.

Microsoft SQL Trace Flags are frequently used to diagnose performance issues or to debug stored procedures or complex computer systems, but they may also be recommended by Microsoft Support to address behavior that is negatively impacting a specific workload. All documented trace flags and those recommended by Microsoft Support are fully supported in a production environment when used as directed. 3625(trace log) Limits the amount of information returned to users who are not members of the sysadmin fixed server role, by masking the parameters of some error messages using '**'. Setting this in a Google Cloud flag for the instance allows for security through obscurity and prevents the disclosure of sensitive information, hence this is recommended to set this flag globally to on to prevent the flag having been left off, or changed by bad actors. This recommendation is applicable to SQL Server database instances.

Remediation

From 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 SQL Server instance for which you want to enable to database flag.
3. Click Edit.
4. Scroll down to the Flags section.
5. To set a flag that has not been set on the instance before, click Add item, choose the flag 3625 from the drop-down menu, and set its value to on.
6. Click Save to save your changes.
7. Confirm your changes under Flags on the Overview page.

From Command Line

1. Configure the 3625 database flag for every Cloud SQL SQL Server database instance using the below command.

gcloud sql instances patch INSTANCE_NAME --database-flags "3625=on"

Note: This command will overwrite all database flags previously set. To keep those and add new ones, include the values for all flags you want set on the instance; any flag not specifically included is set to its default value. For flags that do not take a value, specify the flag name followed by an equals sign ("=").

Default Value

MySQL implementations by default have trace flags turned off, as they are used for logging purposes.