10 SQL Server Roles and Permissions Best Practices

In SQL Server, roles are used to group together users who have similar permissions. By assigning users to roles, you can simplify the management of permissions. In this article, we will discuss 10 best practices for working with SQL Server roles and permissions.

1. Avoid using the SA account

The SA account is the server administrator account that has full control over all aspects of the SQL Server instance. This account should only be used for administrative tasks and never for application access.

The reason for this is that if the SA account is compromised, an attacker would have complete control over the SQL Server instance. Therefore, it’s important to use a separate account for application access with more limited permissions.

2. Use Windows Authentication whenever possible

When you use Windows Authentication, your SQL Server database will be using the same permissions and security as your Windows operating system. This means that any user who needs access to the database will need to have a valid Windows account.

There are a few advantages to this approach. First, it’s more secure since it’s much harder to hack into a Windows account than it is to guess a username and password for SQL Server. Second, it’s easier to manage since you only need to add and remove users from one place – Active Directory.

Of course, there are some situations where you might need to use SQL Server Authentication, such as when you’re connecting to a database from a non-Windows machine. In these cases, make sure to use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication if possible.

3. Create a separate login for each application

If you have multiple applications that need to access your SQL Server database, it’s important to give each application its own login. That way, if one application is compromised, the attacker won’t be able to use the same credentials to access other applications.

Creating separate logins for each application also makes it easier to track which applications are accessing your database and when. This can be helpful for auditing and troubleshooting purposes.

4. Do not grant permissions to individual users

When you grant permissions to individual users, you are creating a security hole that can be exploited. If one user’s account is compromised, the attacker now has access to sensitive data.

Instead, you should create roles in SQL Server and then assign users to those roles. This way, you can control what data users have access to by changing the role membership.

It’s also a good idea to use least privilege when assigning permissions to roles. That means only giving roles the permissions they need to perform their job, and no more.

5. Grant permissions to database roles

When you grant permissions to a database role, all members of that role will inherit the permissions. This is much easier than having to individually manage permissions for each user. It also helps to ensure that all users have the same level of access to the database objects.

Database roles also make it easy to add and remove users from the role as needed. So, if a user no longer needs access to a certain object, you can simply remove them from the role rather than revoking their permissions individually.

6. Keep your logins and database users in sync

If you have a login for a user who no longer exists in your database, then that user will not be able to connect. This can lead to all sorts of problems, such as data loss or corruption.

On the other hand, if you have a database user who does not have a corresponding login, then that user will not be able to connect to the SQL Server instance at all.

The best way to avoid these problems is to ensure that every database user has a corresponding login, and that every login has a corresponding database user. This way, you can be sure that all users who need to connect to the SQL Server instance will be able to do so, and that all users who need access to the database will be able to do so.

7. Don’t use fixed server roles

When you use fixed server roles, all members of that role have the same permissions. So, if one member of the role needs more permissions than others, everyone in that role will have those permissions, even though they might not need them.

It’s much better to create custom roles and only grant the permissions that are needed for each individual role. That way, you can be sure that no one has more permissions than they need.

8. Remove unnecessary privileges from the public role

The public role is a server-level security principal that contains all SQL Server logins. By default, the public role has very few privileges. However, any time a new login is created, it’s automatically added to the public role. This means that, over time, the public role can end up with a lot of unnecessary privileges.

If you have too many privileges in the public role, it increases the chances of someone with malicious intent being able to gain access to your data. Therefore, it’s important to regularly review the privileges assigned to the public role and remove any that are no longer needed.

You can use the sp_helprotect system stored procedure to see what privileges are currently assigned to the public role.

9. Limit access to system objects

System objects are the core objects that make up a SQL Server database. They include tables, views, stored procedures, and functions. By default, members of the sysadmin fixed server role have full access to all system objects. However, for security reasons, it’s best to limit this access to only those who need it.

One way to do this is to create a custom role that has limited access to system objects. Then, add only those users who need access to this role. This will help to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data.

Another way to limit access to system objects is to use the built-in security features in SQL Server. For example, you can use permissions to restrict access to specific objects. Or, you can use encryption to protect data.

By taking these steps, you can help to ensure that only authorized users have access to system objects. This will help to keep your data safe from unauthorized access.

10. Disable guest user accounts

The guest user account is a built-in account that has very limited permissions. By default, the guest user account is disabled in SQL Server. However, if it’s enabled, it provides access to anyone who connects to the instance of SQL Server, without requiring a login. This means that anyone who knows the IP address or host name of the server can connect as the guest user.

If the guest user account is enabled and someone gains access to it, they could potentially view sensitive data, make changes to data, or even delete data. Therefore, it’s important to make sure that the guest user account is always disabled.