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6.3.1 Ensure 'external scripts enabled' database flag for Cloud SQL SQL Server instance is set to 'off' (Automated)​

Profile Applicability​

• Level 1

Description​

It is recommended to set external scripts enabled database flag for Cloud SQL SQL Server instance to off

Rationale​

external scripts enabled enable the execution of scripts with certain remote language extensions. This property is OFF by default. When Advanced Analytics Services is installed, setup can optionally set this property to true. As the External Scripts Enabled feature allows scripts external to SQL such as files located in an R library to be executed, which could adversely affect the security of the system, 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 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 external scripts enabled that has been set is listed under the Database flags section.

From Command Line:

  1. Ensure the below command returns off for every Cloud SQL SQL Server database instance
gcloud sql instances list --format=json | jq '.settings.databaseFlags[] | select(.name=="external scripts enabled")|.value'

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 external scripts enabled from the drop-down menu, and set its value to off.
  6. Click Save to save your changes.
  7. Confirm your changes under Flags on the Overview page.

From Command Line:

  1. Configure the external scripts enabled database flag for every Cloud SQL SQL Server database instance using the below command.
gcloud sql instances patch <INSTANCE_NAME> --database-flags "external scripts enabled=off"
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 ("=").

References​

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/database-engine/configure-windows/external-scripts-enabled-server-configuration-option?view=sql-server-ver15
https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/sqlserver/flags
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/advanced-analytics/concepts/security?view=sql-server-ver15
https://www.stigviewer.com/stig/ms_sql_server_2016_instance/2018-03-09/finding/V-79347

Additional Information​

danger

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 restarts the Cloud SQL instance.