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6.2.4 Set 'Log_statement' Database Flag for Cloud SQL PostgreSQL Instance Appropriately (Automated)​

note

This rule has been changed to automated, see Automated Policies for CIS GCP 1.3.0 for details.

Profile Applicability​

• Level 1

Description​

The value of log_statement flag determines the logged SQL statements. Valid values are:

  • none
  • ddl
  • mod
  • all

The value ddl logs all data definition statements. The value mod logs all ddl statements, plus data-modifying statements.

The instance logs statements after a basic parsing and determination of statement type, thus this does not log statements with errors. When using extended query protocol, logging occurs after receiving an Execute message with values of the Bind parameters.

Best practices recommend a value of 'ddl' unless otherwise directed by your organization's logging policy.

Rationale​

Auditing helps in forensic analysis. If log_statement is not set to the correct value, too many statements may be logged leading to issues in finding the relevant information from the logs, or too few statements may be logged with relevant information missing from the logs. Setting log_statement to align with your organization's security and logging policies facilitates later auditing and review of database activities. This recommendation is applicable to PostgreSQL database instances.

Impact​

Turning on logging will increase the required storage over time. Mismanaged logs may cause your storage costs to increase. 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. Go to Configuration card
  4. Under Database flags, check the value of log_statement flag is set to appropriately.

From Command Line:

  1. Use the below command for every Cloud SQL PostgreSQL database instance to verify the value of log_statement
gcloud sql instances list --format=json | jq '.settings.databaseFlags[] | select(.name=="log_statement")|.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 PostgreSQL instance for which you want to enable the database flag.
  3. Click Edit.
  4. Scroll down to the Flags section.
  5. To set a flag that is new to the instance, click Add item, choose the flag log_statement from the drop-down menu and set appropriate value.
  6. Click Save to save your changes.
  7. Confirm your changes under Flags on the Overview page.

From Command Line:

  1. Configure the log_statement database flag for every Cloud SQL PosgreSQL database instance using the below command:
gcloud sql instances patch <instance_name> --database-flags log_statement=<ddl|mod|all|none>
note

This command overwrites 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 uses the default value. For flags that do not take a value, specify the flag name followed by an equals sign ("=").

References​

https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/postgres/flags
https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/runtime-config-logging.html#RUNTIME-CONFIG-LOGGING-WHAT

Additional Information​

danger

This patch modifies database flag values, which may require you to restart your instance. The list of supported flags is on this page, along with details of which flags require a restart: https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/postgres/flags.

note

Some database flag settings can affect instance availability or stability and remove the instance from the Cloud SQL Service-Level Agreement (SLA). For information about these flags, see Operational Guidelines.

note

Configuring the preceding flag does not require restarting the Cloud SQL instance.

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