Linux Server Security, Second Edition

This is the Title of the Book, eMatter Edition

Copyright © 2007 O’Reilly & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Database Security

The “M” in LAMP, and the most popular open source database for Linux, is

MySQL. It’s easy to install and configure, runs light, and is quite fast. You’ll com-

monly see it harnessed to Apache—serving up site content and authenticating users

—and offering a tempting target to those with more time than sense or conscience.

In this chapter, we’ll apply to database servers some of the methods we use to secure

web servers, email servers, and nameservers. It’s a little shorter than many of the

other chapters because a database server is, from a security viewpoint, simpler than a

web server or email server.

Working from the outside into the crunchy database center, we’ll cover:

• The types of security problems. What should you worry about?

• Server placement. Where should you put your MySQL server to protect it from

TCP exploits? How can you provide secure access for database clients?

• Database server installation. What version of MySQL should you use? What are

the best file/directory ownerships and modes?

• Database configuration. How do you create database user accounts and grant

permissions?

• Database operation. How do you protect against malicious SQL and bonehead

queries? What are good practices for logging and backup?

For one reason or another, you ...