Oracle Database must restrict error messages so only authorized personnel may view them.

Severity	Group ID	Group Title	Version	Rule ID	Date	STIG Version
medium	V-270584	SRG-APP-000267-DB-000163	O19C-00-018400	SV-270584r1065296_rule	2025-02-14	1

Description
Any database management system (DBMS) or associated application providing too much information in error messages on the screen or printout risks compromising the data and security of the system. The structure and content of error messages need to be carefully considered by the organization and development team. Databases can inadvertently provide a wealth of information to an attacker through improperly handled error messages. In addition to sensitive business or personal information, database errors can provide host names, IP addresses, usernames, and other system information not required for troubleshooting but very useful to someone targeting the system. Carefully consider the structure/content of error messages. The extent to which information systems are able to identify and handle error conditions is guided by organizational policy and operational requirements. Information that could be exploited by adversaries includes, for example, logon attempts with passwords entered by mistake as the username, mission/business information that can be derived from (if not stated explicitly by) information recorded, and personal information, such as account numbers, social security numbers, and credit card numbers. This requires for inspection of application source code, which will involve collaboration with the application developers. It is recognized that in many cases, the database administrator (DBA) is organizationally separate from the application developers, and may have limited, if any, access to source code. Nevertheless, protections of this type are so important to the secure operation of databases that they must not be ignored. At a minimum, the DBA must attempt to obtain assurances from the development organization that this issue has been addressed and must document what has been discovered.

Description

Any database management system (DBMS) or associated application providing too much information in error messages on the screen or printout risks compromising the data and security of the system. The structure and content of error messages need to be carefully considered by the organization and development team. Databases can inadvertently provide a wealth of information to an attacker through improperly handled error messages. In addition to sensitive business or personal information, database errors can provide host names, IP addresses, usernames, and other system information not required for troubleshooting but very useful to someone targeting the system. Carefully consider the structure/content of error messages. The extent to which information systems are able to identify and handle error conditions is guided by organizational policy and operational requirements. Information that could be exploited by adversaries includes, for example, logon attempts with passwords entered by mistake as the username, mission/business information that can be derived from (if not stated explicitly by) information recorded, and personal information, such as account numbers, social security numbers, and credit card numbers. This requires for inspection of application source code, which will involve collaboration with the application developers. It is recognized that in many cases, the database administrator (DBA) is organizationally separate from the application developers, and may have limited, if any, access to source code. Nevertheless, protections of this type are so important to the secure operation of databases that they must not be ignored. At a minimum, the DBA must attempt to obtain assurances from the development organization that this issue has been addressed and must document what has been discovered.

ℹ️ Check
Check DBMS settings and custom database code to determine if error messages are ever displayed to unauthorized individuals: i) Review all end-user-facing applications that use the database, to determine whether they display any DBMS-generated error messages to general users. If they do, this is a finding. ii) Review whether the database is accessible to users who are not authorized system administrators or database administrators, via the following types of software: iia) Oracle SQL*Plus. iib) Reporting and analysis tools. iic) Database management and/or development tools, such as, but not limited to, Toad. iid) Application development tools, such as, but not limited to, Oracle JDeveloper, Microsoft Visual Studio, PowerBuilder, or Eclipse. If the answer to the preceding question (iia through iid) is Yes, inquire whether, for each role or individual with respect to each tool, this access is required to enable the user(s) to perform authorized job duties. If No, this is a finding. If Yes, continue: For each tool in use, determine whether it is capable of suppressing DBMS-generated error messages, and if it is, whether it is configured to do so. Determine whether the role or individual, with respect to each tool, needs to verify detailed DBMS-generated error messages. If No, and if the tool is not configured to suppress such messages, this is a finding. If Yes, determine whether the role/user's need to verify such messages is documented in the system documentation. If so, this is not a finding. If not, this is a finding.

ℹ️ Check

Check DBMS settings and custom database code to determine if error messages are ever displayed to unauthorized individuals: i) Review all end-user-facing applications that use the database, to determine whether they display any DBMS-generated error messages to general users. If they do, this is a finding. ii) Review whether the database is accessible to users who are not authorized system administrators or database administrators, via the following types of software: iia) Oracle SQL*Plus. iib) Reporting and analysis tools. iic) Database management and/or development tools, such as, but not limited to, Toad. iid) Application development tools, such as, but not limited to, Oracle JDeveloper, Microsoft Visual Studio, PowerBuilder, or Eclipse. If the answer to the preceding question (iia through iid) is Yes, inquire whether, for each role or individual with respect to each tool, this access is required to enable the user(s) to perform authorized job duties. If No, this is a finding. If Yes, continue: For each tool in use, determine whether it is capable of suppressing DBMS-generated error messages, and if it is, whether it is configured to do so. Determine whether the role or individual, with respect to each tool, needs to verify detailed DBMS-generated error messages. If No, and if the tool is not configured to suppress such messages, this is a finding. If Yes, determine whether the role/user's need to verify such messages is documented in the system documentation. If so, this is not a finding. If not, this is a finding.

✔️ Fix
For each end-user-facing application that displays DBMS-generated error messages, configure or recode it to suppress these messages. If the application is coded in Oracle PL/SQL, the EXCEPTION block can be used to suppress or divert error messages. Most other programming languages provide comparable facilities, such as TRY ... CATCH. For each unauthorized user of each tool, remove the ability to access it. For each tool where access to DBMS error messages is not required and can be configured, suppress the messages. For each role/user that needs access to the error messages or needs a tool where the messages cannot be suppressed, document the need in the system documentation.

✔️ Fix

For each end-user-facing application that displays DBMS-generated error messages, configure or recode it to suppress these messages. If the application is coded in Oracle PL/SQL, the EXCEPTION block can be used to suppress or divert error messages. Most other programming languages provide comparable facilities, such as TRY ... CATCH. For each unauthorized user of each tool, remove the ability to access it. For each tool where access to DBMS error messages is not required and can be configured, suppress the messages. For each role/user that needs access to the error messages or needs a tool where the messages cannot be suppressed, document the need in the system documentation.