Security Manager for Oracle

Release Notes

Date Published: May 2011

 
 

 

Security Manager for Oracle monitors your Oracle databases on UNIX computers for various changes to Oracle user accounts, roles, and privileges.

Security Manager for Oracle monitors events in real-time that may indicate possible external intrusions or attacks so you can quickly take corrective or preventive actions. For example, this module enables you to perform the following tasks:

  • Detect changes to user accounts, roles and privileges
  • Detect special events such as lockouts, privileged account activity, or granting of audit policy privileges
  • Detect changes or problems with the Oracle audit subsystem
  • Detect high-severity alerts
  • Notify the Oracle Administrators notification group of serious issues
  • Monitor your environment from a single console

Security Manager for Oracle also collects events from logs and stores them in secure repositories so you can archive this data, create reports for management or auditing purposes, and analyze critical events to research issues.

This module for the Security Manager product includes several new features. This version also improves usability and resolves several previous issues. Many of these improvements were made in direct response to suggestions from our customers. We thank you for your time and valuable input. We hope you continue to help us ensure our products meet all your needs. You can post feedback in the Security Manager forum on Qmunity, our community Web site that also includes product notifications, blogs, and the Security Manager user group.

This document outlines why you should install this module, lists installation requirements, and identifies known issues.

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Supported Products

For the latest information about supported software versions and the availability of module updates, visit the Security Manager Supported Products page. If you encounter problems using this module with a later version of your application, contact NetIQ Technical Support.

This release supports the following products:

  • Oracle Database

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Why Install This Module?

Security Manager for Oracle monitors events on UNIX computers to detect a variety of occurrences and alert you to them. When significant events occur, Security Manager sends alerts to the consoles and can notify your staff so they can quickly take corrective action.

Resolves Issue Where Oracle on UNIX Forensic Analysis Query Fails

This release resolves an issue where selecting the IDMEF field named "Object Affected" when creating a Forensic Analysis query causes the query against Oracle on UNIX to not properly display all data. You can now properly select the "Object Affected" field for use in Forensic Analysis queries run against Oracle on UNIX installations. (ENG302901)

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System Requirements

Security Manager for Oracle uses the NetIQ UNIX Agent to monitor Oracle database events on UNIX computers and takes advantage of updated functionality and rules in the latest version of the NetIQ UNIX Agent. For the Security Manager for Oracle module to function correctly, NetIQ recommends you update all UNIX agents to the latest version of the NetIQ UNIX Agent before installing or upgrading this module.

For more information about requirements for a UNIX agent monitoring an Oracle database computer, see the NetIQ UNIX Agent documentation available from the setup program in the NetIQ UNIX Agent installation kit. In addition to installing and configuring the UNIX agent, you must install and configure the Security Manager for UNIX module. For more information, see the Security Manager for UNIX Release Notes.

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Installing This Module

Install the module using the Module Installer utility. For more information about installing modules, see the User Guide for NetIQ Security Manager.

You can verify successful installation of the module in the Module Installer. After the installation completes, verify the Status column indicates the module is current and the module version listed in the Installed Version column is the same as the version in the Available Version column.

After you install the module, install the UNIX Agent Manager and UNIX agents on the computers on which you want Security Manager for Oracle to monitor real-time events and collect log data. Configure the UNIX agent to support Security Manager for Oracle. For more information, see the NetIQ UNIX Agent documentation available from the setup program in the NetIQ UNIX Agent installation kit.

Security Manager for Oracle does not require configuration, but you do need to add operators to the Oracle Administrators group to receive notifications from the associated rules. You must also configure the Security Manager for UNIX module in the Configuration Wizard. For more information about using the Configuration Wizard, see the User Guide for NetIQ Security Manager.

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Configuring Oracle for Event Auditing

After you have installed this module and installed and configured the UNIX agent and the Security Manager for UNIX module, complete the following steps to enable Oracle auditing.

To enable Oracle auditing:

  1. Set the AUDIT_TRAIL initialization parameter to the value OS.
  2. If you want to record all actions by any user connected as SYSDBA to the audit trail, set the AUDIT_SYS_OPERATION initialization parameter to TRUE.
  3. Execute the appropriate pl/sql statements from the list below:
  4. AUDIT USER BY ACCESS;
    AUDIT ROLE BY ACCESS;
    AUDIT CONNECT BY ACCESS;
    AUDIT UPDATE ON SYS.AUD$ BY ACCESS;
    AUDIT INSERT TABLE BY ACCESS WHENEVER NOT SUCCESSFUL;
    AUDIT SYSTEM GRANT BY ACCESS;
    AUDIT ALTER ANY TABLE BY ACCESS;
    AUDIT DROP ANY PROCEDURE BY ACCESS;
    AUDIT CREATE ANY CLUSTER, CREATE ANY DIRECTORY, CREATE ANY
    INDEX, CREATE ANY LIBRARY, CREATE ANY PROCEDURE, CREATE ANY
    SEQUENCE, CREATE ANY SNAPSHOT, CREATE ANY SYNONYM, CREATE
    ANY TABLE, CREATE ANY TRIGGER, CREATE ANY TYPE, CREATE ANY
    VIEW, CREATE CLUSTER, CREATE DATABASE LINK, CREATE LIBRARY,
    CREATE PROCEDURE, CREATE PROFILE, CREATE PUBLIC DATABASE
    LINK, CREATE PUBLIC SYNONYM, CREATE ROLLBACK SEGMENT, CREATE
    SEQUENCE, CREATE SNAPSHOT, CREATE SYNONYM, CREATE TABLE,
    CREATE TRIGGER, CREATE TYPE, CREATE VIEW BY ACCESS;
    AUDIT DROP ANY CLUSTER, DROP ANY DIRECTORY, DROP ANY INDEX,
    DROP ANY LIBRARY, DROP ANY PROCEDURE, DROP ANY SEQUENCE,
    DROP ANY SNAPSHOT, DROP ANY SYNONYM, DROP ANY TABLE, DROP ANY
    TRIGGER, DROP ANY TYPE, DROP ANY VIEW, DROP PROFILE, DROP
    PUBLIC DATABASE LINK, DROP PUBLIC SYNONYM, DROP ROLLBACK
    SEGMENT, DROP TABLESPACE, DROP USER BY ACCESS;
    

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Known Issues

NetIQ Corporation strives to ensure our products provide quality solutions for your enterprise software needs. The following issues are currently being researched. If you need further assistance with any issue, please contact Technical Support.

Upgrading Requires Updated Versions of Previously Installed UNIX and Oracle Modules

The Security Manager for Oracle module replaces the Event Manager for Oracle on UNIX and Log Manager for Oracle on UNIX modules. However, if you upgrade from Log Manager for Oracle on UNIX to the Security Manager for Oracle module, you must also use the Module Installer to install the latest version of the Log Manager for Oracle on UNIX module, available on the NetIQ AutoSync Server. In the Module Installer, the name of the Log Manager for Oracle on UNIX module is "LM Support for Oracle on UNIX (Obsolete)," located in the "zzz Obsolete Modules - Only select if already installed" category.

In addition, if you upgraded from the Log Manager for UNIX module to the Security Manager for UNIX module, you must install the latest version of the Log Manager for UNIX module, available on the NetIQ AutoSync Server. In the Module Installer, the name of the Log Manager for UNIX module is "Log Manager for UNIX (Obsolete)."

If you did not previously install the Log Manager for Oracle on UNIX, Event Manager for Oracle on UNIX, or Log Manager for UNIX modules, you need to install only the Security Manager for UNIX and Security Manager for Oracle modules. (DOC289091)

Superseded Release Notes Not Removed on Upgrade

The Security Manager for Oracle module replaces the Event Manager for Oracle and Log Manager for Oracle modules. However, a known issue exists where Security Manager cannot remove old release notes files when installing updated modules. Release notes are installed by default in the \Program Files\NetIQ Security Manager\OnePoint\Documentation\Release Notes folder on the central computer, but may have been moved or copied to a different location in your environment. After upgrading this module, you should manually delete any superseded release notes in the default folder or in other folders.

Removal of Monitoring Guides

Since monitoring information for updated Security Manager modules is now available in the module release notes, monitoring guides have been discontinued. However, a known issue exists where Security Manager cannot remove old monitoring guides when installing updated modules. To reduce the risk of users referencing outdated monitoring guides, Security Manager now replaces the old monitoring guide in the default documentation folder with a blank monitoring guide. Monitoring guides are installed by default in the \Program Files\NetIQ Security Manager\OnePoint\Documentation\Monitoring Guides folder on the central computer, but may have been moved or copied to a different location in your environment. After installing an updated module, you should manually delete any outdated monitoring guides that were copied or moved to other folders.

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Contact Information

Our goal is to provide documentation that meets your needs. If you have suggestions for improvements, please email Documentation-Feedback@netiq.com. We value your input and look forward to hearing from you.

For detailed contact information, see the Support Contact Information Web site.

For interactive conversations with your peers and NetIQ experts, become an active member of Qmunity, our community Web site that offers product forums, product notifications, blogs, and product user groups.

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Legal Notice

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