- Elasticsearch Guide: other versions:
- What is Elasticsearch?
- What’s new in 7.10
- Getting started with Elasticsearch
- Set up Elasticsearch
- Installing Elasticsearch
- Configuring Elasticsearch
- Setting JVM options
- Secure settings
- Auditing settings
- Circuit breaker settings
- Cluster-level shard allocation and routing settings
- Cross-cluster replication settings
- Discovery and cluster formation settings
- Field data cache settings
- HTTP
- Index lifecycle management settings
- Index management settings
- Index recovery settings
- Indexing buffer settings
- License settings
- Local gateway settings
- Logging
- Machine learning settings
- Monitoring settings
- Node
- Network settings
- Node query cache settings
- Search settings
- Security settings
- Shard request cache settings
- Snapshot lifecycle management settings
- Transforms settings
- Transport
- Thread pools
- Watcher settings
- Important Elasticsearch configuration
- Important System Configuration
- Bootstrap Checks
- Heap size check
- File descriptor check
- Memory lock check
- Maximum number of threads check
- Max file size check
- Maximum size virtual memory check
- Maximum map count check
- Client JVM check
- Use serial collector check
- System call filter check
- OnError and OnOutOfMemoryError checks
- Early-access check
- G1GC check
- All permission check
- Discovery configuration check
- Bootstrap Checks for X-Pack
- Starting Elasticsearch
- Stopping Elasticsearch
- Discovery and cluster formation
- Add and remove nodes in your cluster
- Full-cluster restart and rolling restart
- Remote clusters
- Set up X-Pack
- Configuring X-Pack Java Clients
- Plugins
- Upgrade Elasticsearch
- Index modules
- Mapping
- Text analysis
- Overview
- Concepts
- Configure text analysis
- Built-in analyzer reference
- Tokenizer reference
- Token filter reference
- Apostrophe
- ASCII folding
- CJK bigram
- CJK width
- Classic
- Common grams
- Conditional
- Decimal digit
- Delimited payload
- Dictionary decompounder
- Edge n-gram
- Elision
- Fingerprint
- Flatten graph
- Hunspell
- Hyphenation decompounder
- Keep types
- Keep words
- Keyword marker
- Keyword repeat
- KStem
- Length
- Limit token count
- Lowercase
- MinHash
- Multiplexer
- N-gram
- Normalization
- Pattern capture
- Pattern replace
- Phonetic
- Porter stem
- Predicate script
- Remove duplicates
- Reverse
- Shingle
- Snowball
- Stemmer
- Stemmer override
- Stop
- Synonym
- Synonym graph
- Trim
- Truncate
- Unique
- Uppercase
- Word delimiter
- Word delimiter graph
- Character filters reference
- Normalizers
- Index templates
- Data streams
- Ingest node
- Search your data
- Query DSL
- Aggregations
- Bucket aggregations
- Adjacency matrix
- Auto-interval date histogram
- Children
- Composite
- Date histogram
- Date range
- Diversified sampler
- Filter
- Filters
- Geo-distance
- Geohash grid
- Geotile grid
- Global
- Histogram
- IP range
- Missing
- Nested
- Parent
- Range
- Rare terms
- Reverse nested
- Sampler
- Significant terms
- Significant text
- Terms
- Variable width histogram
- Subtleties of bucketing range fields
- Metrics aggregations
- Pipeline aggregations
- Bucket aggregations
- EQL
- SQL access
- Overview
- Getting Started with SQL
- Conventions and Terminology
- Security
- SQL REST API
- SQL Translate API
- SQL CLI
- SQL JDBC
- SQL ODBC
- SQL Client Applications
- SQL Language
- Functions and Operators
- Comparison Operators
- Logical Operators
- Math Operators
- Cast Operators
- LIKE and RLIKE Operators
- Aggregate Functions
- Grouping Functions
- Date/Time and Interval Functions and Operators
- Full-Text Search Functions
- Mathematical Functions
- String Functions
- Type Conversion Functions
- Geo Functions
- Conditional Functions And Expressions
- System Functions
- Reserved keywords
- SQL Limitations
- Scripting
- Data management
- ILM: Manage the index lifecycle
- Overview
- Concepts
- Automate rollover
- Manage Filebeat time-based indices
- Index lifecycle actions
- Configure a lifecycle policy
- Migrate index allocation filters to node roles
- Resolve lifecycle policy execution errors
- Start and stop index lifecycle management
- Manage existing indices
- Skip rollover
- Restore a managed data stream or index
- Monitor a cluster
- Frozen indices
- Roll up or transform your data
- Set up a cluster for high availability
- Snapshot and restore
- Secure a cluster
- Overview
- Configuring security
- User authentication
- Built-in users
- Internal users
- Token-based authentication services
- Realms
- Realm chains
- Active Directory user authentication
- File-based user authentication
- LDAP user authentication
- Native user authentication
- OpenID Connect authentication
- PKI user authentication
- SAML authentication
- Kerberos authentication
- Integrating with other authentication systems
- Enabling anonymous access
- Controlling the user cache
- Configuring SAML single-sign-on on the Elastic Stack
- Configuring single sign-on to the Elastic Stack using OpenID Connect
- User authorization
- Built-in roles
- Defining roles
- Granting access to Stack Management features
- Security privileges
- Document level security
- Field level security
- Granting privileges for data streams and index aliases
- Mapping users and groups to roles
- Setting up field and document level security
- Submitting requests on behalf of other users
- Configuring authorization delegation
- Customizing roles and authorization
- Enabling audit logging
- Encrypting communications
- Restricting connections with IP filtering
- Cross cluster search, clients, and integrations
- Tutorial: Getting started with security
- Tutorial: Encrypting communications
- Troubleshooting
- Some settings are not returned via the nodes settings API
- Authorization exceptions
- Users command fails due to extra arguments
- Users are frequently locked out of Active Directory
- Certificate verification fails for curl on Mac
- SSLHandshakeException causes connections to fail
- Common SSL/TLS exceptions
- Common Kerberos exceptions
- Common SAML issues
- Internal Server Error in Kibana
- Setup-passwords command fails due to connection failure
- Failures due to relocation of the configuration files
- Limitations
- Watch for cluster and index events
- Command line tools
- How To
- Glossary of terms
- REST APIs
- API conventions
- Compact and aligned text (CAT) APIs
- cat aliases
- cat allocation
- cat anomaly detectors
- cat count
- cat data frame analytics
- cat datafeeds
- cat fielddata
- cat health
- cat indices
- cat master
- cat nodeattrs
- cat nodes
- cat pending tasks
- cat plugins
- cat recovery
- cat repositories
- cat segments
- cat shards
- cat snapshots
- cat task management
- cat templates
- cat thread pool
- cat trained model
- cat transforms
- Cluster APIs
- Cluster allocation explain
- Cluster get settings
- Cluster health
- Cluster reroute
- Cluster state
- Cluster stats
- Cluster update settings
- Nodes feature usage
- Nodes hot threads
- Nodes info
- Nodes reload secure settings
- Nodes stats
- Pending cluster tasks
- Remote cluster info
- Task management
- Voting configuration exclusions
- Cross-cluster replication APIs
- Data stream APIs
- Document APIs
- Enrich APIs
- Graph explore API
- Index APIs
- Add index alias
- Analyze
- Clear cache
- Clone index
- Close index
- Create index
- Delete index
- Delete index alias
- Delete component template
- Delete index template
- Delete index template (legacy)
- Flush
- Force merge
- Freeze index
- Get component template
- Get field mapping
- Get index
- Get index alias
- Get index settings
- Get index template
- Get index template (legacy)
- Get mapping
- Index alias exists
- Index exists
- Index recovery
- Index segments
- Index shard stores
- Index stats
- Index template exists (legacy)
- Open index
- Put index template
- Put index template (legacy)
- Put component template
- Put mapping
- Refresh
- Rollover index
- Shrink index
- Simulate index
- Simulate template
- Split index
- Synced flush
- Type exists
- Unfreeze index
- Update index alias
- Update index settings
- Resolve index
- List dangling indices
- Import dangling index
- Delete dangling index
- Index lifecycle management APIs
- Ingest APIs
- Info API
- Licensing APIs
- Machine learning anomaly detection APIs
- Add events to calendar
- Add jobs to calendar
- Close jobs
- Create jobs
- Create calendars
- Create datafeeds
- Create filters
- Delete calendars
- Delete datafeeds
- Delete events from calendar
- Delete filters
- Delete forecasts
- Delete jobs
- Delete jobs from calendar
- Delete model snapshots
- Delete expired data
- Estimate model memory
- Find file structure
- Flush jobs
- Forecast jobs
- Get buckets
- Get calendars
- Get categories
- Get datafeeds
- Get datafeed statistics
- Get influencers
- Get jobs
- Get job statistics
- Get machine learning info
- Get model snapshots
- Get overall buckets
- Get scheduled events
- Get filters
- Get records
- Open jobs
- Post data to jobs
- Preview datafeeds
- Revert model snapshots
- Set upgrade mode
- Start datafeeds
- Stop datafeeds
- Update datafeeds
- Update filters
- Update jobs
- Update model snapshots
- Machine learning data frame analytics APIs
- Create data frame analytics jobs
- Create trained models
- Update data frame analytics jobs
- Delete data frame analytics jobs
- Delete trained models
- Evaluate data frame analytics
- Explain data frame analytics
- Get data frame analytics jobs
- Get data frame analytics jobs stats
- Get trained models
- Get trained models stats
- Start data frame analytics jobs
- Stop data frame analytics jobs
- Migration APIs
- Reload search analyzers API
- Repositories metering APIs
- Rollup APIs
- Search APIs
- Searchable snapshots APIs
- Security APIs
- Authenticate
- Change passwords
- Clear cache
- Clear roles cache
- Clear privileges cache
- Clear API key cache
- Create API keys
- Create or update application privileges
- Create or update role mappings
- Create or update roles
- Create or update users
- Delegate PKI authentication
- Delete application privileges
- Delete role mappings
- Delete roles
- Delete users
- Disable users
- Enable users
- Get API key information
- Get application privileges
- Get builtin privileges
- Get role mappings
- Get roles
- Get token
- Get users
- Grant API keys
- Has privileges
- Invalidate API key
- Invalidate token
- OpenID Connect prepare authentication
- OpenID Connect authenticate
- OpenID Connect logout
- SAML prepare authentication
- SAML authenticate
- SAML logout
- SAML invalidate
- SSL certificate
- Snapshot and restore APIs
- Snapshot lifecycle management APIs
- Transform APIs
- Usage API
- Watcher APIs
- Definitions
- Migration guide
- Release notes
- Elasticsearch version 7.10.2
- Elasticsearch version 7.10.1
- Elasticsearch version 7.10.0
- Elasticsearch version 7.9.3
- Elasticsearch version 7.9.2
- Elasticsearch version 7.9.1
- Elasticsearch version 7.9.0
- Elasticsearch version 7.8.1
- Elasticsearch version 7.8.0
- Elasticsearch version 7.7.1
- Elasticsearch version 7.7.0
- Elasticsearch version 7.6.2
- Elasticsearch version 7.6.1
- Elasticsearch version 7.6.0
- Elasticsearch version 7.5.2
- Elasticsearch version 7.5.1
- Elasticsearch version 7.5.0
- Elasticsearch version 7.4.2
- Elasticsearch version 7.4.1
- Elasticsearch version 7.4.0
- Elasticsearch version 7.3.2
- Elasticsearch version 7.3.1
- Elasticsearch version 7.3.0
- Elasticsearch version 7.2.1
- Elasticsearch version 7.2.0
- Elasticsearch version 7.1.1
- Elasticsearch version 7.1.0
- Elasticsearch version 7.0.0
- Elasticsearch version 7.0.0-rc2
- Elasticsearch version 7.0.0-rc1
- Elasticsearch version 7.0.0-beta1
- Elasticsearch version 7.0.0-alpha2
- Elasticsearch version 7.0.0-alpha1
- Dependencies and versions
Back up a cluster’s security configuration
editBack up a cluster’s security configuration
editSecurity configuration information resides in two places: files and indices.
Back up file-based security configuration
editElasticsearch security features are configured using the xpack.security
namespace inside the elasticsearch.yml
and
elasticsearch.keystore
files. In addition there are several other
extra configuration files inside the same ES_PATH_CONF
directory. These files define roles and role mappings and configure the
file realm. Some of the
settings specify file paths to security-sensitive data, such as TLS keys and
certificates for the HTTP client and inter-node communication and private key files for
SAML, OIDC and the
Kerberos realms. All these are also stored inside
ES_PATH_CONF
; the path settings are relative.
The elasticsearch.keystore
, TLS keys and SAML, OIDC, and Kerberos
realms private key files require confidentiality. This is crucial when files
are copied to the backup location, as this increases the surface for malicious
snooping.
To back up all this configuration you can use a conventional file-based backup, as described in the previous section.
- File backups must run on every cluster node.
- File backups will store non-security configuration as well. Backing-up only security features configuration is not supported. A backup is a point in time record of state of the complete configuration.
Back up index-based security configuration
editElasticsearch security features store system configuration data inside a
dedicated index. This index is named .security-6
in the Elasticsearch 6.x versions and
.security-7
in the 7.x releases. The .security
alias always points to the
appropriate index. This index contains the data which is not available in
configuration files and cannot be reliably backed up using standard
filesystem tools. This data describes:
- the definition of users in the native realm (including hashed passwords)
- role definitions (defined via the create roles API)
- role mappings (defined via the create role mappings API)
- application privileges
- API keys
The .security
index thus contains resources and definitions in addition to
configuration information. All of that information is required in a complete
security features backup.
Use the standard Elasticsearch snapshot functionality to backup
.security
, as you would for any other data index.
For convenience, here are the complete steps:
-
Create a repository that you can use to backup the
.security
index. It is preferable to have a dedicated repository for this special index. If you wish, you can also snapshot the system indices for other Elastic Stack components to this repository.PUT /_snapshot/my_backup { "type": "fs", "settings": { "location": "my_backup_location" } }
The user calling this API must have the elevated
manage
cluster privilege to prevent non-administrators exfiltrating data. -
Create a user and assign it only the built-in
snapshot_user
role.The following example creates a new user
snapshot_user
in the native realm, but it is not important which realm the user is a member of:POST /_security/user/snapshot_user { "password" : "secret", "roles" : [ "snapshot_user" ] }
-
Create incremental snapshots authorized as
snapshot_user
.The following example shows how to use the create snapshot API to backup the
.security
index to themy_backup
repository:This parameter value captures all the persistent settings stored in the global cluster metadata as well as other configurations such as aliases and stored scripts. Note that this includes non-security configuration and that it complements but does not replace the filesystem configuration files backup.
The index format is only compatible within a single major version, and cannot be restored onto a version earlier than the version from which it originated. For example, you can restore a security snapshot from 6.6.0 into a 6.7.0 cluster, but you cannot restore it to a cluster running Elasticsearch 6.5.0 or 7.0.0.
Controlling access to the backup repository
editThe snapshot of the security index will typically contain sensitive data such as user names and password hashes. Because passwords are stored using cryptographic hashes, the disclosure of a snapshot would not automatically enable a third party to authenticate as one of your users or use API keys. However, it would disclose confidential information.
It is also important that you protect the integrity of these backups in case you ever need to restore them. If a third party is able to modify the stored backups, they may be able to install a back door that would grant access if the snapshot is loaded into an Elasticsearch cluster.
We recommend that you:
-
Snapshot the
.security
index in a dedicated repository, where read and write access is strictly restricted and audited. - If there are indications that the snapshot has been read, change the passwords of the users in the native realm and revoke API keys.
- If there are indications that the snapshot has been tampered with, do not restore it. There is currently no option for the restore process to detect malicious tampering.
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