Index Level Security in Elasticsearch

Introduction

Index Level Security (ILS) in Elasticsearch allows you to control access to specific indices and the data they contain. This feature is essential for securing sensitive data and ensuring that users only have access to the information they need.

Prerequisites

Before you can implement Index Level Security in Elasticsearch, you need to have:

• Elasticsearch installed and running
• X-Pack security features enabled
• Basic understanding of Elasticsearch roles and users

Creating Roles with Index Permissions

To restrict access to specific indices, you need to create roles with index permissions. Here's an example of how to create a role that has read access to a specific index:

PUT /_security/role/read_index_role
{
  "indices": [
    {
      "names": [ "index_name" ],
      "privileges": [ "read" ]
    }
  ]
}

Assigning Roles to Users

After creating the role, you need to assign it to a user. Here’s how you can do it:

PUT /_security/user/john_doe
{
  "password" : "password",
  "roles" : [ "read_index_role" ],
  "full_name" : "John Doe",
  "email" : "john.doe@example.com"
}

Verifying Access

To verify that the user has the correct access permissions, you can authenticate as that user and attempt to access the index:

GET /index_name/_search
{
  "auth": {
    "username": "john_doe",
    "password": "password"
  }
}

Advanced Index Permissions

Elasticsearch allows you to define more granular permissions for indices. For example, you can create a role that has read access to one index and write access to another:

PUT /_security/role/mixed_access_role
{
  "indices": [
    {
      "names": [ "read_only_index" ],
      "privileges": [ "read" ]
    },
    {
      "names": [ "write_only_index" ],
      "privileges": [ "write" ]
    }
  ]
}

Conclusion

Index Level Security in Elasticsearch is a powerful feature that helps you control access to your data. By creating roles with specific index permissions and assigning them to users, you can ensure that your sensitive data is protected and only accessible to authorized users.