Introduction to Security in Elasticsearch
Overview
Security is a critical component when managing any data system. In Elasticsearch, security ensures that your data is protected from unauthorized access and modifications. This tutorial will cover the basics of security in Elasticsearch, including authentication, authorization, data encryption, and audit logging.
Authentication
Authentication is the process of verifying the identity of a user or system. Elasticsearch supports several authentication mechanisms, including native authentication, LDAP, Active Directory, and more.
Example: Configuring Native Authentication
PUT /_security/user/john_doe
{
"password" : "password123",
"roles" : [ "admin" ],
"full_name" : "John Doe",
"email" : "john.doe@example.com"
}
Output:
{
"acknowledged": true
}
Authorization
Authorization determines what an authenticated user is allowed to do. In Elasticsearch, roles are used to define a set of permissions. Users are assigned roles which grant them specific permissions.
Example: Creating and Assigning Roles
PUT /_security/role/my_admin_role
{
"cluster": ["all"],
"indices": [
{
"names": [ "*" ],
"privileges": ["all"]
}
]
}
PUT /_security/user/jane_doe
{
"password" : "password123",
"roles" : [ "my_admin_role" ],
"full_name" : "Jane Doe",
"email" : "jane.doe@example.com"
}
Output:
{
"acknowledged": true
}
Data Encryption
Data encryption protects your data by encoding it in such a way that only authorized parties can access it. Elasticsearch supports encryption both in transit and at rest.
Example: Enabling TLS for Transport Layer
xpack.security.transport.ssl.enabled: true
xpack.security.transport.ssl.verification_mode: certificate
xpack.security.transport.ssl.key: /path/to/your/node.key
xpack.security.transport.ssl.certificate: /path/to/your/node.crt
xpack.security.transport.ssl.certificate_authorities: [ "/path/to/your/ca.crt" ]
Audit Logging
Audit logging helps in tracking access and changes to the data in Elasticsearch. It provides a way to monitor and analyze security-related activities.
Example: Enabling Audit Logging
xpack.security.audit.enabled: true
xpack.security.audit.outputs: [ "index", "logfile" ]
xpack.security.audit.index.settings:
index:
number_of_shards: 1
number_of_replicas: 0
Output:
{
"acknowledged": true
}