Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is a method of regulating access to computer or network resources based on the roles of individual users within an organization. In Elasticsearch, RBAC is crucial for ensuring that users have the appropriate permissions to access and manipulate data.

• Definition: A role is a collection of permissions that can be assigned to users.
• Permissions: These can include actions like reading, writing, or deleting data, as well as administrative tasks.

• Definition: Users are entities that interact with Elasticsearch. Each user can be assigned one or more roles.
• Authentication: Users must authenticate themselves to Elasticsearch, typically using a username and password.

• Definition: Role mappings link users to roles. This can be done directly or through groups.

Roles are defined in the roles.yml file or through the Elasticsearch API.

Example Role Definition

• admin: This role has full access to all cluster and index operations.
• read_only: This role can only read data from indices that match the pattern logs-*.

Users can be created using the Elasticsearch API or through the users file.

Example User Creation

Role mappings can be defined in the role_mapping.yml file or through the Elasticsearch API.

Example Role Mapping

You have two types of users: administrators who need full access and analysts who only need read access to log data.

1. Define Roles:

   # roles.yml
   admin:
     cluster:
       - all
     indices:
       - names: '*'
         privileges:
           - all
   
   analyst:
     cluster:
       - monitor
     indices:
       - names: 'logs-*'
         privileges:
           - read
   

2. Create Users:

   # Create an admin user
   curl -X POST "localhost:9200/_security/user/admin_user" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d'
   {
     "password" : "admin_password",
     "roles" : [ "admin" ],
     "full_name" : "Admin User",
     "email" : "[email protected]"
   }
   '
   
   # Create an analyst user
   curl -X POST "localhost:9200/_security/user/analyst_user" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d'
   {
     "password" : "analyst_password",
     "roles" : [ "analyst" ],
     "full_name" : "Analyst User",
     "email" : "[email protected]"
   }
   '
   

3. Map Users to Roles:

   # role_mapping.yml
   admin:
     - "cn=admin_user,dc=example,dc=com"
   analyst:
     - "cn=analyst_user,dc=example,dc=com"
   

1. Define a new role called data_scientist that has read and write access to indices starting with data-.
2. Create a user data_scientist_user with the data_scientist role.
3. Map the user to the role.

Solution

1. Define Role:

   # roles.yml
   data_scientist:
     cluster:
       - monitor
     indices:
       - names: 'data-*'
         privileges:
           - read
           - write
   

2. Create User:

   curl -X POST "localhost:9200/_security/user/data_scientist_user" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d'
   {
     "password" : "data_scientist_password",
     "roles" : [ "data_scientist" ],
     "full_name" : "Data Scientist User",
     "email" : "[email protected]"
   }
   '
   

3. Map User to Role:

   # role_mapping.yml
   data_scientist:
     - "cn=data_scientist_user,dc=example,dc=com"
   

1. Modify the analyst role to also have write access to indices starting with reports-.
2. Verify the changes by checking the role's permissions.

Solution

1. Modify Role:

   # roles.yml
   analyst:
     cluster:
       - monitor
     indices:
       - names: 'logs-*'
         privileges:
           - read
       - names: 'reports-*'
         privileges:
           - read
           - write
   

2. Verify Changes:

   curl -X GET "localhost:9200/_security/role/analyst"
   

• Mistake: Forgetting to reload the security settings after modifying the roles.yml or role_mapping.yml files.
  • Tip: Use the _reload_secure_settings API to apply changes without restarting Elasticsearch.
• Mistake: Assigning too many privileges to a role, which can lead to security vulnerabilities.
  • Tip: Follow the principle of least privilege, granting only the necessary permissions.

In this section, we covered the basics of Role-Based Access Control in Elasticsearch, including defining roles, creating users, and mapping users to roles. By implementing RBAC, you can ensure that users have the appropriate permissions to access and manipulate data, enhancing the security and manageability of your Elasticsearch cluster.