Title

The DBMS must generate time stamps, for audit records and application data, with a minimum granularity of one second. (Cat II impact)

Discussion

Without sufficient granularity of time stamps, it is not possible to adequately determine the chronological order of records. Time stamps generated by the DBMS must include date and time. Granularity of time measurements refers to the precision available in time stamp values. Granularity coarser than one second is not sufficient for audit trail purposes. Time stamp values are typically presented with three or more decimal places of seconds; however, the actual granularity may be coarser than the apparent precision. For example, SQL Server's GETDATE()/CURRENT_TMESTAMP values are presented to three decimal places, but the granularity is not one millisecond: it is about 1/300 of a second. Some DBMS products offer a data type called TIMESTAMP that is not a representation of date and time. Rather, it is a database state counter and does not correspond to calendar and clock time. This requirement does not refer to that meaning of TIMESTAMP.

Check Content

Review product documentation to verify that the DBMS can generate time stamps with a granularity of one second or finer. If it cannot, this is a finding. Review audit log records produced by the DBMS for confirmation that time stamps are recorded to a precision of one second or finer. If not, this is a finding. Review time stamp values in audit trail columns/fields in application data in the database. If the time stamps are not recorded to a precision of one second or finer, this is a finding.

Fix Text

Deploy a DBMS that can generate and record time stamps with a granularity of one second or finer. Configure auditing so that the time stamps are recorded to a precision of one second or finer. Modify applications and/or column/field definitions so that the time stamps in audit trail columns/fields in application data are recorded to a precision of one second or finer.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-206595r879748_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-206595

Group Title: SRG-APP-000375

Expert Comments

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