#Sql server sa account attacks code#
#Sql server sa account attacks windows#

If my experiments were successful, I could do a lot of fun things with the SA account’s privileges.

#Sql server sa account attacks code#

Let’s take a look at the steps required to rename the default SA account: Note: Renaming an SA account was not possible prior to SQL Server 2005. The SA account is the system admin account in SQL Server and can do anything. In a nutshell, an SQL injection attack is one where malicious code is passed to an instance of SQL Server for parsing and execution through a vulnerable application. Choose No if only SQL Server logins (typically the sa account) have sysadmin. Once you change the SA account, hackers will fail when using SA account (default SA account) when trying to connect using SA account since the account is now renamed or is invalid. Brute force attack prevention for remotely accessible SQL Server databases. Just like the Administrator account in Windows, the SA account can NOT be locked out, regardless of the number of failed login attempts.īeing a smart DBA or a System Admin, you can defeat the brute force attacks on the Administrator (SA) account in a very simple way and that is by simply renaming the Administrator account of your SQL Servers. However, there is still an issue to resolve with someone attempting to hack into your SQL Server by using a brute force attack against the SA account. The most obvious first steps is to utilize a complex passphrase, create separate accounts for each DBA, and then ensure that nothing ever uses the SA account. If your organization MUST use SQL authenticated accounts (SQL Logins), you must ensure that your SA account is locked down as completely as possible and that only key people in the team know the password. You should not be able to get direct access to sql server from the internet.

However, there are many companies that still use Mixed Authentication which allows both AD accounts and SQL Accounts. The way you should access it is through a firewall, and preferably have all http requests forward to a web server which then send any sql stuff to the sql server.

#Sql server sa account attacks windows#

If you are running your databases on a Windows network environment, the best practice is to use Windows Authentication rather than Mixed Authentication (Both Windows and SQL Authentication). It stands to reason then, if the hackers are doing it, you need to carry the same attacks to test the security strength of your systems.