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6.1.3 Ensure That the ‘Local_infile’ Database Flag for a Cloud SQL MySQL Instance Is Set to ‘Off’ (Automated)​

Profile Applicability​

• Level 1

Description​

It is recommended to set the local_infile database flag for a Cloud SQL MySQL instance to off.

Rationale​

The local_infile flag controls the server-side LOCAL capability for LOAD DATA statements. Depending on the local_infile setting, the server refuses or permits local data loading by clients that have LOCAL enabled on the client side.

To explicitly cause the server to refuse LOAD DATA LOCAL statements (regardless of how client programs and libraries are configured at build time or runtime), start mysqld with local_infile disabled. local_infile can also be set at runtime.

Due to security issues associated with the local_infile flag, it is recommended to disable it. This recommendation is applicable to MySQL database instances.

Impact​

Disabling local_infile makes the server refuse local data loading by clients that have LOCAL enabled on the client side.

Audit​

From Console:

  1. Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page in the Google Cloud Console by visiting https://console.cloud.google.com/sql/instances.
  2. Select the instance to open its Instance Overview page
  3. Ensure the database flag local_infile that has been set is listed under the Database flags section.

From Command Line:

  1. List all Cloud SQL database instances:
gcloud sql instances list
  1. Ensure the below command returns off for every Cloud SQL MySQL database instance.
gcloud sql instances describe INSTANCE_NAME --format=json | jq '.settings.databaseFlags[] | select(.name=="local_infile")|.value'

Remediation​

From Console:

  1. Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page in the Google Cloud Console by visiting https://console.cloud.google.com/sql/instances.
  2. Select the MySQL instance where the database flag needs to be enabled.
  3. Click Edit.
  4. Scroll down to the Flags section.
  5. To set a flag that has not been set on the instance before, click Add item, choose the flag local_infile from the drop-down menu, and set its value to off.
  6. Click Save.
  7. Confirm the changes under Flags on the Overview page.

From Command Line:

  1. List all Cloud SQL database instances using the following command:
gcloud sql instances list
  1. Configure the local_infile database flag for every Cloud SQL Mysql database instance using the below command:
gcloud sql instances patch INSTANCE_NAME --database-flags local_infile=off
note

This command will overwrite all database flags that were previously set. To keep those and add new ones, include the values for all flags to be set on the instance; any flag not specifically included is set to its default value. For flags that do not take a value, specify the flag name followed by an equals sign ("=").

References​

https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/mysql/flags
https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/server-system-variables.html#sysvar_local_infile
https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/load-data-local.html

Additional Information​

warning

This patch modifies database flag values, which may require the instance to be restarted. Check the list of supported flags - https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/mysql/flags - to see if your instance will be restarted when this patch is submitted.

note

Some database flag settings can affect instance availability or stability, and remove the instance from the Cloud SQL SLA. For information about these flags, see Operational Guidelines.

note

Configuring the above flag restarts the Cloud SQL instance.