This is an original planning guide. It is not a vendor manual, an official standard, or legal advice. Example addresses use documentation ranges. Review every command before you paste it.
What this hour is for
The auditor flags listen_addresses set to a star, ssl off, and password_encryption md5. New roles should use SCRAM-SHA-256. If none of those appear, it says there is no starter risk. That is a keyword check, not a full review.
Do not reload during the reading. Do not turn ssl off to make a client connect. Replace a star listen before you save a copy.
192.0.2.10, 198.51.100.0/24, 203.0.113.0/24, and 2001:db8::/32 are documentation. example.com is a documentation name. A sample password is replaced. It is not a password you keep.
The change you can finish
Apply nothing while you are writing the note. When the lab window opens, it is one change on the database named in the ticket. Read the draft, then the database, then decide.
Rollback is the backup, the file, or the snapshot you saved first. You do not invent a rollback after the only copy is gone.
- Paste the file.
- Read the notes.
- Do not reload.
- Stop.
Mistakes that outlive the statement
postgresql.conf Audit Checklist goes wrong in a small set of ways. The list is here so the ticket can forbid them before the window.
- A reload during the reading.
- ssl turned off.
- md5 kept for a new role.
- The empty note treated as a certification.
Decisions to write down
One decision for postgresql.conf Audit Checklist: The notes were read. Nothing was reloaded. ssl was not turned off. And the host is yours.
Checks before you call it done
Confirm this before you call the change done: The file was read. The notes are written. Nothing was reloaded. It is a keyword check. And the host is yours. If one of those fails, stop.
Before you leave the database
postgresql.conf Audit Checklist ends when the database in the prompt is the database in the ticket. If it is not, you are on the wrong database. Stop.
The draft stays a draft until a person has read the names in it. A generator does not log into the database. You delete a line that names a host, a database, or an account you did not write down.
192.0.2.10, 198.51.100.0/24, 203.0.113.0/24, and 2001:db8::/32 are documentation. example.com is a documentation name. They belong in the note. They are not values you leave on a database because a draft included them.
prompt-for-this is a reminder that a secret is missing. It is not a password, a key, or a token you save in the ticket or in git. A sample password in a draft is replaced. It is not a password you keep.
One change is the window. If two things move and the result is wrong, you will not know which one did it.
If the same step fails twice, stop for the day. Restore the copy you took first.
A second person reads the database name and the change aloud. If they cannot find them in the ticket, the note is not done.
This page is a planning guide. It is not a vendor manual, not an official standard, and not permission to touch a database you do not administer. You do not disable authentication, a firewall, or TLS to make a check pass.
Tools for this guide
These tools run in the browser on this site. They do not log into your machines.
Related pillar guides
More in this cluster
The pillar for this page, and the next published pages filed with it.
- Pillar: Database Configuration & Security Audit Guide
- Checklist: pg_hba.conf Audit Checklist
- Checklist: SQL Server Configuration Audit Checklist
- Checklist: Oracle spfile Audit Checklist
Companion: Security: Server Hardening Guide.