VMware Postgres must require authentication on all connections.

To ensure accountability and prevent unauthenticated access, organizational users must be identified and authenticated to prevent potential misuse and compromise of the system.

VMware Postgres client authentication configuration is configured in "pg_hba.conf". In this file are a number of lines that specify who can connect to the service, from where, and using what authentication methods. In Postgres there is a concept of a trusted connection where a specific network mask can connect without any authentication to any account. This connection is termed "trust" in "pg_hba.conf", and it must not be present. Out of the box, VMware Postgres requires standard password authentication for all connections.

At the command prompt, run the following command:

# grep -v "^#" /storage/db/vpostgres/pg_hba.conf|grep -z --color=always "trust"

If any lines are returned, this is a finding.

Navigate to and open /storage/db/pgdata/pg_hba.conf.

Find and remove the line that has a method of "trust" in the far-right column.

A correct, typical line will look like the following:

# TYPE DATABASE USER ADDRESS METHOD host all all 127.0.0.1/32 md5