CIS Benchmark Assessment for SQL Server Security

SUMMARY:

XTIVIA’s CIS Benchmark Assessment audits your SQL Server’s internal database configuration to uncover gaps that network-level scans miss.

SUMMARY:
Prescriptive, Industry-Standard Security for Your Database Environment
Why an Inside-Out Assessment Matters
Key Assessment Categories
Drive Compliance. Guarantee Visibility.
Ready to Secure Your Database?

Prescriptive, Industry-Standard Security for Your Database Environment

XTIVIA is a proud CIS Member — partnering to adhere to the gold standard for security configuration and trust. As a Microsoft Business Partner, XTIVIA is uniquely qualified to assess your Microsoft SQL Server environment.

The CIS Benchmark provides a prescriptive, industry-standard blueprint for hardening your database environment. Unlike general network-level scans that look at the perimeter, this assessment performs a deep dive into the internal “vault” of the database engine.

Why an Inside-Out Assessment Matters

Standard security staff often scan servers from the “outside-in,” which can leave internal gaps — such as overprivileged users — completely undetected. Because database environments constantly change, our audit identifies dangerous “configuration drift” before it becomes a vulnerability.

Key Assessment Categories

Our deep-dive audit specifically examines six critical internal database configurations:

Service Account Hardening: Auditing the Windows/OS accounts used to run SQL Server and the SQL Agent service to enforce the principle of least privilege at the operating system level.
Surface Area Reduction: Disabling high-risk internal features (like xp_cmdshell) that could allow an attacker to execute OS-level commands.
Identity & Privilege Management: Evaluating internal user permissions to ensure the “Principle of Least Privilege,” verifying that default, high-risk accounts are secured, and auditing sysadmin-level roles.
Data Integrity & Database Ownership: Verifying database ownership chains and critical database file integrity settings to prevent unintended privileges and internal tampering.
Internal Encryption: Confirming settings for Data at Rest (TDE) and Data in Flight (TLS/SSL) to protect sensitive information from internal sniffers.
Logging & Auditing: Ensuring the database is configured to log critical security events, such as failed login attempts and changes to database structure, and confirming the instance is at a secure patch level.

Drive Compliance. Guarantee Visibility.

Documented Compliance: Provides the verified evidence needed to prove compliance with major regulations like PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR.
Historical Tracking & Trend Analysis: The audit is designed to be repeated over time, allowing us to track and compare results against previous benchmarks to identify and remediate configuration drift.
Visibility Beyond the Network: Gain peace of mind with deep security insights into the internal data layer that network-level tools simply miss.