Role-based access control in Elasticsearch - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to define a role with read privileges on the index 'logs'.

Elasticsearch

{
  "role": {
    "indices": [
      {
        "names": ["logs"],
        "privileges": ["[1]"]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Amanage

Bwrite

Cdelete

Dread

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'write' instead of 'read' privilege.

Confusing 'manage' with 'read'.

The read privilege allows a role to read data from the specified index.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to assign the role 'log_reader' to the user 'alice'.

Elasticsearch

{
  "username": "alice",
  "roles": ["[1]"]
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Alog_reader

Bguest

Cuser

Dadmin

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Assigning 'admin' role instead of 'log_reader'.

Using a role that does not exist.

The user 'alice' is assigned the role 'log_reader' to grant her specific access rights.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the role definition by completing the missing privilege to allow document deletion.

Elasticsearch

{
  "role": {
    "indices": [
      {
        "names": ["logs"],
        "privileges": ["[1]"]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Adelete

Bwrite

Cread

Dmanage

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'write' which allows indexing but not deletion.

Using 'manage' which is broader than needed.

The delete privilege allows the role to delete documents from the index.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a role that allows reading and writing on the 'metrics' index.

Elasticsearch

{
  "role": {
    "indices": [
      {
        "names": ["metrics"],
        "privileges": ["[1]", "[2]"]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aread

Bwrite

Cdelete

Dmanage

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'delete' instead of 'write'.

Using only one privilege instead of both.

The role needs both read and write privileges to allow reading and writing data.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to define a user with username 'bob', password 'secret', and assign the role 'metrics_admin'.

Elasticsearch

{
  "username": "[1]",
  "password": "[2]",
  "roles": ["[3]"]
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aalice

Bsecret

Cmetrics_admin

Dbob

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Mixing up username and password values.

Assigning wrong role to the user.

The username is 'bob', the password is 'secret', and the assigned role is 'metrics_admin'.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of Role-based Access Control (RBAC) in Elasticsearch?

easy

A. To control who can perform specific actions by assigning roles

B. To speed up search queries

C. To store data in different formats

D. To backup Elasticsearch clusters automatically

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand RBAC concept

   RBAC is about managing permissions by assigning roles to users.

2. Step 2: Identify RBAC purpose in Elasticsearch

   It controls who can do what actions on the cluster or indexes.

3. Final Answer:

   To control who can perform specific actions by assigning roles -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   RBAC = Control access by roles [OK]

Hint: RBAC means controlling access by roles, not data or speed [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing RBAC with data storage or backup
• Thinking RBAC speeds up queries
• Assuming RBAC changes data formats

2. Which of the following is the correct JSON structure to define a role with read access to the index logs-2024?

easy

A. {"cluster": ["all"], "indices": [{"names": ["logs-2024"], "privileges": ["monitor"]}]}

B. {"cluster": ["all"], "indices": [{"names": ["logs-2024"], "privileges": ["write"]}]}

C. {"cluster": ["read"], "indices": [{"names": ["logs-2024"], "privileges": ["write"]}]}

D. {"cluster": ["monitor"], "indices": [{"names": ["logs-2024"], "privileges": ["read"]}]}

Solution

1. Step 1: Check cluster privileges for read access

   Read access to an index usually requires cluster privileges like 'monitor', not 'all' or 'read'.

2. Step 2: Verify index privileges

   The index privileges must include 'read' for the specified index.

3. Final Answer:

   {"cluster": ["monitor"], "indices": [{"names": ["logs-2024"], "privileges": ["read"]}]} -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Cluster 'monitor' + index 'read' = correct role [OK]

Hint: Cluster 'monitor' + index 'read' grants read access [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 'all' cluster privilege unnecessarily
• Confusing 'write' with 'read' privileges
• Assigning 'read' cluster privilege which is invalid

3. Given this role definition, what permissions does a user have on the sales-data index?

{
  "cluster": ["monitor"],
  "indices": [
    {
      "names": ["sales-data"],
      "privileges": ["read", "write"]
    }
  ]
}

medium

A. User can read and write data in sales-data index

B. User can only read data from sales-data index

C. User can manage cluster settings but not access sales-data

D. User has full admin access to all indexes

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze cluster privileges

   Cluster privilege 'monitor' allows monitoring but no write or admin cluster changes.

2. Step 2: Analyze index privileges

   Privileges 'read' and 'write' on 'sales-data' index allow reading and writing data there.

3. Final Answer:

   User can read and write data in sales-data index -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Index 'read' + 'write' = read/write access [OK]

Hint: Check index privileges for read/write to know access level [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Ignoring 'write' privilege and assuming read-only
• Confusing cluster 'monitor' with admin rights
• Assuming full admin access without 'all' privilege

4. You defined this role but users report they cannot write to the app-logs index. What is the error?

{
  "cluster": ["monitor"],
  "indices": [
    {
      "names": ["app-logs"],
      "privileges": ["read"]
    }
  ]
}

medium

A. The cluster privilege 'monitor' is incorrect for write access

B. The index privilege should include 'write' to allow writing

C. The index name 'app-logs' is misspelled

D. The role JSON is missing a 'run_as' field

Solution

1. Step 1: Check index privileges

   The role only grants 'read' privilege on 'app-logs', so writing is not allowed.

2. Step 2: Identify missing privilege

   To write, the 'write' privilege must be added to the index privileges.

3. Final Answer:

   The index privilege should include 'write' to allow writing -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Write access needs 'write' privilege [OK]

Hint: Write access requires 'write' privilege on index [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming 'monitor' cluster privilege allows writing
• Overlooking missing 'write' privilege on index
• Thinking 'run_as' is required for write permission

5. You want to create a role that allows a user to read from all indexes starting with prod- but only write to prod-logs. Which role definition is correct?

hard

A. {
"cluster": ["all"],
"indices": [
{"names": ["prod-logs"], "privileges": ["read", "write"]}
]
}

B. {
"cluster": ["monitor"],
"indices": [
{"names": ["prod-logs"], "privileges": ["read", "write"]},
{"names": ["prod-*"], "privileges": ["read", "write"]}
]
}

C. {
"cluster": ["monitor"],
"indices": [
{"names": ["prod-*"], "privileges": ["read"]},
{"names": ["prod-logs"], "privileges": ["write"]}
]
}

D. {
"cluster": ["monitor"],
"indices": [
{"names": ["prod-*"], "privileges": ["write"]}
]
}

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the requirement

   User needs read access on all 'prod-*' indexes and write only on 'prod-logs'.

2. Step 2: Check each option

   { "cluster": ["monitor"], "indices": [ {"names": ["prod-*"], "privileges": ["read"]}, {"names": ["prod-logs"], "privileges": ["write"]} ] } correctly assigns 'read' to 'prod-*' and 'write' to 'prod-logs'. { "cluster": ["all"], "indices": [ {"names": ["prod-logs"], "privileges": ["read", "write"]} ] } gives full cluster 'all' which is too broad. { "cluster": ["monitor"], "indices": [ {"names": ["prod-logs"], "privileges": ["read", "write"]}, {"names": ["prod-*"], "privileges": ["read", "write"]} ] } incorrectly grants 'read' and 'write' to all 'prod-*' indexes. { "cluster": ["monitor"], "indices": [ {"names": ["prod-*"], "privileges": ["write"]} ] } wrongly gives 'write' to all 'prod-*' indexes.

3. Final Answer:

   { "cluster": ["monitor"], "indices": [ {"names": ["prod-*"], "privileges": ["read"]}, {"names": ["prod-logs"], "privileges": ["write"]} ] } -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Read on prod-* + write on prod-logs = correct role [OK]

Hint: Use wildcard for read, specific index for write [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Giving write privilege to all prod-* indexes
• Using cluster 'all' unnecessarily
• Mixing up index names and privileges