Role-based access control in Elasticsearch - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - Role-based access control

User sends request

↓

Check user role

↓

Match role permissions

↓

Allow or deny access

↓

Return response

The system checks the user's role, matches permissions, then allows or denies access accordingly.

Execution Sample

Elasticsearch

POST /_security/role/my_role
{
  "indices": [
    {
      "names": ["logs-*"],
      "privileges": ["read"]
    }
  ]
}

Defines a role 'my_role' with read access to indices matching 'logs-*'.

Execution Table

Step	Action	Input/Condition	Result	Next Step
1	Receive request	User requests access to 'logs-2024'	Request received	Check user role
2	Check user role	User has role 'my_role'	Role found: 'my_role'	Match role permissions
3	Match role permissions	Role 'my_role' allows read on 'logs-*'	Permission matches request	Allow or deny access
4	Allow or deny access	Permission allows read	Access granted	Return response
5	Return response	Access granted	Response sent: 200 OK	End

💡 Access granted because user role permissions match the requested action.

Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 2	After Step 3	Final
user_role	undefined	'my_role'	'my_role'	'my_role'
requested_action	undefined	'read logs-2024'	'read logs-2024'	'read logs-2024'
permission_match	false	false	true	true
access_granted	false	false	false	true

Key Moments - 2 Insights

Why does the system check the user role before permissions?

Because permissions are linked to roles, the system must first identify the user's role to know which permissions to check, as shown in step 2 of the execution table.

What happens if the requested action does not match role permissions?

The system denies access and does not proceed to allow access, stopping the flow before step 4, as the permission_match would be false.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what is the user_role value after step 2?

A undefined

B 'admin'

C 'my_role'

D null

💡 Hint

Check the variable_tracker table under 'user_role' after Step 2.

At which step does the system confirm permission matches the requested action?

A Step 2

B Step 3

C Step 4

D Step 5

💡 Hint

Look at the 'Match role permissions' action in the execution_table.

If the user role did not have read permission, what would happen at step 4?

A Access denied

B Access granted

C Request retried

D Role changed

💡 Hint

Refer to the key moment about permission mismatch and the execution flow at step 4.

Concept Snapshot

Role-based access control (RBAC) in Elasticsearch:
- Define roles with specific permissions.
- Assign roles to users.
- When a user requests access, Elasticsearch checks the user's role.
- Permissions linked to the role determine if access is allowed.
- Access is granted or denied based on matching permissions.

Full Transcript

Role-based access control in Elasticsearch works by checking the user's role when a request is made. The system looks up the role assigned to the user, then checks if the role's permissions allow the requested action. If permissions match, access is granted; otherwise, it is denied. This process ensures users only access what their roles permit.