Using the Product User Profile

To use the product user profile, you must create it first. Oracle provides a script for this purpose. Once the product user profile table has been created, you need to know how to do three things:

• Restrict a user, or group of users, from using a specific command.
• Set a role so it will be disabled for a given user or group of users when SQL*Plus first connects.
• Report the restrictions currently in the profile table.

The next few sections show you how to perform each of these tasks .

13.2.1 Creating the Profile Table

Oracle supplies a script named pupbld.sql that creates the table, views, and synonyms shown in Figure 13-1Figure 13-1. You can generally find the script at the following location:

$ORACLE_HOME/sqlplus/admin/pupbld.sql

You should execute pupbld.sql while logged in as user SYSTEM. Executing it while logged in as some other user will result in the profile table's being created in the wrong schema, and may result in a few privilege violations as the script creates public synonyms. The following example shows the script being executed:

SQL> @c:orantdbspupbld drop synonym product_user_profile * ERROR at line 1: ORA-01434: private synonym to be dropped does not exist date_value from product_user_profile * ERROR at line 3: ORA-00942: table or view does not exist drop table product_user_profile * ERROR at line 1: ORA-00942: table or view does not exist alter table product_profile add (long_value long) * ERROR at line 1: ORA-00942: table or view does not exist Table created. View created. Grant succeeded. Synonym created. Synonym created. Synonym created. Table created. Grant succeeded. View created. Grant succeeded. Synonym created. 0 rows updated. SQL>

Do not be alarmed by the error messages. They are simply the result of the way Oracle wrote the script. If you were to run the script again, you would see a different set of errors. Any errors returned because an object exists does not exist may safely be ignored.

13.2.2 Limiting Access to Commands and Statements

To limit access to a SQL*Plus command or a SQL or PL/SQL statement, you need to insert a row into the product_profile table. This row tells SQL*Plus which command statement to disable and for which user. To re-enable a command or statement, delete the row with the restriction. The following sections show you how to do this.

13.2.2.1 Commands and statements that can be disabled

A specific list of commands or statements may be disabled using the product user profile.

For SQL*Plus, these are:

[1] Disabling the SET command takes SET ROLE and SET TRANSACTION with it. That's because SQL*Plus simply looks at the first word to see if it matches the entry in the profile table.

[2] Disabling HOST also disables $, !, or any other operating-system-specific shortcut for executing a host command.

[3] Disabling the START command also disables @ and @@.

For SQL, these are:

For PL/SQL, these are:

13.2.2.2 Disabling a command or statement

To disable a command or statement for a user, insert a row into the product_profile table. You should normally log in as SYSTEM, and your INSERT statement should look like this:

INSERT INTO product_profile (product, userid, attribute, char_value) VALUES ('SQL*Plus',' username ',' command ','DISABLED');

in which:

' SQL*Plus '

This is a constant. It identifies the product to which the restriction applies, in this case SQL*Plus. It should always be mixed-case as shown here.

username

The username of the user you are restricting. It should always be uppercase. You can wildcard this using the wildcard characters used with the LIKE predicate, the percent sign, and the underscore . A value of ' % ' would make the restriction apply to all users.

command

This is the name of the command or statement you wish to disable. It should always be uppercase, and it should be one of those listed in the "Commands and statements that can be disabled" section.

'DISABLED'

The keyword 'DISABLED' must be stored in the CHAR_VALUE field.

Fields in the product_profile table other than the four listed above aren't used by SQL*Plus. They should be left alone and will default to null. The following example disables the DELETE statement for the user named SCOTT :

INSERT INTO product_profile (product, userid, attribute, char_value) VALUES ('SQL*Plus','SCOTT','DELETE','DISABLED');

You can wildcard the userid field to disable a command for a number of users at once. You can disable a command or statement across the board for all users. The following statement inserts a row into the product_profile table that will disable the SQL*Plus HOST command for everyone:

INSERT INTO product_profile (product, userid, attribute, char_value) VALUES ('SQL*Plus','%','HOST','DISABLED');

Be careful when using wildcards other than %. You have to be sure you know which users you are affecting when you create the restriction, and you have to worry that you might create a new username that inadvertently matches some existing restriction. Wildcards make it difficult to remove a restriction for one of the users who meet the criteria. For example, you might use "J%" to disable DELETE for all usernames starting with "J." If you later decide that "JONES" needs DELETE access, but "JASON" and "JENNIFER" don't, you have to rethink everything.

13.2.2.3 Re-enabling a command or statement

To remove a restriction you have created, delete that row from the product_profile table. For example, to allow all users to issue the HOST command again, issue the following command:

DELETE FROM product_profile WHERE product='SQL*Plus' AND userid='%' AND char_value='HOST'

13.2.3 Limiting Access to Roles

You disable roles for a user in much the same way that you disable commands and statements. The primary reason to disable a role is that a user might have a role for purposes of running an application, but you don't want the user to have that role when issuing ad hoc commands from SQL*Plus.

13.2.3.1 Disabling a role

To disable a role for a user, log in as SYSTEM and insert a row into the product_profile table, as follows :

INSERT INTO product_profile (product, userid, attribute, char_value) VALUES ('SQL*Plus',' username ','ROLES',' role_name ');

in which:

' SQL*Plus '

Is a constant. It identifies the product to which the restriction applies, in this case SQL*Plus. It should always be mixed-case as shown here.

username

Is the username of the user you are restricting. It must be uppercase. You can wildcard the username when restricting a role, but you must be careful when doing so.

' ROLES '

Instead of a command or statement, the keyword ROLES in this field tells SQL*Plus you are restricting a role.

role_name

Is the name of the role to disable.

Fields in the product_profile table not listed above should be left alone and will default to null. The following example will disable the PAYROLL_ADMINISTRATOR role for the user named SCOTT :

INSERT INTO product_profile (product, userid, attribute, char_value) VALUES ('SQL*Plus','SCOTT','ROLES','PAYROLL_ADMINISTRATOR');

You can wildcard the username when disabling a role, but you must be careful when doing this. SQL*Plus translates all the role restrictions for a user into a single SET ROLE command like this:

SET ROLE ALL EXCEPT role , role , role . . .

If any one of those roles is not valid for the user in question, the command will fail and none of the roles will be disabled. If you wildcard the username when disabling a role, you must be certain either that each user has been granted the role in question or that the role has been granted to PUBLIC.

13.2.3.2 Re-enabling a role

The method for removing a role restriction is the same as that used to remove a command restriction: delete the row from the product_profile table. For example, to allow SCOTT to be a PAYROLL_ADMINISTRATOR when logged in using SQL*Plus, issue the following DELETE statement:

DELETE FROM product_profile WHERE product='SQL*Plus' AND userid='SCOTT' AND command='ROLES' AND char_value='PAYROLL_ADMINISTRATOR'

You normally need to be logged in as SYSTEM to delete from the product_profile table.

13.2.4 Reporting on the Product User Profile

The following sections show you two different ways to look at the product user profile. The first section provides a script you can run to generate a report showing all the restrictions defined in the product_profile table. The second section provides a script that shows you the restrictions for a particular user, which you can specify.

You should run these scripts while logged in as the SYSTEM user. If you run them while logged in as anyone else, you will see only the restrictions that apply to you.

13.2.4.1 Listing all restrictions

The script in Example 13-1 generates a report showing all the command and role restrictions defined in the product_profile table.

Example 13-1. A script to report on product user profile restrictions

SET ECHO OFF SET PAGESIZE 50 SET LINESIZE 60 SET NEWPAGE 0 SET FEEDBACK OFF SET TRIMSPOOL ON TTITLE LEFT 'Product User Profile Report' - RIGHT 'Page ' FORMAT 9999 SQL.PNO SKIP 6 BTITLE OFF COLUMN userid FORMAT A12 HEADING 'User' COLUMN sort_by NOPRINT COLUMN command FORMAT A15 HEADING 'DisabledCommands' COLUMN role FORMAT A30 HEADING 'DisabledRoles' BREAK ON userid SKIP 1 PROMPT You are about to generate a product user profile report. ACCEPT PUP_REPORT_FILE - PROMPT 'Enter the filename for the report output: ' - DEFAULT 'PUP_REPORT.LIS' SPOOL &&PUP_REPORT_FILE SET TERMOUT OFF SELECT userid, 1 sort_by, attribute command, '' role FROM product_profile WHERE product = 'SQL*Plus' AND attribute <> 'ROLES' AND char_value = 'DISABLED' UNION SELECT userid, 2 sort_by, '' command, char_value role FROM product_profile WHERE product = 'SQL*Plus' AND attribute = 'ROLES' ORDER BY userid, sort_by, command, role ; SPOOL OFF SET TERMOUT ON --Restore these settings to their defaults TTITLE OFF CLEAR COLUMNS SET PAGESIZE 14 SET LINESIZE 80 SET NEWPAGE 1 SET FEEDBACK ON SET TRIMSPOOL OFF

When you run the script, you will be prompted for a filename, and the report output will be sent to that file. Here's an example showing how to run the script:

SQL> @ex13-1 You are about to generate a product user profile report. Enter the filename for the report output: c:aprofile.lis SQL>

When you look in the file, you will see that the report looks like this:

Product User Profile Report Page 1 Disabled Disabled User Commands Roles ------------ --------------- ------------------------------ GEORGE BEGIN DECLARE EXECUTE HR_ADMINISTRATOR PAYROLL_ADMINISTRATOR JONATHAN BEGIN DECLARE DELETE EXECUTE HOST SET ROLE JEFF HOST

13.2.4.2 Listing restrictions for a particular user

To find out what restrictions apply to any one user, remember that the userid field in the product_profile table may contain wildcards. The script in Example 13-2 prompts you for a username, and displays a list of all the disabled commands, statements, and roles for that user. The queries involved use the LIKE operator to account for any possible wildcards.

Example 13-2. A script to list product user profile restrictions for a given user

SET ECHO OFF SET FEEDBACK OFF SET VERIFY OFF BTITLE OFF SET HEADING OFF SET PAGESIZE 9999 SET NEWPAGE 1 ACCEPT user_to_show - PROMPT 'Show the product profile for which user? ' TTITLE LEFT restriction_heading SKIP 2 COLUMN restriction_type_heading NOPRINT NEW_VALUE restriction_heading COLUMN sort_by NOPRINT COLUMN restriction FORMAT A30 BREAK ON restriction_type_heading SKIP PAGE SELECT 'User ' UPPER('&&user_to_show') ' is restricted from executing the following commands:' restriction_type_heading, 1 sort_by, ' ', attribute restriction FROM product_profile WHERE product = 'SQL*Plus' AND attribute <> 'ROLES' AND char_value = 'DISABLED' AND UPPER('&&user_to_show') LIKE userid UNION SELECT 'User ' UPPER('&&user_to_show') ' has the following roles disabled:' restriction_type_heading, 2 sort_by, ' ', char_value restriction FROM product_profile WHERE product = 'SQL*Plus' AND attribute = 'ROLES' AND ( UPPER('&&user_to_show') LIKE userid OR userid = 'PUBLIC') UNION SELECT 'User ' UPPER('&&user_to_show') ' does not exist.' restriction_type_heading, 3 sort_by, ' ', ' ' restriction FROM dual WHERE NOT EXISTS ( SELECT username FROM all_users WHERE username = UPPER('&&user_to_show')) ORDER BY sort_by, restriction ; --Restore these settings to their defaults. SET HEADING ON SET PAGESIZE 14 SET FEEDBACK ON SET VERIFY ON TTITLE OFF CLEAR BREAKS CLEAR COLUMNS

The following example shows how to run the script and what the output looks like:

SQL> @ex13-2 Show the product profile for which user? george User GEORGE is restricted from executing the following commands: BEGIN DECLARE EXECUTE User GEORGE has the following roles disabled: HR_ADMINISTRATOR PAYROLL_ADMINISTRATOR

The script will tell you whether the user exists. It is possible to create entries in the product_profile table for users who do not exist. It is possible to drop a user, leaving orphan entries in the profile. The following example demonstrates this:

SQL> @ex13-2 Show the product profile for which user? Jonathan User JONATHAN is restricted from executing the following commands: BEGIN DECLARE DELETE EXECUTE HOST SET ROLE User JONATHAN does not exist.