DB-009 critical general

Admin password restricted to critical people

Database admin credentials limited to 1-2 critical people (CTO, DevOps lead). Stored in secret manager, not shared broadly or in plain text.

Question to ask

"Who on your team could drop the production database right now?"

Verification guide

Severity: Critical

This is a guided manual check.

Prompt user:

Who has access to the database admin credentials (full write access)?

Please confirm:

  1. Names/roles of people with admin DB access (should be 1-2 max)
  2. How credentials are stored (secret manager, not plain text)
  3. Credentials are NOT in shared password manager accessible to all devs
  4. Credentials are NOT in plain text (env files, Slack, docs)

Verify:

  • Limited to critical people only (CTO, lead DevOps)
  • Stored securely in secret manager
  • Not widely accessible

Pass criteria:

  • 1-2 people max have admin credentials
  • Credentials stored in secret manager
  • Not shared broadly

Fail criteria:

  • More than 2-3 people have admin access
  • Credentials in shared password manager or plain text
  • No clear ownership of admin access

Evidence to capture:

  • Who has access (roles, not names for privacy)
  • Storage method for credentials

Cross-reference with:

  • Section 29 (Secrets Management)

Section

05. Database & Connections

Database & Data