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SECURING

The database access control list

Every .NSF database has an access control list (ACL) that specifies the level of access that users and servers have to that database. Although the names of access levels are the same for users and servers, those assigned to users determine the tasks that they can perform in a database, while those assigned to servers determine what information within the database the servers can replicate. Only someone with Manager access can create or modify the ACL.

To control the access rights of Notes® users, select the access level, user type, and access level privileges for each user or group in a database. You can set default entries in the ACL when you create the database. You may also assign roles if the database designer determines this level of access refinement is needed by the application. Work with the designer and user representatives of the application to plan the correct access level before you put a database into production.

For each user name, server name, or group name in an ACL, you can specify:

  • An access level
  • Access level privileges
  • A user type
  • Roles

CAUTION: Domino® administrators with full access administration rights, as well as users who are allowed to run agents with unrestricted access, can access databases without being explicitly listed in the database ACLs.

Note: The database ACL should not be confused with other types of ACLs used by Domino administrators. One such ACL is the extended ACL, which is used only in the Domino Directory and the Extended Directory Catalog to restrict access to specific documents and fields within those databases. You must enable extended access to use this feature. The other type of access control list is the .ACL file, which is used by administrators to restrict user access to server directories.


    Default ACL entries
    The default access control list includes a set of default entries.

    Acceptable entries in the ACL
    Refer to this topic for details on any entry you make in an Access Control List (ACL).

    Configuring a database ACL
    Plan the database access for the application before adding users, groups, or servers to a database ACL. After you add a name to the ACL, assign an access level to the name. Although assigning a user type is optional, it provides an additional level of security. Add access level privileges and roles if the application requires them.

    Access levels in the ACL
    Access levels assigned to users in a database ACL control which tasks users can perform in the database. Access level privileges enhance or restrict the access level assigned to each name in the ACL. For each user, group, or server listed in the ACL, you select the basic access level and user type. To further refine the access, you select a series of access privileges. If the application designer created roles, assign them to the appropriate users, groups, or servers.

    Access level privileges in the ACL
    After you assign an access level to each user, group, and server, you can select or deselect privileges within an access level.

    User types in the ACL
    A user type identifies whether a name in the ACL is for a person, server, or group. When you assign a user type to a name, you specify the type of ID required for accessing the database with that name. The user types are Person, Server, Mixed Group, Person Group, Server Group, and Unspecified. The -Default- group in the ACL is always assigned Unspecified as the user type. If you have added Anonymous to the ACL, then it should have a user type of Unspecified.

    Roles in the ACL
    A database designer can assign special access to database design elements and database functions by creating roles. A role defines a set of users and/or servers. They are similar to groups that you can set up in the Domino Directory. However, unlike groups, roles are specific to the database in which they are created.

    Managing database ACLs
    As a Domino administrator, you can use any of these methods to manage database ACLs.

    Using the Administration Process to update ACLs
    To maintain maximum database security, you must be vigilant about keeping the ACL up to date. You can use the server administration process to do this. The Administration Process is a server program that automatically renames or deletes groups, servers, users, personal views, personal folders, and private agents, and then updates the Domino Directory and any database ACLs that have named the server running the Administration Process as their administration server. This program also updates the Readers and Authors fields for all documents in a database.

    Setting up the Administration Process for database ACLs
    To use the Administration Process to update and manage names in an ACL and in Readers and Authors fields, assign an administration server to the database. Use this method to specify an administration server for multiple databases.

    Editing entries in multiple ACLs
    As a Domino Administrator, you can make changes to entries that exist in multiple database ACLs. To edit entries in a database ACL, you must have Manager access to that ACL.

    Viewing all database ACLs on a server
    You can view all the database ACLs on a server by user name, access level, or by database.

    Using the ACL log
    You can display a log of all changes made to a database ACL. Each entry in the list shows when the change occurred, who made the change, and what changed. The log stores only 20 lines of changes, not the complete history.

    Enforcing a consistent access control list
    You can ensure that an ACL remains identical on all database replicas on servers, as well as on all local replicas that users make on workstations or laptops.

    Updating Readers and Authors fields
    By default, the Administration Process examines all documents in a database to find and update Readers and Authors fields and to update personal folders and views and private agents. When the Administration Process performs a "Rename person" or a "Delete person" request, it edits or removes the name in all Readers and Authors fields and in personal folders and views, and in private agents. To update Readers and Authors fields in only selected documents, you create a special view in the database and then update that view.

    Setting up database access for Internet users
    When you set up database access, you must make special provisions for Internet users. See the related topics for more information.

    Preventing users from accessing forms and views in a Web application
    If you design a database application that users will access with a browser, you may want to restrict browser users from using URL commands that would open forms and views in your application. For example, you can design your application so that a servlet that uses forms or views will only use the forms and views using URL commands. With the Don't allow URL open property set, it will be impossible for browser users to manipulate these application components using Domino URL commands.

    Maximum Internet name-and-password access
    Users who have Internet or intranet browser access to a database cannot be identified by Notes in the same way Notes users are identified. Use the Maximum Internet name & password access setting to control the maximum type of access that Internet or intranet browser users have to a database. The list contains the standard access levels for Notes users.

    Requiring an TLS connection to a database
    Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a security protocol that provides communications privacy and authentication for Domino server tasks that operate over TCP/IP. You can require users to access a database using a secure TLS connection. You can also choose to require an TLS connection to a single database or to all databases on a server.


Parent topic: Securing

Related concepts
Access levels in the ACL
Access level privileges in the ACL
Extended ACL
Default ACL entries
Setting up a database ACL for server-to-server replication

Related tasks
User types in the ACL
Roles in the ACL
Restricting administrator access
Controlling agents and XPages that run on a server
Configuring a database ACL
Setting up Notes user, Domino server, and Internet user access to a Domino server

Related reference
Acceptable entries in the ACL