Firebird File and Metadata Security Geoff Worboys Version 0.6, 30 June 2020 Table of Contents 1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . firebirdsql.org This article discusses the security of Firebird database files and in particular access to the metadata stored in those files. It has been written in response to frequent questions on the Firebird lists concerning these issues. The article avoids technical specifics. To discover how to secure files in your particular operating system refer to relevant documentation for that operating system, to

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 6.3. Metadata Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 6.10. Backup & Restore With & Without Shadow Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 6.11. Remote Backups -C[REATE_DATABASE] create database from backup file -CO[NVERT] backup external files as tables -E[XPAND] no data compression -FA[CTOR] blocking

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722 RDB$FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731 RDB$LOG_FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . statement. A statement defines what the database management system should do with a particular data or metadata object. More complex statements contain simpler constructs — clauses and options. Clauses A clause

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482 RDB$FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487 RDB$LOG_FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Language Reference Updates The Data Definition Guide, covering the creation and maintenance of metadata for databases, was “good enough” for several years: the data definition language (DDL) of a DBMS

............................................................................... 20 1. Modifying metadata tables yourself ....................................................................... 20 2. Disabling command-line tools. • The standard user-defined function libraries. • A sample database. • The C header files (not needed by beginners!) • Release notes – ESSENTIAL READING! Classic or Superserver? Firebird efficient if the number of simultaneous connections grows. Permits fast, direct I/O to database files for Linux local connections. On Linux, local connections are made network-style, via localhost (often

efficient if the number of simultaneous connections grows. Permits fast, direct I/O to database files for local connections on Linux. The client process must have filesystem-level access rights to the command-line tools. • The standard user-defined function libraries. • A sample database. • The C header files (not needed by beginners). • Release notes – essential reading! Firebird 2.0 and 2.1 Quick Start stallDir>) — /opt/firebird (may vary per distribution) Release Notes and other documen- tation Various files /doc Firebird server fbserver (SS) or fb_inet_ server (CS) /bin Command-line

.......................................................................... 29 Other Libraries or Files Needed by Clients ............................................................................ 29 addition to the v.2.0 issues that you have previously taken care of. Changes to Note in V.2.1 Metadata Need to be Upgraded If your databases contain text BLOBs storing non-ASCII data then the backup/restore backup/restore cycle is not enough to upgrade them to ODS 11.1. Please pay attention to the files in the /misc/upgrade/metadata directory of your Firebird 2.1 installation. Running Multiple Instances The configuration