A recurring problem occurs when Vault is restarted, causing the permissions on the audit.log file to revert back to default settings. This reset can disrupt the flow of information, stoping monitoring tools agents like Splunk or Datadog to access or analyze the logs effectively.
To address this challenge, you can set permissions during the audit log setup process. By including parameters to define permissions during configuration, administrators can ensure that the settings persist even after system restarts.
For example, when enabling the audit log using Vault's command-line interface, administrators can specify the desired permissions using the option mode: A string containing an octal number representing the bit pattern for the file mode, similar to chmod. Set to "0000" to prevent Vault from modifying the file mode.
Here's an example command:
vault audit enable file file_path=./audit.log mode=0600
In this command, the mode=0600 parameter instructs Vault to set the permissions of the audit.log file to 0600, it allows the owner to read and write to the file, but it does not allow any access for other users (group members or others). These permissions will be reflected on the audit log file on all the replicated nodes too.
If permissions have already been configured for the audit file, you may apply the mode=0000 option. This proactive approach prevents inadvertent changes that might occur during system updates or restarts, ensuring continuous access to critical log data.
References:
- File Audit Device Configuration