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Event Information

  • The google.firestore.admin.v1.FirestoreAdmin.UpdateDatabase event in GCP for Firestore indicates that a database update operation has occurred in Firestore.
  • This event is triggered when there is a change in the configuration or settings of a Firestore database.
  • It can be used to track and monitor database updates, such as changes to indexes, security rules, or other database-level settings.

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Examples

  • Unauthorized access: If the security of the Firestore database is impacted with the FirestoreAdmin.UpdateDatabase event, it could potentially allow unauthorized users to gain access to sensitive data stored in the database. This could lead to data breaches and compromise the confidentiality of the data.
  • Data loss or corruption: If the FirestoreAdmin.UpdateDatabase event is not properly secured, it could result in data loss or corruption. Unauthorized modifications to the database structure or configuration could lead to the loss of important data or the corruption of existing data, impacting the integrity of the database.
  • Denial of Service (DoS) attacks: Inadequate security measures for the FirestoreAdmin.UpdateDatabase event could make the Firestore database vulnerable to DoS attacks. Attackers could potentially overload the database with malicious requests, causing it to become unresponsive and unavailable to legitimate users, resulting in service disruption.

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Remediation

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Using Console

To remediate the issues mentioned in the previous response for GCP Firestore using the GCP console, you can follow these step-by-step instructions:
  1. Enable VPC Service Controls:
    • Go to the GCP Console and navigate to the VPC Service Controls page.
    • Click on “Create Perimeter” and provide a name for the perimeter.
    • Select the project where your Firestore instance is located.
    • Choose the appropriate VPC network and subnet for the perimeter.
    • Add the necessary access levels and permissions for the perimeter.
    • Review the configuration and click on “Create” to enable VPC Service Controls.
  2. Implement IAM Roles and Permissions:
    • Go to the IAM & Admin section in the GCP Console.
    • Select the project where your Firestore instance is located.
    • Click on “IAM” and then “Add”.
    • Enter the email address of the user or service account that needs access to Firestore.
    • Choose the appropriate IAM role(s) based on the required level of access.
    • Click on “Save” to grant the roles and permissions to the user or service account.
  3. Enable Audit Logging:
    • Go to the GCP Console and navigate to the Firestore page.
    • Select the project and Firestore instance you want to enable audit logging for.
    • Click on “Edit” and scroll down to the “Audit Logging” section.
    • Enable the desired audit logs, such as Admin Read, Data Read, and Data Write.
    • Choose the destination for the logs, such as Cloud Storage or BigQuery.
    • Configure any additional settings, such as log retention period.
    • Click on “Save” to enable audit logging for Firestore.
Note: The exact steps may vary slightly based on the GCP Console interface and any specific configurations in your environment. It is recommended to refer to the official GCP documentation for detailed instructions.

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Using CLI

To remediate the issues in GCP Firestore using GCP CLI, you can follow these steps:
  1. Enable audit logging:
    • Use the following command to enable audit logging for Firestore: 
      gcloud firestore databases patch [DATABASE_ID] --log-exclusion-names=cloudaudit.googleapis.com%2Factivity
  2. Implement VPC Service Controls:
    • Create a VPC Service Control perimeter using the following command: 
      gcloud access-context-manager perimeters create [PERIMETER_ID] --resources=projects/[PROJECT_ID]/locations/[LOCATION]/buckets/[BUCKET_NAME] --restricted-services=firestore.googleapis.com
    • Associate the VPC Service Control perimeter with the project using the following command: 
      gcloud access-context-manager perimeters update [PERIMETER_ID] --add-access-levels=[ACCESS_LEVEL_ID]
  3. Enable data encryption at rest:
    • Create a new Firestore instance with data encryption at rest enabled using the following command: 
      gcloud firestore instances create [INSTANCE_ID] --location=[LOCATION] --encryption-key-name=[KEY_NAME]
Note: Replace the placeholders ([DATABASE_ID], [PROJECT_ID], [LOCATION], [BUCKET_NAME], [PERIMETER_ID], [ACCESS_LEVEL_ID], [INSTANCE_ID], [KEY_NAME]) with the actual values specific to your environment.

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Using Python

To remediate the issues mentioned in the previous response for GCP Firestore using Python, you can follow these steps:
  1. Enable Firestore Audit Logs:
    • Use the Google Cloud Python SDK to enable Firestore Audit Logs for your project.
    • You can use the google-cloud-logging library to create a sink that exports Firestore Audit Logs to Cloud Logging.
    • Here’s an example Python script to enable Firestore Audit Logs:
    from google.cloud import logging_v2

def enable_firestore_audit_logs(project_id, firestore_dataset):
    client = logging_v2.LoggingServiceV2Client()
    parent = f"projects/{project_id}"
    sink_name = f"{parent}/sinks/firestore-audit-logs"
    filter_expr = f'resource.type="cloud_firestore_database" AND log_name="projects/{project_id}/logs/cloudaudit.googleapis.com%2Factivity"'
    destination = f"bigquery.googleapis.com/projects/{project_id}/datasets/{firestore_dataset}"

    sink = {
        "name": sink_name,
        "filter": filter_expr,
        "destination": destination,
        "output_version_format": "V2",
    }

    response = client.create_sink(parent, sink)
    print(f"Enabled Firestore Audit Logs with sink name: {response.name}")

enable_firestore_audit_logs("your-project-id", "your-firestore-dataset")
  2. Implement Access Controls:
    • Use the Google Cloud Python SDK to implement access controls for Firestore.
    • You can use the google-cloud-iam library to manage IAM policies for Firestore.
    • Here’s an example Python script to grant a user the roles/datastore.owner role for a Firestore database:
    from google.cloud import firestore
from google.cloud.iam_v1 import Policy

def grant_firestore_access(project_id, firestore_database, user_email):
    client = firestore.Client(project=project_id)
    database_path = f"projects/{project_id}/databases/{firestore_database}"
    policy = client.get_iam_policy(request={"resource": database_path})

    policy.bindings.add(
        role="roles/datastore.owner",
        members=[f"user:{user_email}"],
    )

    updated_policy = client.set_iam_policy(request={"resource": database_path, "policy": policy})
    print(f"Granted user {user_email} the roles/datastore.owner role for Firestore")

grant_firestore_access("your-project-id", "your-firestore-database", "[email protected]")
  3. Implement Data Encryption:
    • Use the Google Cloud Python SDK to implement data encryption for Firestore.
    • You can use the google-cloud-kms library to encrypt and decrypt Firestore data using Cloud KMS.
    • Here’s an example Python script to encrypt and decrypt a Firestore document:
    from google.cloud import firestore
from google.cloud import kms_v1

def encrypt_firestore_document(project_id, firestore_database, document_path, plaintext):
    client = firestore.Client(project=project_id)
    document_ref = client.document(firestore_database, document_path)
    encrypted_data = client._firestore_v1beta1._datastore_api.encrypt_document(
        request={"name": document_ref._document_path, "plaintext": plaintext}
    )
    document_ref.set(encrypted_data.encrypted_document)

def decrypt_firestore_document(project_id, firestore_database, document_path):
    client = firestore.Client(project=project_id)
    document_ref = client.document(firestore_database, document_path)
    encrypted_data = document_ref.get().to_dict()
    decrypted_data = client._firestore_v1beta1._datastore_api.decrypt_document(
        request={"name": document_ref._document_path, "encrypted_document": encrypted_data}
    )
    print(f"Decrypted document: {decrypted_data.plaintext}")

encrypt_firestore_document("your-project-id", "your-firestore-database", "collection/document", "Sensitive data")
decrypt_firestore_document("your-project-id", "your-firestore-database", "collection/document")
Please note that the provided scripts are just examples and may need to be modified based on your specific requirements and project setup.