SA0166 : Avoid altering security within stored procedures

Introduction

Avoid incorporating security statements like GRANT , REVOKE , or DENY within the body of stored procedures.

Description

Security management statements inside stored procedures can create problems in SQL Server environments. These statements manipulate permissions in ways that might not be immediately clear, potentially leading to security issues that are hard to track and resolve.

For example:

-- Problematic use of security statements
CREATE PROCEDURE UpdatePermissions
AS
BEGIN
    GRANT SELECT ON dbo.Employees TO UserRole;
END

In this case, embedding GRANT within a stored procedure can obscure permission assignments, complicating auditing and maintenance. Such practices can prompt multiple unnecessary database calls and complicate troubleshooting when permissions are modified unexpectedly during procedure execution.

Hidden security changes can make auditing difficult.
Increased risk of accidental permission changes when procedures are altered.

How to fix

Refactor stored procedures to remove embedded security management statements like GRANT , REVOKE , or DENY to enhance security and maintainability.

Follow these steps to address the issue:

1.Identify stored procedures that include embedded security statements such as GRANT , REVOKE , or DENY .

2.Refactor the stored procedures by removing security statements from the procedure body.

3.Manage security permissions separately using dedicated scripts or SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) to apply permissions at the database level.

4.Implement auditing practices to monitor permission changes and ensure comprehensive security management.

For example:

-- Original stored procedure with embedded security statement
CREATE PROCEDURE UpdatePermissions
AS
BEGIN
    GRANT SELECT ON dbo.Employees TO UserRole;
END

-- Refactored approach with separate security management
-- Stored procedure without security statement
CREATE PROCEDURE UpdatePermissions
AS
BEGIN
    -- Procedure logic here
END

-- Separate script to manage permissions
GRANT SELECT ON dbo.Employees TO UserRole;

Scope

The rule has a Batch scope and is applied only on the SQL script.

Parameters

Rule has no parameters.

Remarks

The rule does not need Analysis Context or SQL Connection.

Effort To Fix

13 minutes per issue.

Additional Information

There is no additional info for this rule.

Example Test SQL

CREATE PROCEDURE testsp_SA0200 (
  @Code VARCHAR(30) = NULL
)
AS
BEGIN
    IF @Code IS NULL
        SELECT * FROM Table1
    ELSE
        SELECT * FROM Table1 WHERE Code like @Code + '%'

    UPDATE MyTable SET Col1 = 'myvalue'

    BEGIN TRAN
        GRANT EXEC ON testsp_SA0200 to myuser
    COMMIT TRAN

    GRANT EXEC ON testsp_SA0200 to myuser  --IGNORE:SA0166

    REVOKE SELECT ON dbo.Table1 TO myuser

    DENY EXECUTE ON testsp_SA0200 to myuser

END

-- this is ignored, because it is reported by SA0150
GRANT EXEC ON testsp_SA0200 to myuser

Analysis Results

	Message	Line	Column
1	SA0166 : Avoid altering security within stored procedures.	14	8
2	SA0166 : Avoid altering security within stored procedures.	19	4
3	SA0166 : Avoid altering security within stored procedures.	21	4

Analysis Rules