Nodes with No Password

Tailored Operational Context
  • Target Database:
  • Context Type:
  • Alert Severity:
  • Triggered Time:
  • Firing Context:

Nodes with No Password Report

Report ID: security-nodes-no-password Category: Security

Purpose

This report identifies active PeopleSoft message nodes that have no authentication configured or have authentication enabled but no passwords set. Anything on the network can post messages to these nodes.

What It Detects

The report categorizes problem nodes into three severity levels:

CRITICAL — Active Nodes with No Authentication

Active nodes where AUTHOPTN = 'N' (None). Any external system can communicate with these nodes without providing any credentials.

WARNING — Active Nodes with Auth but No Passwords

Active nodes that have an authentication option configured (AUTHOPTN is P, C, or T) but neither the internal password (IBPASSWORD) nor external password (IBEXTERNALPWD) fields contain a value.

INFO — Inactive Nodes with No Authentication

Nodes that are currently inactive (ACTIVE_NODE = '0') but have no authentication. While not an immediate risk, these would become vulnerable if reactivated.

Table Queried

PSMSGNODEDEFN — Message Node Definitions

The primary record for PeopleSoft Integration Broker message nodes.

FieldDescriptionValues
MSGNODENAMENode name (primary key)
ACTIVE_NODEWhether the node is active1 = Active, 0 = Inactive
AUTHOPTNAuthentication optionN = None, P = Password, C = Certificate, T = Token
IBPASSWORDInternal passwordNon-empty means password is set
IBEXTERNALPWDExternal passwordNon-empty means password is set
USERIDPeopleSoft user ID associated with the node
CONNIDConnector IDe.g., HTTPTARGET, JMSTARGET
NODE_TYPENode type
DESCRDescription
LASTUPDOPRIDLast updated by operator
LASTUPDDTTMLast updated timestamp

Data Flow

1. Fetch ALL message nodes from PSMSGNODEDEFN
   via SearchNodes (batches of 300)
        |
        v
2. Categorize each node:
   - Is it active? (ACTIVE_NODE == "1")
   - What is its auth option? (AUTHOPTN)
   - Does it have any password? (IBPASSWORD or IBEXTERNALPWD)
        |
        v
3. Sort into three buckets:
   CRITICAL: Active + AuthOptn == "N"
   WARNING:  Active + AuthOptn != "N" + no passwords
   INFO:     Inactive + AuthOptn == "N"
        |
        v
4. Generate Markdown report grouped by severity

Categorization Logic

The report uses these helper methods on each node record:

MethodLogic
IsActive()Returns true if ACTIVE_NODE == "1"
HasInternalPassword()Returns true if IBPASSWORD is non-empty
HasExternalPassword()Returns true if IBEXTERNALPWD is non-empty
HasAnyPassword()Returns true if either internal or external password is set

Report Output

The generated report contains:

  • Header with database name and generation timestamp
  • Summary with total node counts, active count, and counts per severity category
  • CRITICAL section (if any): Table with node name, description, node type, connector, user ID, last updated by/when
  • WARNING section (if any): Table with node name, description, auth option label, internal/external password status (Set/Not Set), user ID, last updated
  • INFO section (if any): Table with inactive node name, description, node type, last updated by/when
  • Recommendations based on which severity categories have findings

Parameters

This report has no configurable parameters.

Interpreting Results

  • CRITICAL findings require immediate action. Active nodes with no authentication mean any system on the network can send messages without credentials.
  • WARNING findings should be investigated. Authentication is configured but credentials may not be properly set, rendering the authentication ineffective.
  • INFO findings are lower priority but represent latent risk. If these nodes are ever reactivated, they would immediately become vulnerable.

Authentication Option Reference

ValueLabelDescription
NNoneNo authentication required
PPasswordPassword-based authentication
CCertificateCertificate-based authentication
TTokenToken-based authentication

Recommendations

  1. Immediately configure authentication on active nodes with AUTHOPTN='N'
  2. Set AUTHOPTN to P (Password) or C (Certificate) and configure credentials
  3. Set internal or external passwords on nodes that have auth enabled but no credentials