---
layout: docs
page_title: Oracle - database - secrets engines
description: |-
  Oracle is one of the supported plugins for the database secrets engine. This
  plugin generates database credentials dynamically based on configured roles
  for the Oracle database.
---

# Oracle database secrets engine

-> The Oracle database plugin is now available for use with the database secrets engine for HCP Vault on AWS.
   The plugin configuration (including installation of the Oracle Instant Client library) is managed
   by HCP. Refer to the HCP Vault tab for more information.

This secrets engine is a part of the database secrets engine. If you have not read the
[database backend](/vault/docs/secrets/databases) page, please do so now as it explains how to set up the database backend and
gives an overview of how the engine functions.

Oracle is one of the supported plugins for the database secrets engine. It is capable of dynamically generating
credentials based on configured roles for Oracle databases. It also supports [static roles](/vault/docs/secrets/databases#static-roles).

## Capabilities

<Tabs>
<Tab heading="Vault" group="vault">

~> The Oracle database plugin is not bundled in the core Vault code tree and can be
found at its own git repository here:
[hashicorp/vault-plugin-database-oracle](https://github.com/hashicorp/vault-plugin-database-oracle)

~> This plugin is not compatible with Alpine Linux out of the box.

| Plugin Name                                                          | Root Credential Rotation | Dynamic Roles | Static Roles | Username Customization |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------- | ------------ | ---------------------- |
| Customizable (see: [Custom Plugins](/vault/docs/secrets/databases/custom)) | Yes                      | Yes           | Yes          | Yes (1.7+)             |

</Tab>
<Tab heading="HCP Vault" group="hcp">

~> The Oracle Database Plugin is managed by the HCP platform. No extra installation steps are required for HCP Vault.

| Plugin Name                                                          | Root Credential Rotation | Dynamic Roles | Static Roles | Username Customization |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------- | ------------ | ---------------------- |
| `vault-plugin-database-oracle`                                       | Yes                      | Yes           | Yes          | Yes                    |

</Tab>
</Tabs>

## Setup

<Tabs>
<Tab heading="Vault" group="vault">

The Oracle database plugin is not bundled in the core Vault code tree and can be
found at its own git repository here:
[hashicorp/vault-plugin-database-oracle](https://github.com/hashicorp/vault-plugin-database-oracle)

For linux/amd64, pre-built binaries can be found at [the releases page](https://releases.hashicorp.com/vault-plugin-database-oracle)

Before running the plugin you will need to have the Oracle Instant Client
library installed. These can be downloaded from Oracle. The libraries will need to
be placed in the default library search path or defined in the ld.so.conf configuration files.

If you are running Vault with [mlock enabled](/vault/docs/configuration#disable_mlock),
you will need to enable ipc_lock capabilities for the plugin binary.

1.  Enable the database secrets engine if it is not already enabled:

    ```shell-session
    $ vault secrets enable database
    Success! Enabled the database secrets engine at: database/
    ```

    By default, the secrets engine will enable at the name of the engine. To
    enable the secrets engine at a different path, use the `-path` argument.

1.  Download and register the plugin:

    ```shell-session
    $ vault write sys/plugins/catalog/database/oracle-database-plugin \
        sha256="..." \
        command=vault-plugin-database-oracle
    ```

1.  Configure Vault with the proper plugin and connection information:

    ```shell-session
    $ vault write database/config/my-oracle-database \
        plugin_name=oracle-database-plugin \
        connection_url="{{username}}/{{password}}@localhost:1521/OraDoc.localhost" \
        allowed_roles="my-role" \
        username="VAULT_SUPER_USER" \
        password="myreallysecurepassword"
    ```

   If Oracle uses SSL, see the [connecting using SSL](/vault/docs/secrets/databases/oracle#connect-using-ssl) example.

   If the version of Oracle you are using has a container database, you will need to connect to one of the
   pluggable databases rather than the container database in the `connection_url` field.

1. It is highly recommended that you immediately rotate the "root" user's password, see
   [Rotate Root Credentials](/vault/api-docs/secret/databases#rotate-root-credentials) for more details.
   This will ensure that only Vault is able to access the "root" user that Vault uses to
   manipulate dynamic & static credentials.

   !> **Use caution:** the root user's password will not be accessible once rotated so it is highly
   recommended that you create a user for Vault to use rather than using the actual root user.

1. Configure a role that maps a name in Vault to an SQL statement to execute to
   create the database credential:

   ```shell-session
   $ vault write database/roles/my-role \
       db_name=my-oracle-database \
       creation_statements='CREATE USER {{username}} IDENTIFIED BY "{{password}}"; GRANT CONNECT TO {{username}}; GRANT CREATE SESSION TO {{username}};' \
       default_ttl="1h" \
       max_ttl="24h"
   ```

   Note: The `creation_statements` may be specified in a file and interpreted by the Vault CLI using the `@` symbol:

   ```shell-session
   $ vault write database/roles/my-role \
       creation_statements=@creation_statements.sql \
       ...
   ```

   See the [Commands](/vault/docs/commands#files) docs for more details.

### Connect using SSL

If the Oracle server Vault is trying to connect to uses an SSL listener, the database
plugin will require extra configuration using the `connection_url` parameter:

```shell-session
vault write database/config/oracle \
  plugin_name=vault-plugin-database-oracle \
  connection_url='{{username}}/{{password}}@(DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcps)(HOST=<host>)(PORT=<port>))(CONNECT_DATA=(SERVICE_NAME=<service_name>))(SECURITY=(SSL_SERVER_CERT_DN="<cert_dn>")(MY_WALLET_DIRECTORY=<path_to_wallet>)))' \
  allowed_roles="my-role" \
  username="admin" \
  password="password"
```

For example, the SSL server certificate distinguished name and path to the Oracle Wallet
to use for connection and verification could be configured using:

```shell-session
vault write database/config/oracle \
  plugin_name=vault-plugin-database-oracle \
  connection_url='{{username}}/{{password}}@(DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcps)(HOST=hashicorp.com)(PORT=1523))(CONNECT_DATA=(SERVICE_NAME=ORCL))(SECURITY=(SSL_SERVER_CERT_DN="CN=hashicorp.com,OU=TestCA,O=HashiCorp=com")(MY_WALLET_DIRECTORY=/etc/oracle/wallets)))' \
  allowed_roles="my-role" \
  username="admin" \
  password="password"
```

#### Wallet permissions

~> **Note**: The wallets used when connecting via SSL should be available on every Vault
server when using high availability clusters.

The wallet used by Vault should be in a well known location with the proper filesystem permissions. For example, if Vault is running as the `vault` user,
the wallet directory may be setup as follows:

```shell-session
mkdir -p /etc/vault/wallets
cp cwallet.sso /etc/vault/wallets/cwallet.sso
chown -R vault:vault /etc/vault
chmod 600 /etc/vault/wallets/cwallet.sso
```

### Using TNS names

~> **Note**: The `tnsnames.ora` file and environment variable used when connecting via SSL should
be available on every Vault server when using high availability clusters.

Vault can optionally use TNS names in the connection string when connecting to Oracle databases using a `tnsnames.ora` file. An example
of a `tnsnames.ora` file may look like the following:

```shell-session
AWSEAST=
(DESCRIPTION =
  (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCPS)(HOST = hashicorp.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com)(PORT = 1523))
  (CONNECT_DATA =
    (SERVER = DEDICATED)
    (SID = ORCL)
  )
  (SECURITY =
      (SSL_SERVER_CERT_DN = "CN=hashicorp.rds.amazonaws.com/OU=RDS/O=Amazon.com/L=Seattle/ST=Washington/C=US")
      (MY_WALLET_DIRECTORY = /etc/oracle/wallet/east)
  )
)

AWSWEST=
(DESCRIPTION =
  (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCPS)(HOST = hashicorp.us-west-1.rds.amazonaws.com)(PORT = 1523))
  (CONNECT_DATA =
    (SERVER = DEDICATED)
    (SID = ORCL)
  )
  (SECURITY =
      (SSL_SERVER_CERT_DN = "CN=hashicorp.rds.amazonaws.com/OU=RDS/O=Amazon.com/L=Seattle/ST=Washington/C=US")
      (MY_WALLET_DIRECTORY = /etc/oracle/wallet/west)
  )
)
```

To configure Vault to use TNS names, set the following environment variable on the Vault server:

```shell-session
TNS_ADMIN=/path/to/tnsnames/directory
```

~> **Note**: If Vault returns a "could not open file" error, double check that
the `TNS_ADMIN` environment variable is available to the Vault server.

Use the alias in the `connection_url` parameter on the database configuration:

```
vault write database/config/oracle-east \
    plugin_name=vault-plugin-database-oracle \
    connection_url="{{username}}/{{password}}@AWSEAST" \
    allowed_roles="my-role" \
    username="VAULT_SUPER_USER" \
    password="myreallysecurepassword"

vault write database/config/oracle-west \
    plugin_name=vault-plugin-database-oracle \
    connection_url="{{username}}/{{password}}@AWSWEST" \
    allowed_roles="my-role" \
    username="VAULT_SUPER_USER" \
    password="myreallysecurepassword"
```

</Tab>
<Tab heading="HCP Vault" group="hcp">

1. Enable the database secrets engine if it is not already enabled:

    ```shell-session
    $ vault secrets enable database
    Success! Enabled the database secrets engine at: database/
    ```

    By default, the secrets engine will enable at the name of the engine. To
    enable the secrets engine at a different path, use the `-path` argument.

1. Configure Vault with the proper plugin and connection information. The `plugin-name` must be set to
   `vault-plugin-database-oracle`.

   ~> **Note:** Replace `your-oracle-host` in the `connection_url` parameter with the hostname of your Oracle server.

    ```shell-session
    $ vault write database/config/my-oracle-database \
        plugin_name=vault-plugin-database-oracle \
        connection_url="{{username}}/{{password}}@(DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=your-oracle-host)(PORT=1521))(CONNECT_DATA=(SID=ORCL)))" \
        allowed_roles="my-role" \
        username="VAULT_SUPER_USER" \
        password="myreallysecurepassword"
    ```

   HCP Vault currently supports SSL connections for Oracle on Amazon Web Services (AWS) Relational Database Service (RDS).
   If Oracle is deployed on AWS RDS, and uses SSL, see the [connecting with HCP Vault using SSL](#connect-with-hcp-vault-using-ssl) example.

   If the version of Oracle you are using has a container database, you will need to connect to one of the
   pluggable databases rather than the container database in the `connection_url` field.

1. It is highly recommended that you immediately rotate the "root" user's password, see
   [Rotate Root Credentials](/vault/api-docs/secret/databases#rotate-root-credentials) for more details.
   This will ensure that only Vault is able to access the "root" user that Vault uses to
   manipulate dynamic & static credentials.

   !> **Use caution:** the "root" user's password will not be accessible once rotated so it is highly
   recommended that you create a user for Vault to use rather than the actual `root` user.

1. Configure a role that maps a name in Vault to a SQL statement to execute and
   create the database credential:

   ```shell-session
   $ vault write database/roles/my-role \
       db_name=my-oracle-database \
       creation_statements='CREATE USER {{username}} IDENTIFIED BY "{{password}}"; GRANT CONNECT TO {{username}}; GRANT CREATE SESSION TO {{username}};' \
       default_ttl="1h" \
       max_ttl="24h"
   ```

   Note: The `creation_statements` may be specified in a file and interpreted by the Vault CLI using the `@` symbol:

   ```shell-session
   $ vault write database/roles/my-role \
       creation_statements=@creation_statements.sql \
       ...
   ```

   See the [Commands](/vault/docs/commands#files) docs for more details.

### Connect with HCP Vault using SSL

Before using SSL with Oracle RDS, you must configure a option group with SSL and set the following:

- `SQLNET.SSL_VERSION` to `1.2`
- `SQLNET.CIPHER_SUITE` to one of `TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384`, `TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384`, `TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256`, `TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256`, `TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA`, or `TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA`

If the AWS RDS Oracle instance Vault is trying to connect to uses an SSL listener, the database
plugin will require extra configuration using the `connection_url` parameter:

```shell-session
$ vault write database/config/oracle \
  plugin_name=vault-plugin-database-oracle \
  connection_url='{{username}}/{{password}}@(DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcps)(HOST=<host>)(PORT=<port>))(CONNECT_DATA=(SERVICE_NAME=<service_name>))(SECURITY=(SSL_SERVER_CERT_DN="<cert_dn>")(MY_WALLET_DIRECTORY=<path_to_wallet>)))' \
  allowed_roles="my-role" \
  username="VAULT_SUPER_USER" \
  password="myreallysecurepassword"
```

For example, the SSL server certificate distinguished name for AWS RDS and path to the Oracle Wallet
to use for connection and verification could be configured using:

- Wallet location and permissions are managed by the HCP platform. The wallet is available at `/etc/vault.d/plugin/oracle/ssl_wallet`.
- The distinguished name for the current AWS RDS CA is in the format `SECURITY=(SSL_SERVER_CERT_DN="C=US,ST=Washington,L=Seattle,O=Amazon.com,OU=RDS,CN=your-rds-endpoint-url")`.
- A listener on port `2484` is enabled by adding `SSL` to a RDS option group and applying the option group with SSL to your Oracle RDS instance.
- Replace `your-rds-endpoint-url` with the endpoint for your RDS instance in the `HOST` and `DN` parameters.

-> **Note:** For more information on using SSL/TLS with AWS RDS, review the [Using SSL/TLS to encrypt a connetion to a DB instance](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/UsingWithRDS.SSL.html) AWS documentation.

```shell-session
$ vault write database/config/my-oracle-database \
  plugin_name=vault-plugin-database-oracle \
  connection_url="{{username}}/{{password}}@(DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcps)(HOST=your-rds-endpoint-url)(PORT=2484))(CONNECT_DATA=(SERVICE_NAME=ORCL))(SECURITY=(SSL_SERVER_CERT_DN="C=US,ST=Washington,L=Seattle,O=Amazon.com,OU=RDS,CN=your-rds-endpoint-url")(MY_WALLET_DIRECTORY=/etc/vault.d/plugin/oracle/ssl_wallet)))" \
  allowed_roles="my-role" \
  username="admin" \
  password="password"
```

~> **Using TNS names:** `tnsnames.ora` configuration is not currently available with HCP Vault.

</Tab>
</Tabs>

## Usage

### Dynamic credentials

After the secrets engine is configured and a user/machine has a Vault token with
the proper permission, it can generate credentials.

1.  Generate a new credential by reading from the `/creds` endpoint with the name
    of the role:

    ```text
    $ vault read database/creds/my-role
    Key                Value
    ---                -----
    lease_id           database/creds/my-role/2f6a614c-4aa2-7b19-24b9-ad944a8d4de6
    lease_duration     1h
    lease_renewable    true
    password           yRUSyd-vPYDg5NkU9kDg
    username           V_VAULTUSE_MY_ROLE_SJJUK3Q8W3BKAYAN8S62_1602543009
    ```

## API

The full list of configurable options can be seen in the [Oracle database plugin
API](/vault/api-docs/secret/databases/oracle) page.

For more information on the database secrets engine's HTTP API please see the
[Database secrets engine API](/vault/api-docs/secret/databases) page.