> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/xsoar-6-administrator-guide/6.14/onboard-cortex-xsoar/elasticsearch/elasticsearch-security.md).

# Elasticsearch Security

In this section you can do the following:

* View general security guidelines
* View security guidelines for multi-tenant deployments

## Elasticsearch General Security Guidelines

Elasticsearch implements its own security features, most of which are free, using the XPack. Cortex XSOAR recommends you use these [security features](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/security-settings.html#security-settings) to protect your data.

{% hint style="info" %}

### Note

As Elasticsearch is an external service, the default behavior is no longer secured. It is highly recommended to enable secure connections from, and to, Elasticsearch including secure connections between nodes, otherwise your data can be exposed from outside Cortex XSOAR.
{% endhint %}

This document provides some guidelines for implementing security in a single instance deployment using an Elasticsearch database. Multi-tenant security guidelines are available [here](#UUID-339e0b0c-a90e-2688-ef5b-7ff144c2b9ef).

**Authentication**

To connect from Cortex XSOAR to Elasticsearch, you should use Elasticsearch authentication with either a username and password, or an API key to ensure that communication between Elasticsearch and Cortex XSOAR is secure.

You can provide the credentials either in the **`demisto.conf`** configuration file under the Elasticsearch branch, or as flags in the Cortex XSOAR installer. The password and/or API keys can be set in the configuration file as plain text or encrypted (using the server encryption key). After you start the Cortex XSOAR server, the Elasticsearch credentials are automatically encrypted.

**Communication**

Cortex XSOAR recommends that you implement an HTTPS connection using TLS for [secure communication](https://www.elastic.co/blog/elasticsearch-security-configure-tls-ssl-pki-authentication).

Use the Elasticsearch certificate verification method to establish a secure connection between your Elasticsearch nodes to avoid man-in-the-middle attacks.

**User Permissions**

The following are the user permissions required for the Elasticsearch user in single-instance and multi-tenant deployments.

* create (indices)
* delete (indices)
* index (indices)
* monitor (indices and cluster)
* create\_index (or at least auto\_configure to dynamically create partitions) (indices)

In addition, multi-tenant deployments require the following user permission:

* manage (or view\_index\_metadata, manage\_index\_templates) (cluster)


---

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