Title: Authentication and Authorization in Cassandra: A Complete Guide

10/12/2025
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diagram of handling Cassandra authentication

Title: Authentication and Authorization in Cassandra: A Complete Guide

Title: Authentication and Authorization in Cassandra: A Complete Guide

Introduction
Apache Cassandra is a highly scalable NoSQL database known for its high availability and fault tolerance. However, as data becomes more critical, securing it is equally important. Cassandra provides robust mechanisms for authentication (verifying user identity) and authorization (controlling access to resources). Together, these ensure that only legitimate users can perform permitted operations on the database.

1. Understanding Authentication in Cassandra

Authentication in Cassandra verifies who the user is. It ensures that only valid users can connect to the cluster.

Types of Authentication:

  1. PasswordAuthenticator (Default)

    • Uses username and password credentials stored in the system_auth.roles table.

    • Managed by the PasswordAuthenticator class.

    • Example: cassandra.yaml configuration

      authenticator: PasswordAuthenticator

  2. AllowAllAuthenticator

    • Disables authentication entirely (not recommended for production).

    • Example:

      authenticator: AllowAllAuthenticator

  3. Custom Authenticator

    • You can implement a custom authenticator by extending the IAuthenticator interface to integrate with LDAP, Kerberos, or other identity providers.

How Authentication Works:

  1. A client sends login credentials to Cassandra.

  2. Cassandra verifies them against the stored credentials in system_auth.roles.

  3. If valid, a session token is created allowing database access.

Example (using CQL):

CREATE ROLE test_user WITH PASSWORD = 'test123' AND LOGIN = true;

Then connect:

cqlsh -u test_user -p test123

2. Understanding Authorization in Cassandra

Authorization determines what a user can do after being authenticated. It controls access to keyspaces, tables, and data.

Types of Authorizers:

  1. CassandraAuthorizer (Default)

    • Uses role-based access control (RBAC) to manage permissions.

    • Example:

      authorizer: CassandraAuthorizer

  2. AllowAllAuthorizer

    • Disables authorization checks (not secure).

    • Example:

      authorizer: AllowAllAuthorizer

  3. Custom Authorizer

    • Extend IAuthorizer interface to integrate with external access management systems.

Permission Types in Cassandra:

  • CREATE: Create new keyspaces/tables.

  • ALTER: Modify keyspaces/tables.

  • DROP: Delete keyspaces/tables.

  • SELECT: Read data.

  • MODIFY: Insert, update, or delete data.

  • AUTHORIZE: Grant or revoke permissions to other roles.

Example:

GRANT SELECT ON KEYSPACE mykeyspace TO test_user;
REVOKE MODIFY ON TABLE mykeyspace.users FROM test_user;

3. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

Cassandra’s RBAC system simplifies user management by assigning roles with predefined permissions.

Example:

CREATE ROLE analyst WITH LOGIN = true AND PASSWORD = 'analyst123';
GRANT SELECT ON KEYSPACE analytics TO analyst;

Roles can also be hierarchical:

GRANT manager TO analyst;

This means the analyst role inherits all privileges of manager.

4. Best Practices for Security in Cassandra

  1. Enable authentication and authorization in cassandra.yaml.

  2. Use strong passwords for all users.

  3. Restrict access using roles instead of giving blanket privileges.

  4. Regularly audit permissions and roles.

  5. Encrypt client connections using SSL/TLS.

  6. Avoid using the default ‘cassandra’ superuser in production.

5. Example Configuration in cassandra.yaml

authenticator: PasswordAuthenticator
authorizer: CassandraAuthorizer
role_manager: CassandraRoleManager

After restarting Cassandra, create users and assign roles accordingly.

Conclusion

Authentication and authorization in Apache Cassandra provide essential layers of security. Authentication ensures only verified users access the database, while authorization enforces what those users can do. By implementing RBAC and following best practices, you can maintain a secure, scalable, and well-managed Cassandra environment.

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