Secure Just-in-Time Ephemeral Database Access

Read full article here: https://www.p0.dev/blog/jit-database/?utm_source=nhimg

Databases are core infrastructure for nearly every internet-facing application, but traditional access management is broken. Most organizations still rely on long-lived, shared credentials with broad privileges because provisioning individual users and configuring granular roles is operationally complex. This creates critical risks: weak auditability, stagnant passwords, and high-value targets for attackers.

P0's Approach: Secure, On-Demand Access

P0 introduces a just-in-time (JIT) ephemeral access model that eliminates shared accounts and long-lived credentials. Instead, access is dynamically provisioned at the moment of need, scoped precisely to the engineer’s task.

Key components of the P0 access flow:

• P0 CLI - Used by engineers to request access (e.g., to run a query).

• P0 Service - Acts as the control plane, authenticating requests and deciding on access based on rules and query context.

• P0 Agent - A lightweight serverless function deployed in the customer’s environment, responsible for creating ephemeral users and credentials inside the database. Crucially, it prevents privilege escalation and ensures P0 cannot overreach.

How It Works

1. Engineer submits a request via CLI (with a reason and query).

2. P0 Service parses the request, determines the permissions needed, and applies routing rules (including approvals if required).

3. P0 Agent creates a dedicated database user with an ephemeral role and password, encrypted uniquely for the engineer.

4. Credentials are injected transparently, enabling seamless database access.

5. Once the session expires, the user and role are deleted. For new requests, a new user and password are generated—achieving built-in password rotation.

Security and Compliance Benefits

• Eliminates shared accounts - Every action is tied to an individual engineer.

• Reduces attack surface - No long-lived or reused passwords to compromise.

• Supports least privilege - Permissions are scoped to the specific query or task.

• Improves auditability - All activity is attributable and time-bound.

• Mitigates vendor risk - The P0 agent ensures that P0 itself cannot escalate privileges or misuse database access.

Why It Matters

In modern cloud-native environments, static credentials and manually managed roles don’t scale. P0’s JIT ephemeral access model provides a secure, auditable, and developer-friendly way to manage database access—bridging the gap between agility and compliance.