SQL Server › Linked Servers

What are the security considerations when configuring authentication for a linked server connection?

Intermediate

Answer

You need to decide how the local server authenticates to the remote server, either by passing through the current user's own credentials, using a fixed set of credentials for all connections, or mapping specific local logins to specific remote logins, and each approach has different implications for security and auditing that should be carefully considered.

EXEC sp_addlinkedsrvlogin
  @rmtsrvname = 'RemoteServer',
  @useself = 'FALSE',
  @locallogin = NULL,
  @rmtuser = 'ReportingUser',
  @rmtpassword = 'SecurePassword';

Real-world example A company configures its linked server to use a dedicated, limited permission reporting account rather than passing through individual user credentials, ensuring consistent and auditable access to the remote data source.

Common follow-ups: What is the risk of using a single shared account for all linked server connections?;How do you audit which local users are actually using a linked server connection?

SQL Server Security & Permissions;Data Types & Schema Design