How to GRANT Permissions in Oracle

Galaxy Glossary

How do I grant permissions in Oracle?

GRANT assigns privileges on database objects or roles to users, roles, or PUBLIC in Oracle.

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Description

Why use the GRANT command?

The GRANT statement lets DBAs and developers control who can SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, or execute procedures. Fine-grained rights reduce security risks and audit noise.

What is the GRANT syntax?

GRANT follows a simple pattern: list privileges, reference the object, identify grantees, and optionally add WITH GRANT OPTION so recipients can pass rights on.

Which table privileges matter in ecommerce apps?

Typical rights include SELECT on Products for pricing APIs, INSERT on Orders for checkout services, and UPDATE on Stock in Products after shipping workflows.

How do I grant several privileges at once?

Use a comma-separated list: GRANT SELECT, INSERT ON Orders TO sales_app; combines privileges in one atomic statement for easier review.

How to let a user pass on rights?

Append WITH GRANT OPTION. Example: GRANT SELECT ON Customers TO analyst WITH GRANT OPTION; lets analyst delegate read access to teammates.

Can I grant via roles for simpler management?

Create a role, grant object rights to it, then grant the role to users. This prevents repetitive object grants and eases user turnover.

How do I revoke unneeded permissions?

Use REVOKE followed by the same privilege list. REVOKE SELECT ON Customers FROM contractor; removes read access instantly.

Best practices for GRANT

Grant least privilege, prefer roles over direct grants, document exceptions, and schedule periodic audits. Always test in staging first.

Why How to GRANT Permissions in Oracle is important

How to GRANT Permissions in Oracle Example Usage


-- Allow the checkout service to add new orders and adjust stock
GRANT INSERT ON Orders TO checkout_app;
GRANT UPDATE(quantity) ON OrderItems TO checkout_app;

-- Give analysts read-only access to customer and order data, with power to share
GRANT SELECT ON Customers TO analyst_role WITH GRANT OPTION;
GRANT SELECT ON Orders TO analyst_role WITH GRANT OPTION;

How to GRANT Permissions in Oracle Syntax


GRANT { privilege [, privilege ] ... | ALL [ PRIVILEGES ] }
ON { schema.table | schema.view | schema.sequence | schema.procedure }
TO { user | role | PUBLIC } [, { user | role | PUBLIC }] ...
[ WITH GRANT OPTION ];

-- Object privilege examples
PRIVILEGE: SELECT | INSERT | UPDATE [(column_list)] | DELETE | REFERENCES | EXECUTE

Common Mistakes

Granting directly to every user instead of creating a role. Fix: CREATE ROLE reporting_role; GRANT SELECT ON Orders TO reporting_role; GRANT reporting_role TO analysts; simplifies future changes.
Using ALL PRIVILEGES when only SELECT is required. Over-granting increases attack surface. Fix: specify exact privileges needed, following the least-privilege principle.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I grant column-level UPDATE?

Yes. GRANT UPDATE(quantity) ON OrderItems TO inventory_bot; restricts changes to the quantity column only.

Does WITH GRANT OPTION cascade?

If A grants WITH GRANT OPTION to B, and B grants to C, revoking from B also removes C’s privileges.

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