OpenSearch/x-pack/docs/en/security/authentication/built-in-users.asciidoc

[[built-in-users]]
=== Built-in users

{security} provides built-in user credentials to help you get up and running.
These users have a fixed set of privileges and cannot be authenticated until their
passwords have been set. The `elastic` user can be used to
<<set-built-in-user-passwords,set all of the built-in user passwords>>.

`elastic`:: A built-in _superuser_. See <<built-in-roles>>.
`kibana`:: The user Kibana uses to connect and communicate with Elasticsearch.
`logstash_system`:: The user Logstash uses when storing monitoring information in Elasticsearch.
`beats_system`:: The user the Beats use when storing monitoring information in Elasticsearch.


[float]
[[built-in-user-explanation]]
==== How the built-in users work
These built-in users are stored within a special `.security` index managed by
{security}.
This means that, if the password is changed, or a user is disabled, then that
change is automatically reflected on each node in the cluster. It also means
that if your `.security` index is deleted, or restored from a snapshot, then
any changes you have applied will be lost.

Although they share the same API, the built-in users are separate and distinct
from users managed by the <<native-realm, native realm>>. Disabling the native
realm will not have any effect on the built-in users. The built-in users can
be disabled individually, using the
{ref}/security-api-users.html[user management API].

[float]
[[bootstrap-elastic-passwords]]
==== The Elastic bootstrap password

When you install {es}, if the `elastic` user does not already have a password,
it uses a default bootstrap password. The bootstrap password is a transient
password that enables you to run the tools that set all the built-in user passwords.

By default, the bootstrap password is derived from a randomized `keystore.seed`
setting, which is added to the keystore during installation. You do not need
to know or change this bootstrap password. If you have defined a
`bootstrap.password` setting in the keystore, however, that value is used instead.
For more information about interacting with the keystore, see
{ref}/secure-settings.html[Secure Settings].

NOTE: After you <<set-built-in-user-passwords,set passwords for the built-in users>>,
in particular for the `elastic` user, there is no further use for the bootstrap
password.

[float]
[[set-built-in-user-passwords]]
==== Setting built-in user passwords

You must set the passwords for all built-in users.

The +elasticsearch-setup-passwords+ tool is the simplest method to set the
built-in users' passwords for the first time. It uses the `elastic` user's
bootstrap password to run user management API requests. For example, you can run
the command in an "interactive" mode, which prompts you to enter new passwords
for the `elastic`, `kibana`, `logstash_system`, and `beats_system` users:

[source,shell]
--------------------------------------------------
bin/elasticsearch-setup-passwords interactive
--------------------------------------------------

For more information about the command options, see
{ref}/setup-passwords.html[elasticsearch-setup-passwords].

IMPORTANT: After you set a password for the `elastic` user, the bootstrap
password is no longer valid; you cannot run the `elasticsearch-setup-passwords`
command a second time.

Alternatively, you can set the initial passwords for the built-in users by using
the *Management > Users* page in {kib} or the
{ref}/security-api-change-password.html[Change Password API]. These methods are
more complex. You must supply the `elastic` user and its bootstrap password to
log into {kib} or run the API. This requirement means that you cannot use the
default bootstrap password that is derived from the `keystore.seed` setting.
Instead, you must explicitly set a `bootstrap.password` setting in the keystore
before you start {es}. For example, the following command prompts you to enter a
new bootstrap password:

[source,shell]
----------------------------------------------------
bin/elasticsearch-keystore add "bootstrap.password"
----------------------------------------------------

You can then start {es} and {kib} and use the `elastic` user and bootstrap
password to log into {kib} and change the passwords. Alternatively, you can
submit Change Password API requests for each built-in user. These methods are
better suited for changing your passwords after the initial setup is complete,
since at that point the bootstrap password is no longer required.

[float]
[[add-built-in-user-passwords]]
==== Adding Built-in User Passwords To {kib}, Logstash, and Beats

After the `kibana` user password is set, you need to update the {kib} server
with the new password by setting `elasticsearch.password` in the `kibana.yml`
configuration file:

[source,yaml]
-----------------------------------------------
elasticsearch.password: kibanapassword
-----------------------------------------------

The `logstash_system` user is used internally within Logstash when
monitoring is enabled for Logstash.

To enable this feature in Logstash, you need to update the Logstash
configuration with the new password by setting `xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.password` in
the `logstash.yml` configuration file:

[source,yaml]
----------------------------------------------------------
xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.password: logstashpassword
----------------------------------------------------------

If you have upgraded from an older version of elasticsearch/x-pack,
the `logstash_system` user may have defaulted to _disabled_ for security reasons.
Once the password has been changed, you can enable the user via the following API call:

[source,js]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
PUT _xpack/security/user/logstash_system/_enable
---------------------------------------------------------------------
// CONSOLE

The `beats_system` user is used internally within Beats when monitoring is
enabled for Beats.

To enable this feature in Beats, you need to update the configuration for each
of your beats to reference the correct username and password. For example:

[source,yaml]
----------------------------------------------------------
xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.username: beats_system
xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.password: beatspassword
----------------------------------------------------------

If you have upgraded from an older version of {es}, then you may not have set a
password for the `beats_system` user. If this is the case, then you should use
the *Management > Users* page in {kib} or the
{ref}/security-api-change-password.html[Change Password API] to set a password
for this user.

[float]
[[disabling-default-password]]
==== Disabling default password functionality
[IMPORTANT]
=============================================================================
This setting is deprecated. The elastic user no longer has a default password.
The password must be set before the user can be used.
See <<bootstrap-elastic-passwords>>.
=============================================================================