SQL Server Directory Access

Issue

The only users on the system requiring access to the following Microsoft® SQL Server™ directories are local administrators and the SQL Server service accounts:

Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL$InstanceName\Binn
Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL$InstanceName\Data
Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL\Binn
Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL\Data

Solution

Remove any other users or groups (with the exception of the SYSTEM account) that might be contained in the access control list (ACL) for each of these directories.

Additional Resources

SQL Server 7.0 Security

Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Security