Modern PostgreSQL Authorization With Keycloak: Cloud Native Identity Meets Database Security
Yoshiyuki Tabata, Hitachi, Ltd. & Gabriele Bartolini, EDB
Abstract
Still using usernames and passwords for DB access? In 2025, that’s not just outdated—it’s a security liability. Static credentials are hard to manage, rotate, and audit, especially in dynamic, multi-tenant cloud-native environments. Traditional DB authentication no longer meets modern security and compliance needs.In this session, Yoshiyuki Tabata and Gabriele Bartolini will show how to modernize PostgreSQL authorization by integrating it with Keycloak, an identity and access management OSS. They’ll walk through externalizing authentication and authorization logic from the DB, enabling centralized identity control across services. You’ll learn how to map Keycloak roles and groups to PostgreSQL privileges, enforce fine-grained access policies, and manage secure access in Kubernetes environments using CloudNativePG.They will explore how the innovative native OAuth support introduced in PostgreSQL 18 has the potential to transform the landscape of DB authentication in Kubernetes.
