Request temporary elevated access with Privileged Access Manager

To temporarily elevate your privileges, you can request a grant against an entitlement in Privileged Access Manager (PAM) for a fixed duration.

An entitlement contains roles that are granted to you after your grant request is successful. These roles are removed by Privileged Access Manager when the grant ends.

Keep the following in mind when you want to request a grant against an entitlement:

  • You can only request grants against entitlements that you have been added to. To be added to an entitlement, contact the principal administering the entitlement.

  • Depending on how it's set up, a grant request might require approval to be granted.

  • If a grant request requires approval and isn't approved or denied in 24 hours, the grant status is changed to Expired. After this, you must make a new grant request if privilege elevation is still required.

  • Successful grant requests might take a few minutes to take effect.

Request a grant using the Google Cloud console

To request a grant against an entitlement, complete the following instructions:

  1. Go to the Privileged Access Manager page.

    Go to Privileged Access Manager

  2. Select the organization, folder, or project you want to request a grant in.

  3. In the My entitlements tab, find the entitlement to request against, and then click Request grant in the same row.

  4. Provide the following details:

    • The duration required for the grant, up to the maximum duration set on the entitlement.

    • If required, a justification for the grant.

    • Optional: Which email addresses to notify of the grant request. Google identities associated with approvers are automatically notified. However, you might want to notify a different set of email addresses, especially if you're using Workforce Identity Federation.

  5. Click Request grant.

  6. To see your grant history including approval statuses, click the Grants tab, followed by the My grants tab.

Request a grant programmatically

To request a grant against an entitlement, you need to complete the following steps:

  1. Search for available entitlement IDs that you can request grants against.

  2. Request the grant.

Afterward, you can check on the status of your grant to see if it is active, meaning you have received the temporary elevation.

Search available entitlements

gcloud

The gcloud beta pam entitlements search command with the grant-requester caller access type searches for entitlements you can request a grant against.

Before using any of the command data below, make the following replacements:

  • RESOURCE_TYPE: Optional. The resource type that the entitlement belongs to. Use the value organization, folder, or project.
  • RESOURCE_ID: Used with RESOURCE_TYPE. The ID of the Google Cloud project, folder, or organization that you want to manage entitlements for. Project IDs are alphanumeric strings, like my-project. Folder and organization IDs are numeric, like 123456789012.

Execute the following command:

Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell

gcloud beta pam entitlements search \
    --caller-access-type=grant-requester \
    --location=global \
    --RESOURCE_TYPE=RESOURCE_ID

Windows (PowerShell)

gcloud beta pam entitlements search `
    --caller-access-type=grant-requester `
    --location=global `
    --RESOURCE_TYPE=RESOURCE_ID

Windows (cmd.exe)

gcloud beta pam entitlements search ^
    --caller-access-type=grant-requester ^
    --location=global ^
    --RESOURCE_TYPE=RESOURCE_ID

You should receive a response similar to the following:

additionalNotificationTargets: {}
approvalWorkflow:
  manualApprovals:
    requireApproverJustification: true
    steps:
    - approvalsNeeded: 1
      approvers:
      - principals:
        - user:[email protected]
createTime: '22024-03-26T11:07:37.009498890Z'
etag: ETAG
maxRequestDuration: 3600s
name: projects/my-project/locations/global/entitlements/ENTITLEMENT_ID
privilegedAccess:
  gcpIamAccess:
    resource: //cloudresourcemanager.googleapis.com/projects/my-project
    resourceType: cloudresourcemanager.googleapis.com/Project
    roleBindings:
    - role: roles/storage.admin
requesterJustificationConfig:
  notMandatory: {}
state: AVAILABLE
updateTime: '2024-03-26T11:07:40.056780645Z'

REST

The Privileged Access Manager API's searchEntitlements method with the GRANT_REQUESTER caller access type searches for entitlements you can request a grant against.

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • SCOPE: The organization, folder, or project that the entitlement is in, in the format of organizations/ORGANIZATION_ID, folders/FOLDER_ID, or projects/PROJECT_ID. Project IDs are alphanumeric strings, like my-project. Folder and organization IDs are numeric, like 123456789012.
  • FILTER: Optional. Returns entitlements whose field values match an AIP-160 expression.
  • PAGE_SIZE: Optional. The number of items to return in a response.
  • PAGE_TOKEN: Optional. Which page to start the response from, using a page token returned in a previous response.

HTTP method and URL: 

GET https://privilegedaccessmanager.googleapis.com/v1beta/SCOPE/locations/global/entitlements:search?callerAccessType=GRANT_REQUESTER&filter=FILTER&pageSize=PAGE_SIZE&pageToken=PAGE_TOKEN

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

[
  {
    "name": "projects/my-project/locations/global/entitlements/ENTITLEMENT_ID",
    "createTime": "2023-11-21T17:28:39.962144708Z",
    "updateTime": "2023-11-21T17:28:43.160309410Z",
    "eligibleUsers": [
      {
        "principals": [
          "user:[email protected]"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "approvalWorkflow": {
      "manualApprovals": {
        "steps": [
          {
            "approvers": [
              {
                "principals": [
                  "user:[email protected]"
                ]
              }
            ],
            "approvalsNeeded": 1
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    "privilegedAccess": {
      "gcpIamAccess": {
        "resourceType": "cloudresourcemanager.googleapis.com/Project",
        "resource": "//cloudresourcemanager.googleapis.com/projects/my-project",
        "roleBindings": [
          {
            "role": "roles/storage.admin"
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    "maxRequestDuration": "14400s",
    "state": "AVAILABLE",
    "requesterJustificationConfig": {
      "unstructured": {}
    },
    "additionalNotificationTargets": {
      "adminEmailRecipients": [
        "[email protected]"
      ]
    },
    "etag": "ETAG"
  }
]

Request a grant against an entitlement

gcloud

The gcloud beta pam grants create command requests a grant.

Before using any of the command data below, make the following replacements:

  • ENTITLEMENT_ID: The entitlement ID to create the grant against.
  • GRANT_DURATION: The requested length of the grant, in seconds.
  • JUSTIFICATION: The justification for requesting the grant.
  • EMAIL_ADDRESS: Optional. Additional email addresses to notify of the grant request. Google identities associated with approvers are automatically notified. However, you might want to notify a different set of email addresses, especially if you're using Workforce Identity Federation.
  • RESOURCE_TYPE: Optional. The resource type that the entitlement belongs to. Use the value organization, folder, or project.
  • RESOURCE_ID: Used with RESOURCE_TYPE. The ID of the Google Cloud project, folder, or organization that you want to manage entitlements for. Project IDs are alphanumeric strings, like my-project. Folder and organization IDs are numeric, like 123456789012.

Execute the following command:

Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell

gcloud beta pam grants create \
    --entitlement=ENTITLEMENT_ID \
    --requested-duration="GRANT_DURATIONs" \
    --justification="JUSTIFICATION" \
    --location=global \
    [--additional-email-recipients=EMAIL_ADDRESS_1, EMAIL_ADDRESS_2] \
    --RESOURCE_TYPE=RESOURCE_ID

Windows (PowerShell)

gcloud beta pam grants create `
    --entitlement=ENTITLEMENT_ID `
    --requested-duration="GRANT_DURATIONs" `
    --justification="JUSTIFICATION" `
    --location=global `
    [--additional-email-recipients=EMAIL_ADDRESS_1, EMAIL_ADDRESS_2] `
    --RESOURCE_TYPE=RESOURCE_ID

Windows (cmd.exe)

gcloud beta pam grants create ^
    --entitlement=ENTITLEMENT_ID ^
    --requested-duration="GRANT_DURATIONs" ^
    --justification="JUSTIFICATION" ^
    --location=global ^
    [--additional-email-recipients=EMAIL_ADDRESS_1, EMAIL_ADDRESS_2] ^
    --RESOURCE_TYPE=RESOURCE_ID

You should receive a response similar to the following:

Created [GRANT_ID].

REST

The Privileged Access Manager API's createGrant method requests a grant.

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • SCOPE: The organization, folder, or project that the entitlement is in, in the format of organizations/ORGANIZATION_ID, folders/FOLDER_ID, or projects/PROJECT_ID. Project IDs are alphanumeric strings, like my-project. Folder and organization IDs are numeric, like 123456789012.
  • ENTITLEMENT_ID: The entitlement ID to create the grant against.
  • REQUEST_ID: Optional. Must be a non-zero UUID. If the server receives a request with a request ID, it checks if another request with that ID has already been completed within the last 60 minutes. If so, the new request is ignored.
  • GRANT_DURATION: The requested length of the grant, in seconds.
  • JUSTIFICATION: The justification for requesting the grant.
  • EMAIL_ADDRESS: Optional. Additional email addresses to notify of the grant request. Google identities associated with approvers are automatically notified. However, you might want to notify a different set of email addresses, especially if you're using Workforce Identity Federation.

HTTP method and URL: 

POST https://privilegedaccessmanager.googleapis.com/v1beta/SCOPE/locations/global/entitlements/ENTITLEMENT_ID/grants?requestId=REQUEST_ID

Request JSON body: 

{
  "requestedDuration": "GRANT_DURATIONs",
  "justification": {
    "unstructuredJustification": "JUSTIFICATION"
  },
  "additionalEmailRecipients": [
    "EMAIL_ADDRESS_1",
    "EMAIL_ADDRESS_2",
    ...
  ]
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "name": "projects/my-project/locations/global/entitlements/ENTITLEMENT_ID/grants/GRANT_ID",
  "createTime": "2024-03-06T03:08:49.330577625Z",
  "updateTime": "2024-03-06T03:08:49.330577625Z",
  "requester": "[email protected]",
  "requestedDuration": "3600s",
  "justification": {
    "unstructuredJustification": "Emergency service for outage"
  },
  "state": "APPROVAL_AWAITED",
  "timeline": {
    "events": [
      {
        "eventTime": "2024-03-06T03:08:49.462765846Z",
        "requested": {
          "expireTime": "2024-03-07T03:08:49.462765846Z"
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "privilegedAccess": {
    "gcpIamAccess": {
      "resourceType": "cloudresourcemanager.googleapis.com/Project",
      "resource": "//cloudresourcemanager.googleapis.com/projects/my-project",
      "roleBindings": [
        {
          "role": "roles/storage.admin"
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "additionalEmailRecipients": [
    "[email protected]"
  ]
}

Check your grant request status

gcloud

The gcloud beta pam grants search command used with the had-created caller relationship searches for grants you have created. To check their status, look for the state field in the response.

Before using any of the command data below, make the following replacements:

  • ENTITLEMENT_ID: The ID of the entitlement that the grant belongs to.
  • RESOURCE_TYPE: Optional. The resource type that the entitlement belongs to. Use the value organization, folder, or project.
  • RESOURCE_ID: Used with RESOURCE_TYPE. The ID of the Google Cloud project, folder, or organization that you want to manage entitlements for. Project IDs are alphanumeric strings, like my-project. Folder and organization IDs are numeric, like 123456789012.

Execute the following command:

Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell

gcloud beta pam grants search \
    --entitlement=ENTITLEMENT_ID \
    --caller-relationship=had-created \
    --location=global \
    --RESOURCE_TYPE=RESOURCE_ID

Windows (PowerShell)

gcloud beta pam grants search `
    --entitlement=ENTITLEMENT_ID `
    --caller-relationship=had-created `
    --location=global `
    --RESOURCE_TYPE=RESOURCE_ID

Windows (cmd.exe)

gcloud beta pam grants search ^
    --entitlement=ENTITLEMENT_ID ^
    --caller-relationship=had-created ^
    --location=global ^
    --RESOURCE_TYPE=RESOURCE_ID

You should receive a response similar to the following:

additionalEmailRecipients:
- [email protected]
createTime: '2024-03-07T00:34:32.557017289Z'
justification:
  unstructuredJustification: Renaming a file to mitigate issue #312
name: projects/my-project/locations/global/entitlements/ENTITLEMENT_ID/grants/GRANT_ID
privilegedAccess:
  gcpIamAccess:
    resource: //cloudresourcemanager.googleapis.com/projects/my-project
    resourceType: cloudresourcemanager.googleapis.com/Project
    roleBindings:
    - role: roles/storage.admin
requestedDuration: 3600s
requester: [email protected]
state: DENIED
timeline:
  events:
  - eventTime: '2024-03-07T00:34:32.793769042Z'
    requested:
      expireTime: '2024-03-08T00:34:32.793769042Z'
  - denied:
      actor: [email protected]
      reason: Issue has already been resolved
    eventTime: '2024-03-07T00:36:08.309116203Z'
updateTime: '2024-03-07T00:34:32.926967128Z'

Grants can have the following statuses:

Status Description
ACTIVATING The grant is in the process of being activated.
ACTIVATION_FAILED Privileged Access Manager couldn't grant the roles due to a non-retriable error.
ACTIVE The grant is active and the principal has access to the resources permitted by the roles.
APPROVAL_AWAITED The grant request is waiting on a decision from an approver.
DENIED The grant request has been denied by an approver.
ENDED The grant has ended and the roles have been removed from the principal.
EXPIRED The grant request has expired, as approval wasn't given within 24 hours.
REVOKED The grant is revoked, and the principal no longer has access to the resources permitted by the roles.
REVOKING The grant is in the process of being revoked.

REST

The Privileged Access Manager API's searchGrants method used with the HAD_CREATED caller relationship searches for grants you have created. To check their status, look for the state field in the response.

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • SCOPE: The organization, folder, or project that the entitlement is in, in the format of organizations/ORGANIZATION_ID, folders/FOLDER_ID, or projects/PROJECT_ID. Project IDs are alphanumeric strings, like my-project. Folder and organization IDs are numeric, like 123456789012.
  • ENTITLEMENT_ID: The ID of the entitlement that the grant belongs to.
  • FILTER: Optional. Returns grants whose field values match an AIP-160 expression.
  • PAGE_SIZE: Optional. The number of items to return in a response.
  • PAGE_TOKEN: Optional. Which page to start the response from, using a page token returned in a previous response.

HTTP method and URL: 

GET https://privilegedaccessmanager.googleapis.com/v1beta/SCOPE/locations/global/entitlements/ENTITLEMENT_ID/grants:search?callerRelationship=HAD_CREATED&filter=FILTER&pageSize=PAGE_SIZE&pageToken=PAGE_TOKEN

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "grants": [
    {
      "name": "projects/my-project/locations/global/entitlements/ENTITLEMENT_ID/grants/GRANT_ID",
      "createTime": "2024-03-06T03:08:49.330577625Z",
      "updateTime": "2024-03-06T03:08:49.625874598Z",
      "requester": "[email protected]",
      "requestedDuration": "3600s",
      "justification": {
        "unstructuredJustification": "Emergency service for outage"
      },
      "state": "APPROVAL_AWAITED",
      "timeline": {
        "events": [
          {
            "eventTime": "2024-03-06T03:08:49.462765846Z",
            "requested": {
              "expireTime": "2024-03-07T03:08:49.462765846Z"
            }
          }
        ]
      },
      "privilegedAccess": {
        "gcpIamAccess": {
          "resourceType": "cloudresourcemanager.googleapis.com/Project",
          "resource": "//cloudresourcemanager.googleapis.com/projects/my-project",
          "roleBindings": [
            {
              "role": "roles/storage.admin"
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "additionalEmailRecipients": [
        "[email protected]"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Grant statuses are detailed in the following table.

Status Description
ACTIVATING The grant is in the process of being activated.
ACTIVATION_FAILED Privileged Access Manager couldn't grant the roles due to a non-retriable error.
ACTIVE The grant is active and the principal has access to the resources permitted by the roles.
APPROVAL_AWAITED The grant request is waiting on a decision from an approver.
DENIED The grant request has been denied by an approver.
ENDED The grant has ended and the roles have been removed from the principal.
EXPIRED The grant request has expired, as approval wasn't given within 24 hours.
REVOKED The grant is revoked, and the principal no longer has access to the resources permitted by the roles.
REVOKING The grant is in the process of being revoked.