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author | Steve Langasek <steve.langasek@ubuntu.com> | 2019-01-03 16:26:05 -0800 |
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committer | Steve Langasek <steve.langasek@ubuntu.com> | 2019-01-03 17:26:38 -0800 |
commit | 9c52e721044e7501c3d4567b36d222dc7326224a (patch) | |
tree | 9011790770130c60a712a6f125ad50d60e07cc74 /doc/man/PAM.8 | |
parent | 9727ff2a3fa0e94a42b34a579027bacf4146d571 (diff) | |
parent | 186ff16e8d12ff15d518000c17f115ccab5275a4 (diff) | |
download | pam-9c52e721044e7501c3d4567b36d222dc7326224a.tar.gz pam-9c52e721044e7501c3d4567b36d222dc7326224a.tar.bz2 pam-9c52e721044e7501c3d4567b36d222dc7326224a.zip |
New upstream version 1.0.1
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/man/PAM.8')
-rw-r--r-- | doc/man/PAM.8 | 107 |
1 files changed, 107 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/doc/man/PAM.8 b/doc/man/PAM.8 new file mode 100644 index 00000000..1872d09a --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/man/PAM.8 @@ -0,0 +1,107 @@ +.\" Title: pam +.\" Author: +.\" Generator: DocBook XSL Stylesheets v1.73.1 <http://docbook.sf.net/> +.\" Date: 04/16/2008 +.\" Manual: Linux-PAM Manual +.\" Source: Linux-PAM Manual +.\" +.TH "PAM" "8" "04/16/2008" "Linux-PAM Manual" "Linux-PAM Manual" +.\" disable hyphenation +.nh +.\" disable justification (adjust text to left margin only) +.ad l +.SH "NAME" +PAM, pam - Pluggable Authentication Modules for Linux +.SH "DESCRIPTION" +.PP +This manual is intended to offer a quick introduction to +\fBLinux\-PAM\fR\. For more information the reader is directed to the +\fBLinux\-PAM system administrators\' guide\fR\. +.PP + +\fBLinux\-PAM\fR +is a system of libraries that handle the authentication tasks of applications (services) on the system\. The library provides a stable general interface (Application Programming Interface \- API) that privilege granting programs (such as +\fBlogin\fR(1) +and +\fBsu\fR(1)) defer to to perform standard authentication tasks\. +.PP +The principal feature of the PAM approach is that the nature of the authentication is dynamically configurable\. In other words, the system administrator is free to choose how individual service\-providing applications will authenticate users\. This dynamic configuration is set by the contents of the single +\fBLinux\-PAM\fR +configuration file +\fI/etc/pam\.conf\fR\. Alternatively, the configuration can be set by individual configuration files located in the +\fI/etc/pam\.d/\fR +directory\. The presence of this directory will cause +\fBLinux\-PAM\fR +to +\fIignore\fR +\fI/etc/pam\.conf\fR\. +.PP +From the point of view of the system administrator, for whom this manual is provided, it is not of primary importance to understand the internal behavior of the +\fBLinux\-PAM\fR +library\. The important point to recognize is that the configuration file(s) +\fIdefine\fR +the connection between applications +(\fBservices\fR) and the pluggable authentication modules +(\fBPAM\fRs) that perform the actual authentication tasks\. +.PP +\fBLinux\-PAM\fR +separates the tasks of +\fIauthentication\fR +into four independent management groups: +\fBaccount\fR +management; +\fBauth\fRentication management; +\fBpassword\fR +management; and +\fBsession\fR +management\. (We highlight the abbreviations used for these groups in the configuration file\.) +.PP +Simply put, these groups take care of different aspects of a typical user\'s request for a restricted service: +.PP +\fBaccount\fR +\- provide account verification types of service: has the user\'s password expired?; is this user permitted access to the requested service? +.PP +\fBauth\fRentication \- authenticate a user and set up user credentials\. Typically this is via some challenge\-response request that the user must satisfy: if you are who you claim to be please enter your password\. Not all authentications are of this type, there exist hardware based authentication schemes (such as the use of smart\-cards and biometric devices), with suitable modules, these may be substituted seamlessly for more standard approaches to authentication \- such is the flexibility of +\fBLinux\-PAM\fR\. +.PP +\fBpassword\fR +\- this group\'s responsibility is the task of updating authentication mechanisms\. Typically, such services are strongly coupled to those of the +\fBauth\fR +group\. Some authentication mechanisms lend themselves well to being updated with such a function\. Standard UN*X password\-based access is the obvious example: please enter a replacement password\. +.PP +\fBsession\fR +\- this group of tasks cover things that should be done prior to a service being given and after it is withdrawn\. Such tasks include the maintenance of audit trails and the mounting of the user\'s home directory\. The +\fBsession\fR +management group is important as it provides both an opening and closing hook for modules to affect the services available to a user\. +.SH "FILES" +.PP +\fI/etc/pam\.conf\fR +.RS 4 +the configuration file +.RE +.PP +\fI/etc/pam\.d\fR +.RS 4 +the +\fBLinux\-PAM\fR +configuration directory\. Generally, if this directory is present, the +\fI/etc/pam\.conf\fR +file is ignored\. +.RE +.SH "ERRORS" +.PP +Typically errors generated by the +\fBLinux\-PAM\fR +system of libraries, will be written to +\fBsyslog\fR(3)\. +.SH "CONFORMING TO" +.PP +DCE\-RFC 86\.0, October 1995\. Contains additional features, but remains backwardly compatible with this RFC\. +.SH "SEE ALSO" +.PP + +\fBpam\fR(3), +\fBpam_authenticate\fR(3), +\fBpam_sm_setcred\fR(3), +\fBpam_strerror\fR(3), +\fBPAM\fR(8) |