DACSAUTH(1) DACS Commands Manual DACSAUTH(1)
NAME
dacsauth - authentication check
SYNOPSIS
dacsauth [-m auth-module-spec] [...] [-r roles-module-spec] [...] [-Ddirective=value] [-aux]
[-fj jurname] [-fn fedname] [-h | -help] [-id] [-ll log_level] [-p password]
[-pf file] [-prompt] [-q] [{-u | -user} username] [-v]
dacsauth-modules
DESCRIPTION
This program is part of the DACS suite.
The dacsauth utility tests whether given authentication material satisfies authentication requirements and indicates the outcome through
the process's exit status. It is similar to dacs_authenticate(8)[1] and dacscred(1)[2].
dacsauth provides a way for scripts and other programs to leverage the DACS authentication infrastructure. They might use successful
authentication as a coarse form of authorization; only a user that provides a correct password might be allowed to run the program, for
instance. Or they might return some type of credentials after successful authentication, or perhaps use dacs_auth_agent(8)[3] to return
DACS credentials.
dacsauth can also be used to retrieve role information associated with a given user.
dacsauth does not read any DACS configuration files. Everything needed to perform the test must be specified as an argument.
Tip
If dacsauth uses a built-in module to perform authentication, or look up roles, no server component is required. This means that you
can use dacsauth without having to access or even configure a web server, including Apache.
OPTIONS
The following command line flags are recognized. At least one -m flag (to perform authentication testing), or at least one -r flag must be
specified (to form a role descriptor string for the identity and print it to stdout). A combination of both flags is allowed, in which case
a role descriptor string is output only if the authentication test is successful.
-Ddirective=value
This is equivalent to setting directive, a general DACS configuration directive, to value. See dacs.conf(5)[4].
-aux
The next string provided by the -p, -pf, or -prompt flag will be the value of the AUXILIARY authentication argument. This provides a
secure way to pass sensitive auxiliary information, such as a PIN, to the program. A flag to obtain the password, if any, must precede
this flag on the command line.
-fj jurname
Use jurname, which must be syntactically valid, as the jurisdiction name. If required but not provided, a value derived from the host's
domain name will be used.
-fn fedname
Use fedname, which must be syntactically valid, as the federation name. If required but not provided, a value derived from the host's
domain name will be used.
-h
-help
Display a help message and exit.
-id
If successful, print the authenticated DACS identity to the standard output.
-ll log_level
Set the debugging output level to log_level (see dacs(1)[5]). The default level is warn.
-m auth-module-spec
Each type of authentication test that is required is described by an auth-module-spec that immediately follows the -m flag. Each
auth-module-spec is essentially an alternate representation of an Auth clause[6] and its directives, which are used by
dacs_authenticate(8)[1]. Just as the order in which Auth clauses appear in a DACS configuration file, the order in which the -m flags
appear may be significant, depending on the control keywords. During processing, successive -m components are automatically assigned
names, auth_module_1, auth_module_2, and so on, mainly for error reporting purposes.
An auth-module-spec has the following syntax:
The module begins with either the name of a built-in module, or a valid abbreviation thereof, or the (absolute) URL of an external
authentication module (equivalent to the URL[7] directive). Next must appear a recognized authentication style keyword specifier
(equivalent to the STYLE[8] directive). Next, the control keyword follows, which is identical to the CONTROL[9] directive in the Auth
clause. After the control keyword, the flags described below may follow, in any order.
An auth-module-spec ends when the first invalid flag (or the end of flags) is encountered.
The -O flag is equivalent to an OPTION[10] directive.
The -Of flag is followed by an argument that is the name of a file from which to read options, one per line, in the format name=value.
Blank lines and lines beginning with a '#' are ignored; note that these lines do not begin with "-O" and quotes are simply copied and
not interpreted. The -Of flag can be used to avoid putting passwords on the command line and makes it easier to write expressions that
would otherwise have to be carefully escaped to prevent interpretation by the shell, for example.
The -expr flag is equivalent to the EXPR[11] directive. The -vfs flag is used to configure VFS[12] directives required by this module.
-modules
Display a list of built-in authentication modules and roles modules, one per line, and then exit. The canonical module name is printed,
followed by zero or more equivalent abbreviations. For authentication modules, the authentication style is shown. To list the available
modules, run the command:
% dacsauth -modules
The set of available (enabled) built-in authentication and roles modules is determined when DACS is built.
-p password
Specify the password to use (equivalent to the PASSWORD argument to dacs_authenticate).
Security
A password given on the command line may be visible to other users on the same system.
-pf file
Read the password to use from file (equivalent to the PASSWORD argument to dacs_authenticate). If file is "-", then the password is
read from the standard input without prompting.
-prompt
Prompt for the password and read it from stdin (equivalent to the PASSWORD argument to dacs_authenticate). The password is not echoed.
-q
Be more quiet by reducing the debugging output level.
-r role-module-spec
Roles for username can be determined by giving this flag, which is immediately followed by a roles-module-spec. The -r flag may be
repeated, and the resulting roles are combined. Each roles-module-spec is essentially an alternate representation of a Roles clause
that is used by dacs_authenticate(8)[13]. Successive -r components are assigned names, roles_module_1, roles_module_2, and so on,
mainly for error reporting purposes.
A roles-module-spec has the following syntax:
The module component is equivalent to the Roles clause's URL[14] directive and is either the name of an available built-in roles
module, a valid abbreviation thereof, or the (absolute) URL of an external roles module.
Flags may follow the module component, in any order. A roles-module-spec ends when the first invalid flag (or the end of flags) is
encountered.
The -O flag is equivalent to an OPTION[10] directive.
The -Of flag is followed by an argument that is the name of a file from which to read options, one per line, in the format name=value.
Blank lines and lines beginning with a '#' are ignored; note that these lines do not begin with "-O" and quotes are simply copied and
not interpreted. The -Of flag can be used to avoid putting passwords on the command line and makes it easier to write expressions that
would otherwise have to be carefully escaped to prevent interpretation by the shell, for example.
The -expr flag is equivalent to the EXPR[11] directive. The -vfs flag is used to configure VFS[12] directives required by module.
-u username
-user username
The username to authenticate against (equivalent to the USERNAME argument to dacs_authenticate). This username is implicitly associated
with the effective federation and jurisdiction (see the -fn[15] and -fj[16] flags).
-v
The -v flag bumps the debugging output level to debug or (if repeated) trace.
EXAMPLES
Security
If dacsauth uses a built-in module to perform authentication, it must run setuid or setgid to obtain sufficient privileges to access
the required password file (the same is true for built-in roles modules). If it uses an external module, that module will need to
execute with sufficient privileges to access DACS cryptographic keys, specifically federation_keys and possibly DACS or system password
files; the external module will then need to execute with sufficient privileges to access any files it requires.
Be sure to use the federation_keys that are correct for your federation. Referencing authentication modules in two or more federations
will probably not work.
dacsauth should therefore not ordinarily run as the UID of the user that invokes it (unless that happens to be root) because it will
not be able to access the information it requires. This will also prevent a user from "cheating" (e.g., by attaching to the running
module with a debugger).
This example authenticates user "bobo" with password "test" against the DACS password file /usr/local/dacs/conf/passwd:
% dacsauth -m passwd passwd required
-vfs "[passwds]dacs-kwv-fs:/usr/local/dacs/conf/passwd" -q -u bobo -p test
If the command's exit status is zero, the authentication test succeeded, otherwise it failed.
The following example attempts to authenticate "bobo" against her Unix password file. The program prompts for the password.
% dacsauth -m unix passwd required -u bobo -prompt
In the next example, dacsauth attempts to authenticate "bobo" via NTLM on winders.example.com:
% dacsauth -m ntlm passwd suff -OSAMBA_SERVER="winders.example.com" -prompt -u bobo
This example is similar to the previous one, except that an external authentication module is used and the password is read from a file.
Because of the external module, additional configuration must be provided; in particular, the location of federation_keys and the
federation and jurisdiction names must be specified.
% dacsauth -m https://example.example.com/cgi-bin/dacs/local_ntlm_authenticate
passwd sufficient -OSAMBA_SERVER="winders.example.com"
-fn EXAMPLE -fj FEDROOT -u bobo -pf mypass
-DVFS="[federation_keys]dacs-fs:/usr/local/dacs/federations/example/federation_keys"
To authenticate against the Google[17] account nobody@gmail.com, one might use:
% dacsauth -m http passwd suff
-OAUTH_URL="https://www.google.com/accounts/ClientLogin"
-OUSERNAME_PARAMETER=Email -OPASSWORD_PARAMETER=Passwd
-Oservice=xapi -Osource=DSS-DACS-1.4 -prompt -u nobody@gmail.com
In the following example, an expression is evaluated to determine whether authentication should succeed. The user ("bobo") is prompted for
a password. Only if the string "foo" is given will authentication succeed. A more realistic example might call another program to help make
the determination, for instance.
% dacsauth -m expr expr suffi
-expr '${Args::PASSWORD} eq "foo" ? ${Args::USERNAME} : ""' -user bobo -prompt
Authentication against an Apache htdigest password file is performed in the following example, where the password is read from stdin:
% echo "test" | dacsauth -m apache digest sufficient
-OAUTH_MODULE=mod_auth_digest
-OAUTH_FILE=/usr/local/apache2/conf/passwords.digest
-OAUTH_REALM="DACS Digest Auth Area"
-u bobo -pf -
Authentication via the PAM module works differently than the other modules - and is more complicated to use - because dacsauth may need to
be run several times, depending on what information PAM requires. Instead of returning a yes/no decision, dacsauth may print prompts for
more information to stdout. Please review the operational details presented in dacs_authenticate(8)[18] and pamd(8)[19] before attempting
to use this module.
The following example demonstrates use of the module from the command line. Once the basic ideas are understood, it should be apparent how
to write a script to performed the necessary iterations. Details in the example, such as paths, may need to be adjusted for your
environment. Note that in this example the username is not specified the first time dacsauth is run, although it could be if it were known.
% dacsauth -m pam prompted suffic
-vfs "[federation_keys]dacs-fs:/usr/local/dacs/federations/dss/federation_keys"
-OPAMD_HOST=localhost -OPAMD_PORT=dacs-pamd -fj EXAMPLE -fn TEST
AUTH_PROMPT_VAR1="Login:"
AUTH_TRANSID="10.0.0.124:57849:85748:9997c5588a6239e3"
% dacsauth -m pam prompted suffic
-vfs "[federation_keys]dacs-fs:/usr/local/dacs/federations/dss/federation_keys"
-OAUTH_PROMPT_VAR1="bobo"
-OAUTH_TRANSID="10.0.0.124:57849:85748:9997c5588a6239e3"-fj EXAMPLE -fn TEST
AUTH_PROMPT_VAR2="Password:"
AUTH_TRANSID="10.0.0.124:52188:88417:5ffb0015f21ea546"
% dacsauth -m pam prompted suffic
-vfs "[federation_keys]dacs-fs:/usr/local/dacs/federations/dss/federation_keys"
-OAUTH_PROMPT_VAR2="apassword"
-OAUTH_TRANSID="10.0.0.124:57849:85748:9997c5588a6239e3"-fj EXAMPLE -fn TEST
The first time dacsauth is run in the example it returns a prompt for the username ("Login:") that is associated with the transaction
variable AUTH_PROMPT_VAR1 and a transaction identifier (AUTH_TRANSID). The latter must be passed to the subsequent executions of dacsauth.
The second run of dacsauth passes the username ("bobo") and returns another prompt ("Password:") that is associated with the transaction
variable AUTH_PROMPT_VAR2. The third run passes the password ("apassword") but no prompt is returned, indicating that the session is
complete and the program's exit status reflects the outcome of authentication.
Tip
Whether dacsauth requires a password to retrieve roles depends on the particular roles module being used. For example, a password is
not required by local_unix_roles[20] or local_roles[21] to obtain roles, but local_ldap_roles[22] will probably need a password to bind
to the directory and obtain roles.
This example prints the role string for user "bobo" by calling the built-in local_unix_roles[20] module:
% dacsauth -r unix -u bobo
bobo,wheel,www,users
The next example is similar to the previous one, except an external roles module is used:
% dacsauth -r https://example.example.com/cgi-bin/dacs/local_unix_roles
-DVFS="[federation_keys]dacs-fs:/usr/local/dacs/federations/federation_keys"
-fn EXAMPLE -u bobo
bobo,wheel,www,users
The external roles module might be executed on a different host than the one running dacsauth. Provided dacsauth has been installed and a
matching federation_keys file is available on the local host, the local host need not be a DACS jurisdiction or have any other DACS
configuration.
The following example prints the role string[23] for user "bobo", known within the directory by the Common Name "Bobo Baggins", using the
(external) local_ldap_roles[22] module and the "direct" binding method:
% dacsauth -r https://example.example.com/cgi-bin/dacs/local_ldap_roles
-Of /usr/local/dacs/ldap_roles_options_direct -u "Bobo Baggins"
-DVFS="[federation_keys]dacs-fs:/usr/local/dacs/federations/federation_keys"
-fn EXAMPLE -fj FEDROOT -prompt
DnsAdmins,Print_Operators,Domain_Admins,Administrators
Because there are too many flags to easily and correctly place on the command line, the options that are needed to do this are read from a
file that is specified by the -Of flag. This also provides a more secure way to pass passwords to the program; ensure that access to the
file is restricted appropriately. The file /usr/local/dacs/ldap_roles_options_direct might contain configuration such as this:
LDAP_BIND_METHOD=direct
LDAP_ADMIN_URL*="ldap://winders.example.com/CN=" . encode(url,${Args::DACS_USERNAME}) . ",CN=Users,DC=example,DC=com"
LDAP_ROLES_SELECTOR*="${LDAP::attrname}" eq "memberOf" ? strtr(ldap(rdn_attrvalue,
ldap(dn_index, "${LDAP::attrvalue}", 1)), " ", "_") : ""
The following example is like the previous one, except that it uses the "indirect" binding method and therefore does not need to be given
the user's Common Name:
% dacsauth -r https://example.example.com/cgi-bin/dacs/local_ldap_roles
-Of /usr/local/dacs/ldap_roles_options_indirect -u bobo
-DVFS="[federation_keys]dacs-fs:/usr/local/dacs/federations/federation_keys"
-fn EXAMPLE -fj FEDROOT -p bobospassword
DnsAdmins,Print_Operators,Domain_Admins,Administrators
The file /usr/local/dacs/ldap_roles_options_indirect might contain configuration such as this:
LDAP_BIND_METHOD=indirect
LDAP_ADMIN_URL=ldap://winders.example.com/CN=Administrator,CN=Users,DC=example,DC=com
# Search under Users...
LDAP_SEARCH_ROOT_DN=CN=Users,DC=example,DC=com
LDAP_ADMIN_PASSWORD=theSecretAdminPassword
LDAP_SEARCH_FILTER*="(sAMAccountName=${Args::DACS_USERNAME})"
LDAP_ROLES_SELECTOR*="${LDAP::attrname}" eq "memberOf" ? strtr(ldap(rdn_attrvalue,
ldap(dn_index, "${LDAP::attrvalue}", 1)), " ", "_") : ""
DIAGNOSTICS
The program exits 0 if authentication was successful or with 1 if authentication failed or an error occurred.
BUGS
This command only supplies partial support for interacting with dacs_authenticate. It may not be possible for an authentication module to
return role information, as can be done by dacs_authenticate.
It would be better if the -m flag were instead -a (for "authenticate").
SEE ALSO
dacscred(1)[2], dacs_authenticate(8)[1], dacs.exprs(5)[24]
AUTHOR
Distributed Systems Software (www.dss.ca[25])
COPYING
Copyright2003-2012 Distributed Systems Software. See the LICENSE[26] file that accompanies the distribution for licensing information.
NOTES
1. dacs_authenticate(8)
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs_authenticate.8.html
2. dacscred(1)
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacscred.1.html
3. dacs_auth_agent(8)
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs_auth_agent.8.html
4. dacs.conf(5)
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs.conf.5.html
5. dacs(1)
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs.1.html
6. Auth clause
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs_authenticate.html#auth_clause
7. URL
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs_authenticate.8.html#URL
8. STYLE
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs_authenticate.8.html#STYLE
9. CONTROL
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs_authenticate.8.html#CONTROL
10. OPTION
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs_authenticate.8.html#OPTION
11. EXPR
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs_authenticate.8.html#EXPR
12. VFS
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs.conf.5.html#VFS
13. dacs_authenticate(8)
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs_authenticate.8.html#roles_clause
14. URL
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs_authenticate.8.html#r_URL
15. -fn
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/#fn_flag
16. -fj
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/#fj_flag
17. Google
http://www.google.com
18. dacs_authenticate(8)
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs_authenticate.8.html#local_pam_authenticate
19. pamd(8)
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/pamd.8.html
20. local_unix_roles
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs_authenticate.8.html#local_unix_roles
21. local_roles
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs_authenticate.8.html#local_roles
22. local_ldap_roles
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs_authenticate.8.html#local_ldap_roles
23. role string
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs.1.html#roles
24. dacs.exprs(5)
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/dacs.exprs.5.html
25. www.dss.ca
http://www.dss.ca
26. LICENSE
http://dacs.dss.ca/man/../misc/LICENSE
DACS 1.4.27b 10/22/2012 DACSAUTH(1)