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| <H1 ALIGN="CENTER">Module mod_auth_dbm</H1> |
| |
| This module is contained in the <CODE>mod_auth_dbm.c</CODE> file, and |
| is not compiled in by default. It provides for user authentication using |
| DBM files. |
| |
| |
| <MENU> |
| <LI><A HREF="#authdbmgroupfile">AuthDBMGroupFile</A> |
| <LI><A HREF="#authdbmuserfile">AuthDBMUserFile</A> |
| <LI><A HREF="#authdbmauthoritative">AuthDBMAuthoritative</A> |
| </MENU> |
| <HR> |
| |
| |
| <H2><A NAME="authdbmgroupfile">AuthDBMGroupFile</A></H2> |
| <!--%plaintext <?INDEX {\tt AuthDBMGroupFile} directive> --> |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Syntax" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Syntax:</STRONG></A> AuthDBMGroupFile <EM>filename</EM><BR> |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Context" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Context:</STRONG></A> directory, .htaccess<BR> |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Override" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Override:</STRONG></A> AuthConfig<BR> |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Status" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Status:</STRONG></A> Extension<BR> |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Module" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Module:</STRONG></A> mod_auth_dbm<P> |
| |
| The AuthDBMGroupFile directive sets the name of a DBM file containing the list |
| of user groups for user authentication. <EM>Filename</EM> is the absolute path |
| to the group file.<P> |
| |
| The group file is keyed on the username. The value for a user is a |
| comma-separated list of the groups to which the users belongs. There must |
| be no whitespace within the value, and it must never contain any colons.<P> |
| |
| Security: make sure that the AuthDBMGroupFile is stored outside the |
| document tree of the web-server; do <EM>not</EM> put it in the directory that |
| it protects. Otherwise, clients will be able to download the |
| AuthDBMGroupFile unless otherwise protected.<P> |
| |
| Combining Group and Password DBM files: In some cases it is easier to |
| manage a single database which contains both the password and group |
| details for each user. This simplifies any support programs that need |
| to be written: they now only have to deal with writing to and locking |
| a single DBM file. This can be accomplished by first setting the group |
| and password files to point to the same DBM:<P> |
| |
| <BLOCKQUOTE><CODE> |
| AuthDBMGroupFile /www/userbase<BR> |
| AuthDBMUserFile /www/userbase |
| </CODE></BLOCKQUOTE> |
| |
| The key for the single DBM is the username. The value consists of <P> |
| |
| <BLOCKQUOTE><CODE> |
| Unix Crypt-ed Password : List of Groups [ : (ignored) ] |
| </CODE></BLOCKQUOTE> |
| |
| The password section contains the Unix crypt() password as before. This is |
| followed by a colon and the comma separated list of groups. Other data may |
| optionally be left in the DBM file after another colon; it is ignored by the |
| authentication module. This is what www.telescope.org uses for its combined |
| password and group database. <P> |
| |
| See also <A HREF="core.html#authname">AuthName</A>, |
| <A HREF="core.html#authtype">AuthType</A> and |
| <A HREF="#authdbmuserfile">AuthDBMUserFile</A>.<P><HR> |
| |
| <H2><A NAME="authdbmuserfile">AuthDBMUserFile</A></H2> |
| <!--%plaintext <?INDEX {\tt AuthDBMUserFile} directive> --> |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Syntax" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Syntax:</STRONG></A> AuthDBMUserFile <EM>filename</EM><BR> |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Context" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Context:</STRONG></A> directory, .htaccess<BR> |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Override" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Override:</STRONG></A> AuthConfig<BR> |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Status" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Status:</STRONG></A> Extension<BR> |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Module" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Module:</STRONG></A> mod_auth_dbm<P> |
| |
| The AuthDBMUserFile directive sets the name of a DBM file containing the list |
| of users and passwords for user authentication. <EM>Filename</EM> is the |
| absolute path to the user file.<P> |
| |
| The user file is keyed on the username. The value for a user is the |
| crypt() encrypted password, optionally followed by a colon and |
| arbitrary data. The colon and the data following it will be ignored |
| by the server.<P> |
| |
| Security: make sure that the AuthDBMUserFile is stored outside the |
| document tree of the web-server; do <EM>not</EM> put it in the directory that |
| it protects. Otherwise, clients will be able to download the |
| AuthDBMUserFile.<P> |
| |
| Important compatibility note: The implementation of "dbmopen" in the |
| apache modules reads the string length of the hashed values from the |
| DBM data structures, rather than relying upon the string being |
| NULL-appended. Some applications, such as the Netscape web server, |
| rely upon the string being NULL-appended, so if you are having trouble |
| using DBM files interchangeably between applications this may be a |
| part of the problem. <P> |
| |
| See also <A HREF="core.html#authname">AuthName</A>, |
| <A HREF="core.html#authtype">AuthType</A> and |
| <A HREF="#authdbmgroupfile">AuthDBMGroupFile</A>.<P> |
| |
| <HR> |
| <H2><A NAME="authdbmauthoritative">AuthDBMAuthoritative</A></H2> |
| <!--%plaintext <?INDEX {\tt AuthDBMAuthoritative} directive> --> |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Syntax" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Syntax:</STRONG></A> AuthDBMAuthoritative < <STRONG> on</STRONG>(default) | off > <BR> |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Context" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Context:</STRONG></A> directory, .htaccess<BR> |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Override" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Override:</STRONG></A> AuthConfig<BR> |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Status" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Status:</STRONG></A> Base<BR> |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Module" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Module:</STRONG></A> mod_auth<P> |
| |
| Setting the AuthDBMAuthoritative directive explicitly to <STRONG>'off'</STRONG> |
| allows for both authentication and authorization to be passed on |
| to lower level modules (as defined in the <CODE>Configuration</CODE> |
| and <CODE>modules.c</CODE> file if there is <STRONG>no userID</STRONG> or |
| <STRONG>rule</STRONG> matching the supplied userID. If there is a userID |
| and/or rule specified; the usual password and access checks will |
| be applied and a failure will give an Authorization Required reply. |
| <P> |
| So if a userID appears in the database of more than one module; or |
| if a valid require directive applies to more than one module; then |
| the first module will verify the credentials; and no access is |
| passed on; regardless of the AuthAuthoritative setting. <P> |
| |
| A common use for this is in conjunction with one of the basic auth |
| modules; such as <A HREF="mod_auth.html"><CODE>mod_auth.c</CODE></A>. |
| Whereas this DBM module supplies the bulk of the user credential |
| checking; a few (administrator) related accesses fall through to |
| a lower level with a well protected .htpasswd file. <P> |
| |
| <A |
| HREF="directive-dict.html#Default" |
| REL="Help" |
| ><STRONG>Default:</STRONG></A> By default; control is not passed on; and an unknown |
| userID or rule will result in an Authorization Required reply. Not |
| setting it thus keeps the system secure; and forces an NCSA compliant |
| behaviour. <P> |
| |
| Security: Do consider the implications of allowing a user to allow |
| fall-through in his .htaccess file; and verify that this is really |
| what you want; Generally it is easier to just secure a single |
| .htpasswd file, than it is to secure a database which might have |
| more access interfaces. |
| |
| <P> |
| See also <A HREF="core.html#authname">AuthName</A>, |
| <A HREF="core.html#authtype">AuthType</A> and |
| <A HREF="#authdbmgroupfile">AuthDBMGroupFile</A>.<P> |
| |
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