---
name: "Catalyst::Authentication::Credential::Password"
section: "3pm"
platform: "linux"
package: "libcatalyst-plugin-authentication-perl"
version: "0.10024-1"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/Catalyst::Authentication::Credential::Password"
---

# Catalyst::Authentication::Credential::Password(3pm)

Authenticate a user with a password.

## NAME

Catalyst::Authentication::Credential::Password - Authenticate a user with a password.

## SYNOPSIS

```
    use Catalyst qw/
      Authentication
      /;
    package MyApp::Controller::Auth;
    sub login : Local {
        my ( $self, $c ) = @_;
        $c->authenticate( { username => $c->req->param('username'),
                            password => $c->req->param('password') });
    }
```

## DESCRIPTION

This authentication credential checker takes authentication information (most often a username) and a password, and attempts to validate the password provided against the user retrieved from the store.

## CONFIGURATION

```
    # example
    __PACKAGE__->config('Plugin::Authentication' =>
                {
                    default_realm => 'members',
                    realms => {
                        members => {
                            credential => {
                                class => 'Password',
                                password_field => 'password',
                                password_type => 'hashed',
                                password_hash_type => 'SHA-1'
                            },
                            ...
```

The password module is capable of working with several different password encryption/hashing algorithms. The one the module uses is determined by the credential configuration.

Those who have used Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication prior to the 0.10 release should note that the password field and type information is no longer part of the store configuration and is now part of the Password credential configuration.

- class

  The classname used for Credential. This is part of Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication and is the method by which Catalyst::Authentication::Credential::Password is loaded as the credential validator. For this module to be used, this must be set to 'Password'.

- password\_field

  The field in the user object that contains the password. This will vary depending on the storage class used, but is most likely something like 'password'. In fact, this is so common that if this is left out of the config, it defaults to 'password'. This field is obtained from the user object using the **get()** method. Essentially: `$user`-\>get('passwordfieldname'); **NOTE** If the password\_field is something other than 'password', you must be sure to use that same field name when calling `$c`-\>**authenticate()**.

- password\_type

  This sets the password type.  Often passwords are stored in crypted or hashed formats.  In order for the password module to verify the plaintext password passed in, it must be told what format the password will be in when it is retrieved from the user object. The supported options are:

  - none

    No password check is done. An attempt is made to retrieve the user based on the information provided in the `$c`-\>**authenticate()** call. If a user is found, authentication is considered to be successful.

  - clear

    The password in user is in clear text and will be compared directly.

  - self\_check

    This option indicates that the password should be passed to the **check\_password()** routine on the user object returned from the store.

  - crypted

    The password in user is in UNIX crypt hashed format.

  - salted\_hash

    The password in user is in salted hash format, and will be validated using Crypt::SaltedHash.  If this password type is selected, you should also provide the **password\_salt\_len** config element to define the salt length.

  - hashed

    If the user object supports hashed passwords, they will be used in conjunction with Digest. The following config elements affect the hashed configuration:

    - password\_hash\_type

      The hash type used, passed directly to "new" in Digest.

    - password\_pre\_salt

      Any pre-salt data to be passed to "add" in Digest before processing the password.

    - password\_post\_salt

      Any post-salt data to be passed to "add" in Digest after processing the password.

## USAGE

The Password credential module is very simple to use. Once configured as indicated above, authenticating using this module is simply a matter of calling `$c`-\>**authenticate()** with an authinfo hashref that includes the **password** element. The password element should contain the password supplied by the user to be authenticated, in clear text. The other information supplied in the auth hash is ignored by the Password module, and simply passed to the auth store to be used to retrieve the user. An example call follows:

```
    if ($c->authenticate({ username => $username,
                           password => $password} )) {
        # authentication successful
    } else {
        # authentication failed
    }
```

## METHODS

There are no publicly exported routines in the Password module (or indeed in most credential modules.)  However, below is a description of the routines required by Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication for all credential modules.

### new( $config, $app, $realm )

Instantiate a new Password object using the configuration hash provided in `$config`. A reference to the application is provided as the second argument. Note to credential module authors: **new()** is called during the application's plugin setup phase, which is before the application specific controllers are loaded. The practical upshot of this is that things like `$c`-\>model(...) will not function as expected.

### authenticate( $authinfo, $c )

Try to log a user in, receives a hashref containing authentication information as the first argument, and the current context as the second.

### check\_password( )