---
name: "basic_ncsa_auth"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "squid"
version: "7.7-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/basic_ncsa_auth"
---

# basic\_ncsa\_auth(8)

NCSA httpd-style password file authentication helper for Squid

## NAME

basic\_ncsa\_auth - NCSA httpd-style password file authentication helper for Squid

## SYNOPSIS

**basic\_ncsa\_auth** passwd file

## DESCRIPTION

**basic\_ncsa\_auth** allows Squid to read and authenticate user and password information from an NCSA/Apache httpd-style password file when using basic HTTP authentication.

This password file can be manipulated using **htpasswd.**

This authenticator accepts:\
  \* Blowfish - for passwords 72 characters or less in length.\
  \* SHA256 - with salting and magic strings.\
  \* SHA512 - with salting and magic strings.\
  \* MD5 - with optional salt and magic strings.\
  \* DES - for passwords 8 characters or less in length. NOTE: Blowfish and SHA algorithms require system-specific support.

## OPTIONS

The only parameter is the password file. It must have permissions to be read by the user that Squid is running as.

## CONFIGURATION

**basic\_ncsa\_auth /etc/squid/squid.pass**

**basic\_ncsa\_auth** must have access to the password file to be executed.

## KNOWN ISSUES

DES functionality (used by htpasswd by default) silently truncates passwords to 8 characters. Allowing login with password values shorter than the one desired. This authenticator will reject login with long passwords when using DES.

## AUTHOR

This manual was written by *Amos Jeffries \<amosjeffries@squid-cache.org\>*

Based on original documentation by *Rodrigo Rubira Branco \<rrbranco@br.ibm.com\>*

## COPYRIGHT

 \* Copyright (C) 1996-2026 The Squid Software Foundation and contributors\
  \*\
  \* Squid software is distributed under GPLv2+ license and includes\
  \* contributions from numerous individuals and organizations.\
  \* Please see the COPYING and CONTRIBUTORS files for details.

This file is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this file; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA

## QUESTIONS

Questions on the usage of this program can be sent to the *Squid Users mailing list* \<squid-users@lists.squid-cache.org\>

## REPORTING BUGS

Bug reports need to be made in English. See https://wiki.squid-cache.org/SquidFaq/BugReporting for details of what you need to include with your bug report.

Report bugs or bug fixes using https://bugs.squid-cache.org/

Report serious security bugs to *Squid Bugs \<squid-bugs@lists.squid-cache.org\>*

Report ideas for new improvements to the *Squid Developers mailing list* \<squid-dev@lists.squid-cache.org\>

## SEE ALSO

[**squid**(8)](/squid/8.md),  [**htpasswd**(1)](/htpasswd/1.md),  **GPL**(7), \
 The Squid FAQ wiki https://wiki.squid-cache.org/SquidFaq\
 The Squid Configuration Manual http://www.squid-cache.org/Doc/config/