NAME
pam_authenticate – perform authentication within the PAM framework
LIBRARY
library “libpam”
SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <security/pam_appl.h>
int
pam_authenticate(pam_handle_t *pamh, int flags);
DESCRIPTION
The pam_authenticate function attempts to authenticate the user associated with the pam context specified by the pamh argument.
The application is free to call pam_authenticate as many times as it wishes, but some modules may maintain an internal retry counter and return PAM_MAXTRIES when it exceeds some preset or hardcoded limit.
The flags argument is the binary or of zero or more of the following values:
- PAM_SILENT
-
Do not emit any messages.
- PAM_DISALLOW_NULL_AUTHTOK
-
Fail if the user's authentication token is null.
If any other bits are set, pam_authenticate will return PAM_SYMBOL_ERR.
RETURN VALUES
The pam_authenticate function returns one of the following values:
- [PAM_ABORT]
-
General failure.
- [PAM_AUTHINFO_UNAVAIL]
-
Authentication information is unavailable.
- [PAM_AUTH_ERR]
-
Authentication error.
- [PAM_BUF_ERR]
-
Memory buffer error.
- [PAM_CONV_ERR]
-
Conversation failure.
- [PAM_CRED_INSUFFICIENT]
-
Insufficient credentials.
- [PAM_MAXTRIES]
-
Maximum number of tries exceeded.
- [PAM_PERM_DENIED]
-
Permission denied.
- [PAM_SERVICE_ERR]
-
Error in service module.
- [PAM_SYMBOL_ERR]
-
Invalid symbol.
- [PAM_SYSTEM_ERR]
-
System error.
- [PAM_USER_UNKNOWN]
-
Unknown user.
SEE ALSO
STANDARDS
X/Open Single Sign-On Service (XSSO) - Pluggable Authentication Modules, June 1997.
AUTHORS
The pam_authenticate function and this manual page were developed for the FreeBSD Project by ThinkSec AS and Network Associates Laboratories, the Security Research Division of Network Associates, Inc. under DARPA/SPAWAR contract N66001-01-C-8035 (“CBOSS”), as part of the DARPA CHATS research program.