Linux-PAM-0.78

Introduction to Linux-PAM

The Linux-PAM package contains Pluggable Authentication Modules. This is useful to enable the local system administrator to choose how applications authenticate users.

Package information

Download (HTTP): http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/libs/pam/pre/library/Linux-PAM-0.78.tar.bz2
Download (FTP): ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/libs/pam/pre/library/Linux-PAM-0.78.tar.bz2
Download MD5 sum: 34938b4f2449d4d3b2ffdbf354257205
Download size: 364 KB
Estimated disk space required: 6.1 MB
Estimated build time: 0.07 SBU

Additional download

Required Patch: http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/blfs/downloads/6.0/Linux-PAM-0.78-linkage-2.patch

Linux-PAM dependencies

Optional

sgmltools-lite and Berkeley DB-4.3.27 (for pam_userdb module)

Installation of Linux-PAM

Install Linux-PAM by running the following commands:

patch -Np1 -i ../Linux-PAM-0.78-linkage-2.patch &&
autoconf &&
sed -i 's/(mandir)/(MANDIR)/g' modules/Simple.Rules &&
./configure --enable-static-libpam --with-mailspool=/var/mail \
    --enable-read-both-confs --sysconfdir=/etc &&
make

Now, as the root user:

make install &&
mv /lib/libpam.a /lib/libpam_misc.a /lib/libpamc.a /usr/lib &&
rm /lib/libpam{,c,_misc}.so &&
ln -sf ../../lib/libpam.so.0.78 /usr/lib/libpam.so &&
ln -sf ../../lib/libpam_misc.so.0.78 /usr/lib/libpam_misc.so &&
ln -sf ../../lib/libpamc.so.0.78 /usr/lib/libpamc.so

Command explanations

autoconf: This is necessary because the patch changes where PAM looks for the cracklib libraries, requiring regeneration of the configure script.

sed -i 's/(mandir)/(MANDIR)/g' modules/Simple.Rules: This command puts the module manpages with the rest of the manpages in /usr/share/man.

--enable-static-libpam: This switch builds static PAM libraries as well as the dynamic libraries.

--with-mailspool=/var/mail: This switch makes the mailspool directory FHS compliant.

--enable-read-both-confs: This switch lets the local administrator choose which configuration file setup to use.

mv /lib/libpam.a /lib/libpam_misc.a /lib/libpamc.a /usr/lib: This command moves the static libraries to /usr/lib to comply with FHS guidelines.

rm /lib/libpam{,c,_misc}.so; ln -sf ... /usr/lib/...: These commands move the .so symlinks from /lib to /usr/lib.

Configuring Linux-PAM

Config files

/etc/pam.d/* or /etc/pam.conf

Configuration Information

Configuration information is placed in /etc/pam.d/ or /etc/pam.conf depending on user preference. Below are example files of each type:

# Begin /etc/pam.d/other

auth            required        pam_unix.so     nullok
account         required        pam_unix.so
session         required        pam_unix.so
password        required        pam_unix.so     nullok

# End /etc/pam.d/other

# Begin /etc/pam.conf

other           auth            required        pam_unix.so     nullok
other           account         required        pam_unix.so
other           session         required        pam_unix.so
other           password        required        pam_unix.so     nullok

# End /etc/pam.conf

The PAM man page (man pam) provides a good starting point for descriptions of fields and allowable entries. The Linux-PAM guide for system administrators is recommended for further reading.

Refer to http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/libs/pam/modules.html for a list of various modules available.

Note

You should now reinstall the Shadow-4.0.4.1 package.

Beyond Linux From Scratch - Version 6.0

Chapter 4. Security