This module provides for HTTP Basic Authentication, where
the usernames and passwords are stored in DBM type database
files. It is an alternative to the plain text password files
provided by
The
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.
Security: make sure that the
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:
The key for the single DBM is the username. The value consists of
The password section contains the encrypted 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.
The
The user file is keyed on the username. The value for a user is the encrypted password, optionally followed by a colon and arbitrary data. The colon and the data following it will be ignored by the server.
Make sure that the
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.
A perl script called
Sets the type of database file that is used to store the passwords. The default database type is determined at compile time. The availability of other types of database files also depends on compile-time settings.
It is crucial that whatever program you use to create your password files is configured to use the same type of database.
Setting the Off
allows for both
authentication and authorization to be passed on to lower level
modules (as defined in the modules.c
files) if there
is no userID or rule 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 "Authentication Required" reply.
So if a userID appears in the database of more than one module;
or if a valid
A common use for this is in conjunction with one of the
basic auth modules; such as .htpasswd
file.
By default, control is not passed on and an unknown userID or rule will result in an "Authentication Required" reply. Not setting it thus keeps the system secure and forces an NCSA compliant behaviour.
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.