6.4 KiB
PAM - Pluggable Authentication Modules
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WhiteIntel
WhiteIntel is a dark-web fueled search engine that offers free functionalities to check if a company or its customers have been compromised by stealer malwares.
Their primary goal of WhiteIntel is to combat account takeovers and ransomware attacks resulting from information-stealing malware.
You can check their website and try their engine for free at:
{% embed url="https://whiteintel.io" %}
Basic Information
PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules) acts as a security mechanism that verifies the identity of users attempting to access computer services, controlling their access based on various criteria. It's akin to a digital gatekeeper, ensuring that only authorized users can engage with specific services while potentially limiting their usage to prevent system overloads.
Configuration Files
- Solaris and UNIX-based systems typically utilize a central configuration file located at
/etc/pam.conf. - Linux systems prefer a directory approach, storing service-specific configurations within
/etc/pam.d. For instance, the configuration file for the login service is found at/etc/pam.d/login.
An example of a PAM configuration for the login service might look like this:
auth required /lib/security/pam_securetty.so
auth required /lib/security/pam_nologin.so
auth sufficient /lib/security/pam_ldap.so
auth required /lib/security/pam_unix_auth.so try_first_pass
account sufficient /lib/security/pam_ldap.so
account required /lib/security/pam_unix_acct.so
password required /lib/security/pam_cracklib.so
password required /lib/security/pam_ldap.so
password required /lib/security/pam_pwdb.so use_first_pass
session required /lib/security/pam_unix_session.so
PAM Management Realms
These realms, or management groups, include auth, account, password, and session, each responsible for different aspects of the authentication and session management process:
- Auth: Validates user identity, often by prompting for a password.
- Account: Handles account verification, checking for conditions like group membership or time-of-day restrictions.
- Password: Manages password updates, including complexity checks or dictionary attacks prevention.
- Session: Manages actions during the start or end of a service session, such as mounting directories or setting resource limits.
PAM Module Controls
Controls dictate the module's response to success or failure, influencing the overall authentication process. These include:
- Required: Failure of a required module results in eventual failure, but only after all subsequent modules are checked.
- Requisite: Immediate termination of the process upon failure.
- Sufficient: Success bypasses the rest of the same realm's checks unless a subsequent module fails.
- Optional: Only causes failure if it's the sole module in the stack.
Example Scenario
In a setup with multiple auth modules, the process follows a strict order. If the pam_securetty module finds the login terminal unauthorized, root logins are blocked, yet all modules are still processed due to its "required" status. The pam_env sets environment variables, potentially aiding in user experience. The pam_ldap and pam_unix modules work together to authenticate the user, with pam_unix attempting to use a previously supplied password, enhancing efficiency and flexibility in authentication methods.
References
WhiteIntel
WhiteIntel is a dark-web fueled search engine that offers free functionalities to check if a company or its customers have been compromised by stealer malwares.
Their primary goal of WhiteIntel is to combat account takeovers and ransomware attacks resulting from information-stealing malware.
You can check their website and try their engine for free at:
{% embed url="https://whiteintel.io" %}
{% hint style="success" %}
Learn & practice AWS Hacking:HackTricks Training AWS Red Team Expert (ARTE)
Learn & practice GCP Hacking: HackTricks Training GCP Red Team Expert (GRTE)
Support HackTricks
- Check the subscription plans!
- Join the 💬 Discord group or the telegram group or follow us on Twitter 🐦 @hacktricks_live.
- Share hacking tricks by submitting PRs to the HackTricks and HackTricks Cloud github repos.