6.35. pam_timestamp - authenticate using cached successful authentication attempts
pam_timestamp.so [
timestampdir=directory
] [
timestamp_timeout=number
] [
verbose
] [
debug
]
In a nutshell, pam_timestamp caches successful
authentication attempts, and allows you to use a recent successful attempt as
the basis for authentication. This is similar mechanism which is used in
sudo.
When an application opens a session using pam_timestamp,
a timestamp file is created in the timestampdir directory
for the user. When an application attempts to authenticate the user, a
pam_timestamp will treat a sufficiently recent timestamp
file as grounds for succeeding.
-
timestampdir=directory
Specify an alternate directory where
pam_timestamp creates timestamp files.
-
timestamp_timeout=number
How long should pam_timestamp
treat timestamp as valid after their
last modification date (in seconds). Default is 300 seconds.
-
verbose
Attempt to inform the user when access is granted.
-
debug
Turns on debugging messages sent to syslog(3).
6.35.3. MODULE TYPES PROVIDED
The auth and session
module types are provided.
- PAM_AUTH_ERR
The module was not able to retrieve the user name or
no valid timestamp file was found.
- PAM_SUCCESS
Everything was successful.
- PAM_SESSION_ERR
Timestamp file could not be created or updated.
Users can get confused when they are not always asked for passwords when
running a given program. Some users reflexively begin typing information before
noticing that it is not being asked for.
auth sufficient pam_timestamp.so verbose
auth required pam_unix.so
session required pam_unix.so
session optional pam_timestamp.so
/var/run/pam_timestamp/...timestamp files and directories
pam_timestamp was written by Nalin Dahyabhai.