PAM_AUTHENTICATE(3) Library Functions Manual PAM_AUTHENTICATE(3)

pam_authenticate — perform authentication within the PAM framework

Pluggable Authentication Module Library (libpam, -lpam)

#include <sys/types.h>
#include <security/pam_appl.h>

int
pam_authenticate(pam_handle_t *pamh, int flags);

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:

Do not emit any messages.
Fail if the user's authentication token is null.

If any other bits are set, pam_authenticate will return PAM_SYMBOL_ERR.

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.

pam(3), pam_strerror(3)

X/Open Single Sign-On Service (XSSO) - Pluggable Authentication Modules, June 1997.

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.

December 21, 2007 macOS 15.2