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PAM_AUTHENTICATE(3)                     BSD Library Functions Manual                     PAM_AUTHENTICATE(3)

NAME
     pam_authenticate -- perform authentication within the PAM framework

LIBRARY
     Pluggable Authentication Module Library (libpam, -lpam)

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

     int
     pam_authenticate(pam_handle_t *pamh, int flags);

DESCRIPTION
     The pam_authenticate function attempts to authenticate the user associated with the pam context speci-fied specified
     fied by the pamh argument.

     The application is free to call pam_authenticate as many times as it wishes, but some modules may main-tain maintain
     tain 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:

     PAM_SILENT          Do not emit any messages.

     PAM_DISALLOW_NULL_AUTHTOK
                         Fail if the user's authentication token is null.

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

RETURN VALUES
     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.

SEE ALSO
     pam(3), pam_strerror(3)

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

AUTHORS
     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.

BSD                                           December 21, 2007                                          BSD