File Formats authattr(4)
NAME
authattr - authorization description database
SYNOPSIS
/etc/security/authattr
DESCRIPTION
/etc/security/authattr is a local source for authorization
names and descriptions. The authattr file can be used with
other authorization sources, including the authattr NIS map
and NIS] table. Programs use the getauthattr(3SECDB) rou-
tines to access this information.
The search order for multiple authorization sources is
specified in the /etc/nsswitch.conf file, as described in
the nsswitch.conf(4) man page.
An authorization is a right assigned to users that is
checked by certain privileged programs to determine whether
users can execute restricted functionality. Each entry in
the authattr database consists of one line of text contain-
ing six fields separated by colons (:). Line continuations
using the backslash (\) character are permitted. The format
of each entry is:
name:res1:res2:shortdesc:longdesc:attr
name The name of the authorization. Authorization
names are unique strings. Construct authoriza-
tion names using the following convention:
prefix. or prefix.suffix
prefix Everything in the name field up to
the final dot (.). Authorizations
from Sun Microsystems, Inc. use
solaris as a prefix. To avoid name
conflicts, all other authorizations
should use a prefix that begins with
the reverse-order Internet domain
name of the organization that
creates the authorization (for exam-
ple, com.xyzcompany). Prefixes can
have additional arbitrary components
chosen by the authorization's
developer, with components separated
by dots.
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jan 2002 1
File Formats authattr(4)
suffix The final component in the name
field. Specifies what is being
authorized.
When there is no suffix, the name is
defined as a heading. Headings are
not assigned to users but are con-
structed for use by applications in
their GUIs.
When a name ends with the word grant, the
entry defines a grant authorization. Grant
authorizations are used to support fine-
grained delegation. Users with appropriate
grant authorizations can delegate some of
their authorizations to others. To assign an
authorization, the user needs to have both the
authorization itself and the appropriate grant
authorization.
res1 Reserved for future use.
res2 Reserved for future use.
shortdesc A short description or terse name for the
authorization. This name should be suitable
for displaying in user interfaces, such as in
a scrolling list in a GUI.
longdesc A long description. This field can explain the
precise purpose of the authorization, the
applications in which it is used, and the type
of user that would be interested in using it.
The long description can be displayed in the
help text of an application.
attr An optional list of semicolon-separated (;)
key-value pairs that describe the attributes
of an authorization. Zero or more keys may be
specified. The keyword help identifies a help
file in HTML.
EXAMPLES
Example 1 Constructing a Name
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jan 2002 2
File Formats authattr(4)
In the following example, the name has a prefix
(solaris.admin.usermgr) followed by a suffix (read):
solaris.admin.usermgr.read
Example 2 Defining a Heading
Because the name field ends with a dot, the following entry
defines a heading:
solaris.admin.usermgr.:::User Accounts::help=AuthUsermgrHeader.html
Example 3 Assigning Separate Authorizations to Set User
Attributes
In this example, a heading entry is followed by other asso-
ciated authorization entries. The entries below the heading
provide separate authorizations for setting user attributes.
The attr field for each entry, including the heading entry,
assigns a help file. The application that uses the help key
requires the value to equal the name of a file ending in
.htm or .html:
solaris.admin.usermgr.:::User Accounts::help=AuthUsermgrHeader.html
solaris.admin.usermgr.pswd:::Change Password::help=AuthUserMgrPswd.html
solaris.admin.usermgr.write:::Manage Users::help=AuthUsermgrWrite.html
Example 4 Assigning a Grant Authorization
This example assigns to an administrator the following
authorizations:
solaris.admin.printer.grant
solaris.admin.printer.delete
solaris.admin.printer.modify
solaris.admin.printer.read
solaris.login.enable
With the above authorizations, the administrator can assign
to others the solaris.admin.printer.delete,
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jan 2002 3
File Formats authattr(4)
solaris.admin.printer.modify, and solaris.admin.printer.read
authorizations, but not the solaris.login.enable authoriza-
tion. If the administrator has both the grant authorization,
solaris.admin.printmgr.grant, and the wildcard authoriza-
tion, solaris.admin.printmgr.*, the administrator can grant
to others any of the printer authorizations. See
userattr(4) for more information about how wildcards can be
used to assign multiple authorizations whose names begin
with the same components.
Example 5 Authorizing the Ability to Assign Other Authoriza-
tions
The following entry defines an authorization that grants the
ability to assign any authorization created with a solaris
prefix, when the administrator also has either the specific
authorization being granted or a matching wildcard entry:
solaris.grant:::Grant All Solaris Authorizations::help=PriAdmin.html
Example 6 Consulting the Local Authorization File Ahead of
the NIS Table
With the following entry from /etc/nsswitch.conf, the local
authattr file is consulted before the NIS table:
authattr:files nisplus
FILES
/etc/nsswitch.conf
/etc/userattr
/etc/security/authattr
SEE ALSO
getauthattr(3SECDB), getexecattr(3SECDB),
getprofattr(3SECDB), getuserattr(3SECDB), execattr(4),
nsswitch.conf(4), userattr(4)
NOTES
When deciding which authorization source to use, keep in
mind that NIS] provides stronger authentication than NIS.
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jan 2002 4
File Formats authattr(4)
Because the list of legal keys is likely to expand, any code
that parses this database must be written to ignore unknown
key-value pairs without error. When any new keywords are
created, the names should be prefixed with a unique string,
such as the company's stock symbol, to avoid potential nam-
ing conflicts.
Each application has its own requirements for whether the
help value must be a relative pathname ending with a
filename or the name of a file. The only known requirement
is for the name of a file.
The following characters are used in describing the database
format and must be escaped with a backslash if used as data:
colon (:), semicolon (;), equals (=), and backslash (\).
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 9 Jan 2002 5
|
