Apache Authentication

The Apache Authentication plugin makes StatusNet let Apache handle authentication.

It also retrieves user attributes from LDAP during auto-registration and because of this depends on the LdapCommon plugin.

Please note that this plugin has not been tested for security vulnerabilities and should be considered alpha quality at best (though it's being used in my office of 60 or so people without issue). Please set it up on a test instance first so that it doesn't affect your existing users.

It probably relies too heavily on your environment being like mine; if you get it to work please let me know what you had to change to do so and I'll incorporate those changes (or simply fork and send me a pull request).

Installation

Copy these files to plugins/ApacheAuthentication within your StatusNet installation.

Add a configuration stanza like

"addPlugin('apacheAuthentication',
   array('setting'=>'value', 'setting2'=>'value2', ...);"

to the bottom of your config.php.

Settings

• provider_name: required, this is an identifier designated to the connection.

  It's how StatusNet will refer to the authentication source. For the most part, any name can be used, so long as each authentication source has a different identifier. In most cases there will be only one authentication source used.

• authoritative (false): Set to true if LDAP's responses are authoritative (if authorative and LDAP fails, no other password checking will be done).

• autoregistration (false): Set to true if users should be automatically created when they attempt to login.

• domain: The domain to append to a user's username to create their email address

• email_changeable (true): Are users allowed to change their email address? (true or false)

• password_changeable (true): Are users allowed to change their passwords? (true or false)

• password_encoding: required if users are to be able to change their passwords Possible values are: crypt, ext_des, md5crypt, blowfish, md5, sha, ssha, smd5, ad, clear

• host: required, LDAP server name to connect to. You can provide several hosts in an array in which case the hosts are tried from left to right.

• port: Port on the server.

• version: LDAP version.

• starttls: TLS is started after connecting.

• binddn: The distinguished name to bind as (username).

• bindpw: Password for the binddn.

• basedn: required, LDAP base name (root directory).

• options

• filter: Default search filter.

• scope: Default search scope.

• schema_cachefile: File location to store ldap schema.

• schema_maxage: TTL for cache file.

• attributes: an array that relates StatusNet user attributes to LDAP ones

  • username: required, LDAP attribute value entered when authenticating to StatusNet
  • nickname: required, LDAP attribute value shown as the user's nickname
  • email
  • fullname
  • homepage
  • location
  • password: required if users are to be able to change their passwords

Default values are in (parenthesis)

See the Net_LDAP2 manual for additional information about these options.

For most LDAP installations, the "nickname" and "username" attributes should be the same.

Example

Here's an example apache2 configuration snippet that specifies Kerberos authentication using Likewise Open:

   <Directory /home/www/statusnet>
      # This uses mod_auth_kerb from Likewise
      AuthType Kerberos
      AuthName "Kerberos Login"

      KrbAuthRealms GLOBAL.LOC
      KrbAuthoritative on
      KrbMethodNegotiate on
      KrbMethodK5Passwd on
      KrbVerifyKDC off
      Krb5Keytab /etc/apache2/status.ktb

      Require valid-user
   </Directory>

Here's an example of an Apache Authentication plugin configuration that connects to Microsoft Active Directory.

addPlugin('apacheAuthentication', array(
    'provider_name'=>'Example',
    'authoritative'=>true,
    'autoregistration'=>true,
    'domain'=>'global.loc',
    'binddn'=>'username',
    'bindpw'=>'password',
    'basedn'=>'OU=Users,OU=StatusNet,OU=US,DC=americas,DC=global,DC=loc',
    'host'=>array('server1', 'server2'),
    'password_encoding'=>'ad',
    'attributes'=>array(
        'username'=>'sAMAccountName',
        'nickname'=>'sAMAccountName',
        'email'=>'mail',
        'fullname'=>'displayName',
        'password'=>'unicodePwd')
));

FAQ

Q: I get the following (or similar) error

Fatal error: Class User_username contains 1 abstract method and must therefore be 
declared abstract or implement the remaining methods (Managed_DataObject::schemaDef)
in /path/to/User_username.php on line 63

A: This has been observed previously and a patch submitted.