man pages section 4: File Formats

auth_attr(4)

Name

auth_attr– authorization description database

Synopsis

/etc/security/auth_attr

Description

/etc/security/auth_attr is a local source for authorization names and descriptions. The auth_attr file can be used with other authorization sources, including the auth_attr NIS map and NIS+ table. Programs use the getauthattr(3SECDB) routines 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 auth_attr database consists of one line of text containing six fields separated by colons (:). Line continuations using the backslash (\) character are permitted. The format of each entry is:

name:res1:res2:short_desc:long_desc:attr

name

The name of the authorization. Authorization names are unique strings. Construct authorization 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 example, com.xyzcompany). Prefixes can have additional arbitrary components chosen by the authorization's developer, with components separated by dots.

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 constructed 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.

short_desc

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.

long_desc

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

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 associated 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, solaris.admin.printer.modify, and solaris.admin.printer.read authorizations, but not the solaris.login.enable authorization. If the administrator has both the grant authorization, solaris.admin.printmgr.grant, and the wildcard authorization, solaris.admin.printmgr.*, the administrator can grant to others any of the printer authorizations. See user_attr(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 Authorizations

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 auth_attr file is consulted before the NIS table:

auth_attr:files nisplus

Files

/etc/nsswitch.conf

/etc/user_attr

/etc/security/auth_attr

Notes

When deciding which authorization source to use, keep in mind that NIS+ provides stronger authentication than NIS.

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 naming 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 5.10 Last Revised 9 Jan 2002