This chapter covers the pluggable authentication module (PAM). PAM provides a framework to plug in checks for users of applications on the Oracle Solaris OS. PAM provides a central framework for managing the use of applications, including authenticating the user, managing password changes, closing and opening the user's session, and tracking account limitations, such as time of day. PAM is extensible to third-party applications, and therefore can provide seamless management of access to services on a system.
This chapter covers the following topics: