PAM_TIMESTAMP

Section: Linux\-PAM Manual (8)
Updated: 11/25/2020
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NAME

pam_timestamp - Authenticate using cached successful authentication attempts

SYNOPSIS

pam_timestamp.so [timestampdir=directory] [timestamp_timeout=number] [verbose] [debug]

DESCRIPTION

In a nutshell, pam_timestamp caches successful authentication attempts, and allows you to use a recent successful attempt as the basis for authentication. This is similar mechanism which is used in sudo.

When an application opens a session using pam_timestamp, a timestamp file is created in the timestampdir directory for the user. When an application attempts to authenticate the user, a pam_timestamp will treat a sufficiently recent timestamp file as grounds for succeeding.

OPTIONS

timestampdir=directory

: Specify an alternate directory where pam_timestamp creates timestamp files.

timestamp_timeout=number

: How long should pam_timestamp treat timestamp as valid after their last modification date (in seconds). Default is 300 seconds.

verbose

: Attempt to inform the user when access is granted.

debug

: Turns on debugging messages sent to syslog(3).

MODULE TYPES PROVIDED

The auth and session module types are provided.

RETURN VALUES

PAM_AUTH_ERR

: The module was not able to retrieve the user name or no valid timestamp file was found.

PAM_SUCCESS

: Everything was successful.

PAM_SESSION_ERR

: Timestamp file could not be created or updated.

NOTES

Users can get confused when they are not always asked for passwords when running a given program. Some users reflexively begin typing information before noticing that it is not being asked for.

EXAMPLES

auth sufficient pam_timestamp.so verbose
auth required   pam_unix.so

session required pam_unix.so
session optional pam_timestamp.so

FILES

/var/run/pam_timestamp/...

: timestamp files and directories

AUTHOR

pam_timestamp was written by Nalin Dahyabhai.