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Wiki / Authentication Methods

pam

Authenticate using the Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) service provided by the operating system. See Section 20.13 for details.

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Method
pam
Configuration
pg_hba.conf
Inventory
User-visible source authentication method
aliases
Unknown
manual path
/docs/18/auth-pam.html
signature
Unknown

Definition PG 18

20.13. PAM Authentication

This authentication method operates similarly to password except that it uses PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules) as the authentication mechanism. The default PAM service name is postgresql. PAM is used only to validate user name/password pairs and optionally the connected remote host name or IP address. Therefore the user must already exist in the database before PAM can be used for authentication. For more information about PAM, please read the Linux-PAM Page.

The following configuration options are supported for PAM:

pamservice

PAM service name.

pam_use_hostname

Determines whether the remote IP address or the host name is provided to PAM modules through the PAM_RHOST item. By default, the IP address is used. Set this option to 1 to use the resolved host name instead. Host name resolution can lead to login delays. (Most PAM configurations don't use this information, so it is only necessary to consider this setting if a PAM configuration was specifically created to make use of it.)

Note

If PAM is set up to read /etc/shadow, authentication will fail because the PostgreSQL server is started by a non-root user. However, this is not an issue when PAM is configured to use LDAP or other authentication methods.

Documented method options and alternatives

Option or termMeaning
pamservicePAM service name.
pam_use_hostnameDetermines whether the remote IP address or the host name is provided to PAM modules through the PAM_RHOST item. By default, the IP address is used. Set this option to 1 to use the resolved host name instead. Host name resolution can lead to login delays. (Most PAM configurations don't use this information, so it is only necessary to consider this setting if a PAM configuration was specifically created to make use of it.)

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Complete source facts

attributes

{"configuration":"pg_hba.conf","inventory":"User-visible source authentication method","method":"pam"}

Source references

Full definition and evidence JSON

Definition sources

center · PostgreSQL 18 · 555610c24d53e4316da5b7d3fc25c279d96856d5e0e23ee308c328c5fa881d9f

Text language: en · 555610c24d53e4316da5b7d3fc25c279d96856d5e0e23ee308c328c5fa881d9f