Re: Encrypting pg_shadow passwords - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

From Jim Mercer
Subject Re: Encrypting pg_shadow passwords
Date
Msg-id 20010626001245.K1599@reptiles.org
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: Encrypting pg_shadow passwords  (Bruce Momjian <pgman@candle.pha.pa.us>)
Responses Re: Encrypting pg_shadow passwords  (Bruce Momjian <pgman@candle.pha.pa.us>)
List pgsql-hackers
On Tue, Jun 26, 2001 at 12:00:35AM -0400, Bruce Momjian wrote:
> One good point you have is what do we do with 'password' authentication
> once we encrypt pg_shadow.  My guess is that we just disallow it.  It is
> insecure and was only there for clients that couldn't do crypt.  They
> all have that now.  It should just go away.  We kept it around for the
> secondary password file but those secondary password files are the same
> once pg_shadow is encrypted.

i would be content if the API allowed me to pass it a plain-text password,
and that was compared against pg_shadow, where the password is stored
encrypted.

at this point in time, i do not see a method of doing that without my mods
or using external password files.

if the API as above existed, then i would be happy to see "password" go away
(although it should be depreciated to a --enable option, otherwise you are
going to ruin a bunch of existing code).

> One item of my plan is that you can encrypt individual users.  You don't
> have to do them all at once in case you have older clients for some
> users but not others.

it would be nice (in my opinion) if you could have multiple (cascade) entries
in pg_hba.conf.

and a flag in pg_shadow to "appoint" a blessed scheme.

ie. if a user identd's ok, and the identd flag is set in pg_shadow, then
it is ok.  otherwise, move on to the next pg_hba.conf entry.

the reasoning for this is that i (and i assume others) have two classes of
access.  some type of authenticated client/user and scripts.

hardcoding passwords in scripts is just wrong.

i sometimes have "localhost" set up on ident, and non-localhost on some
type of passord/crypt type thing.  but i don't want to allow all local users
access via ident.

i recognize that some of this can be done with the ident mapping facility,
but again, that is an external file, and thus presents management issues.

-- 
[ Jim Mercer        jim@reptiles.org         +1 416 410-5633 ]
[ Now with more and longer words for your reading enjoyment. ]


pgsql-hackers by date:

Previous
From: Jim Mercer
Date:
Subject: Re: Encrypting pg_shadow passwords
Next
From: Bruce Momjian
Date:
Subject: Re: Encrypting pg_shadow passwords