JAAS Authentication

JAAS is a Java standard authentication and authorization API. JAAS is configured via externalized plain text configuration file. Using JAAS with CAS allows modification of the authentication process without having to rebuild and redeploy CAS and allows for PAM-style multi-module “stacked” authentication.

Configuration

JAAS components are provided in the CAS core module and require no additional dependencies to use. The JAAS handler delegates to the built-in JAAS subsystem to perform authentication according to the directives in the JAAS config file.

The following settings and properties are available from the CAS configuration catalog:

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-encoder.encoding-algorithmThe encoding algorithm to use such as MD5 .

no default

Required

The encoding algorithm to use such as MD5. Relevant when the type used is DEFAULT or GLIBC_CRYPT. When used with PasswordEncoderTypes#PBKDF2, it should be one of PBKDF2WithHmacSHA1, PBKDF2WithHmacSHA256 or PBKDF2WithHmacSHA512.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: PasswordEncoderProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-encoder.typeDefine the password encoder type to use.

NONE

Required

Define the password encoder type to use. Type may be specified as blank or NONE to disable password encoding. It may also refer to a fully-qualified class name that implements the Spring Security's PasswordEncoder interface if you wish you define your own encoder.

The following types may be used:

NONE: No password encoding (i.e. plain-text) takes place.
DEFAULT: Use the DefaultPasswordEncoder of CAS. For message-digest algorithms via character-encoding and encoding-algorithm.
BCRYPT: Use the BCryptPasswordEncoder based on the strength provided and an optional secret.
SCRYPT: Use the SCryptPasswordEncoder.
PBKDF2: Use the Pbkdf2PasswordEncoder based on the strength provided and an optional secret.
STANDARD: Use the StandardPasswordEncoder based on the secret provided.
SSHA: Use the LdapShaPasswordEncoder supports Ldap SHA and SSHA (salted-SHA). The values are base-64 encoded and have the label {SHA} or {SSHA} prepended to the encoded hash.
GLIBC_CRYPT: Use the GlibcCryptPasswordEncoder based on the encoding-algorithm, strength provided and an optional secret.
org.example.MyEncoder: An implementation of PasswordEncoder of your own choosing.
file:///path/to/script.groovy: Path to a Groovy script charged with handling password encoding operations.

Type: String
Default: NONE
Defined by: PasswordEncoderProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.groovy.locationHandle password policy via Groovy script.

no default

Required

Handle password policy via Groovy script. The location of the resource. Resources can be URLs, or files found either on the classpath or outside somewhere in the file system.

In the event the configured resource is a Groovy script, especially if the script is set to reload on changes, you may need to adjust the total number of inotify instances. On Linux, you may need to add the following line to /etc/sysctl.conf: fs.inotify.max_user_instances = 256.

You can check the current value via cat /proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_user_instances.

In situations and scenarios where CAS is able to automatically watch the underlying resource for changes and detect updates and modifications dynamically, you may be able to specify the following setting as either an environment variable or system property with a value of false to disable the resource watcher: org.apereo.cas.util.io.PathWatcherService.

Type: Resource
Default: none
Defined by: SpringResourceProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal-transformation.groovy.locationTransform usernames using a Groovy resource.

no default

Required

Transform usernames using a Groovy resource. The location of the resource. Resources can be URLs, or files found either on the classpath or outside somewhere in the file system.

You can check the current value via cat /proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_user_instances.

Type: Resource
Default: none
Defined by: SpringResourceProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal.principal-transformation.groovy.locationTransform usernames using a Groovy resource.

no default

Required

Transform usernames using a Groovy resource. The location of the resource. Resources can be URLs, or files found either on the classpath or outside somewhere in the file system.

You can check the current value via cat /proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_user_instances.

Type: Resource
Default: none
Defined by: SpringResourceProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].realmJAAS realm to use.

no default

Required

JAAS realm to use.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: JaasAuthenticationProperties

cas.authn.jaasCollection of settings related to JAAS authentication.

no default

Collection of settings related to JAAS authentication. These settings are required to be indexed (i.e. jaas[0].xyz).

Type: List<JaasAuthenticationProperties>
Default: none
Defined by: AuthenticationProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].credential-criteriaA number of authentication handlers are allowed to determine whether they can operate on the provided credential and as such lend themselves to be tried and tested during the authentication handler selection phase.

no default

Regex

A number of authentication handlers are allowed to determine whether they can operate on the provided credential and as such lend themselves to be tried and tested during the authentication handler selection phase. The credential criteria may be one of the following options:

1) A regular expression pattern that is tested against the credential identifier.
2) A fully qualified class name of your own design that implements Predicate.
3) Path to an external Groovy script that implements the same interface.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: JaasAuthenticationProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].kerberos-kdc-system-propertyTypically, the default realm and the KDC for that realm are indicated in the Kerberos krb5.conf configuration file.

no default

Typically, the default realm and the KDC for that realm are indicated in the Kerberos krb5.conf configuration file. However, if you like, you can instead specify the realm value by setting this following system property value.

If you set the realm property, you SHOULD also configure the kerberos KDC system property.

Also note that if you set these properties, then no cross-realm authentication is possible unless a krb5.conf file is also provided from which the additional information required for cross-realm authentication may be obtained.

If you set values for these properties, then they override the default realm and KDC values specified in krb5.conf (if such a file is found). The krb5.conf file is still consulted if values for items other than the default realm and KDC are needed. If no krb5.conf file is found, then the default values used for these items are implementation-specific.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: JaasAuthenticationProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].kerberos-realm-system-propertyTypically, the default realm and the KDC for that realm are indicated in the Kerberos krb5.conf configuration file.

no default

If you set the realm property, you SHOULD also configure the kerberos KDC system property.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: JaasAuthenticationProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].login-config-typeTypically set to JavaLoginConfig which is the default Configuration implementation from the SUN provider.

no default

Typically set to JavaLoginConfig which is the default Configuration implementation from the SUN provider. This type accepts a URI/path to a configuration file as a valid parameter type specified via #loginConfigurationFile. If this parameter is not specified, then the configuration information is loaded from the sources described in the ConfigFile class specification. If this parameter is specified, the configuration information is loaded solely from the specified URI.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: JaasAuthenticationProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].login-configuration-filePath to the location of configuration file (i.e. jaas.conf) that contains the realms and login modules.

no default

Path to the location of configuration file (i.e. jaas.conf) that contains the realms and login modules.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: JaasAuthenticationProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].nameName of the authentication handler.

no default

Name of the authentication handler.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: JaasAuthenticationProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].orderOrder of the authentication handler in the chain.

2147483647

Order of the authentication handler in the chain.

Type: int
Default: 2147483647
Defined by: JaasAuthenticationProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-encoder.character-encodingThe encoding algorithm to use such as 'UTF-8'.

UTF-8

The encoding algorithm to use such as 'UTF-8'. Relevant when the type used is DEFAULT.

Type: String
Default: UTF-8
Defined by: PasswordEncoderProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-encoder.hash-lengthWhen used by PasswordEncoderTypes#ARGON2 , it indicates the hash strength/length.

16

When used by PasswordEncoderTypes#ARGON2, it indicates the hash strength/length.

Type: int
Default: 16
Defined by: PasswordEncoderProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-encoder.iterationsWhen used by PasswordEncoderTypes#PBKDF2 , it indicates the required number of iterations.

310000

When used by PasswordEncoderTypes#PBKDF2, it indicates the required number of iterations.

Type: int
Default: 310000
Defined by: PasswordEncoderProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-encoder.secretSecret to use with PasswordEncoderTypes#STANDARD , PasswordEncoderTypes#PBKDF2 , PasswordEncoderTypes#BCRYPT , PasswordEncoderTypes#GLIBC_CRYPT password encoders.

no default

Secret to use with PasswordEncoderTypes#STANDARD, PasswordEncoderTypes#PBKDF2, PasswordEncoderTypes#BCRYPT, PasswordEncoderTypes#GLIBC_CRYPT password encoders. Secret usually is an optional setting.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: PasswordEncoderProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-encoder.strengthStrength or number of iterations to use for password hashing.

16

Strength or number of iterations to use for password hashing. Usually relevant when dealing with PasswordEncoderTypes#BCRYPT, PasswordEncoderTypes#PBKDF2 or PasswordEncoderTypes#GLIBC_CRYPT. When used by PasswordEncoderTypes#ARGON2 or PasswordEncoderTypes#PBKDF2, it indicates the salt strength.

Type: int
Default: 16
Defined by: PasswordEncoderProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.account-state-handling-enabledIndicates whether account state handling should be enabled to process warnings or errors reported back from the authentication response, produced by the source.

true

Indicates whether account state handling should be enabled to process warnings or errors reported back from the authentication response, produced by the source.

Type: boolean
Default: true
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.display-warning-on-matchIndicates if warning should be displayed, when the ldap attribute value matches the #warningAttributeValue .

true

Indicates if warning should be displayed, when the ldap attribute value matches the #warningAttributeValue.

Type: boolean
Default: true
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.enabledWhether password policy should be enabled.

true

Whether password policy should be enabled.

Type: boolean
Default: true
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.login-failuresWhen dealing with FreeIPA, indicates the number of allows login failures.

5

When dealing with FreeIPA, indicates the number of allows login failures.

Type: int
Default: 5
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.policy-attributesKey-value structure (Map) that indicates a list of boolean attributes as keys.

no default

Key-value structure (Map) that indicates a list of boolean attributes as keys. If either attribute value is true, indicating an account state is flagged, the corresponding error can be thrown. Example accountLocked=javax.security.auth.login.AccountLockedException

Type: Map<String, Class<? extends LoginException>>
Default: none
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.strategyDecide how authentication should handle password policy changes.

DEFAULT

Decide how authentication should handle password policy changes. Available values are as follows:

DEFAULT: Default option to handle policy changes.
GROOVY: Handle account password policies via Groovy.
REJECT_RESULT_CODE: Strategy to only activate password policy if the authentication response code is not blocked.

Type: PasswordPolicyProperties.PasswordPolicyHandlingOptions
Default: DEFAULT
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.warn-allAlways display the password expiration warning regardless.

no default

Always display the password expiration warning regardless.

Type: boolean
Default: none
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.warning-attribute-nameUsed by an account state handling policy that only calculates account warnings in case the entry carries this attribute.

no default

Used by an account state handling policy that only calculates account warnings in case the entry carries this attribute.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.warning-attribute-valueUsed by an account state handling policy that only calculates account warnings in case the entry carries an attribute #warningAttributeName whose value matches this field.

no default

Used by an account state handling policy that only calculates account warnings in case the entry carries an attribute #warningAttributeName whose value matches this field.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.warning-daysThis is used to calculate a warning period to see if account expiry is within the calculated window.

30

This is used to calculate a warning period to see if account expiry is within the calculated window.

Type: int
Default: 30
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal-transformation.blocking-patternA regular expression that will be used against the username to match for blocking/forbidden values.

no default

SpEL

A regular expression that will be used against the username to match for blocking/forbidden values. If a match is found, an exception will be thrown and principal transformation will fail.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: PrincipalTransformationProperties
Supports: Spring Expression Language

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal-transformation.case-conversionIndicate whether the principal identifier should be transformed into upper-case, lower-case, etc.

NONE

Indicate whether the principal identifier should be transformed into upper-case, lower-case, etc. Available values are as follows:

NONE: No conversion.
LOWERCASE: Lowercase conversion.
UPPERCASE: Uppercase conversion.

Type: PrincipalTransformationProperties.CaseConversion
Default: NONE
Defined by: PrincipalTransformationProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal-transformation.patternA regular expression that will be used against the provided username for username extractions.

no default

SpEL

A regular expression that will be used against the provided username for username extractions. On a successful match, the first matched group in the pattern will be used as the extracted username.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: PrincipalTransformationProperties
Supports: Spring Expression Language

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal-transformation.prefixPrefix to add to the principal id prior to authentication.

no default

SpEL

Prefix to add to the principal id prior to authentication.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: PrincipalTransformationProperties
Supports: Spring Expression Language

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal-transformation.suffixSuffix to add to the principal id prior to authentication.

no default

SpEL

Suffix to add to the principal id prior to authentication.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: PrincipalTransformationProperties
Supports: Spring Expression Language

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal.active-attribute-repository-idsActivated attribute repository identifiers that should be used for fetching attributes if attribute resolution is enabled.

*

Activated attribute repository identifiers that should be used for fetching attributes if attribute resolution is enabled. The list here may include identifiers separated by comma.

Type: String
Default: *
Defined by: PersonDirectoryPrincipalResolverProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal.attribute-repository-selectionControl the behavior of the attribute repository selection by authentication method or handler.

no default

Control the behavior of the attribute repository selection by authentication method or handler. The map here is keyed by the authentication handler name, and the value is the attribute repository identifiers separated by comma. When the authentication handler is executed, the attribute repositories assigned to this handler will be selected to fetch attributes. Note that the resolution engine will always favor attribute repositories assigned to the service definition, if any and as part of its authentication policy, over this global setting.

Type: Map<String, String>
Default: none
Defined by: PersonDirectoryPrincipalResolverProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal.attribute-resolution-enabledWhether attribute repositories should be contacted to fetch person attributes.

UNDEFINED

Whether attribute repositories should be contacted to fetch person attributes. Defaults to true if not set. Available values are as follows:

TRUE: Constant to represent the true state.
FALSE: Constant to represent the false state.
UNDEFINED: Constant to represent the undefined state.

Type: TriStateBoolean
Default: UNDEFINED
Defined by: PersonDirectoryPrincipalResolverProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal.principal-attributeAttribute name to use to indicate the identifier of the principal constructed.

no default

Attribute name to use to indicate the identifier of the principal constructed. If the attribute is blank or has no values, the default principal id will be used determined by the underlying authentication engine. The principal id attribute usually is removed from the collection of attributes collected, though this behavior depends on the schematics of the underlying authentication strategy.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: PersonDirectoryPrincipalResolverProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal.principal-resolution-conflict-strategyIn the event that the principal resolution engine resolves more than one principal, (especially if such principals in the chain have different identifiers), this setting determines strategy by which the principal id w...

last

In the event that the principal resolution engine resolves more than one principal, (especially if such principals in the chain have different identifiers), this setting determines strategy by which the principal id would be chosen from the chain. Accepted values are: last, first.

Type: String
Default: last
Defined by: PersonDirectoryPrincipalResolverProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal.principal-resolution-failure-fatalWhen true, throws an error back indicating that principal resolution has failed and no principal can be found based on the authentication requirements.

UNDEFINED

When true, throws an error back indicating that principal resolution has failed and no principal can be found based on the authentication requirements. Otherwise, logs the condition as an error without raising a catastrophic error. Available values are as follows:

TRUE: Constant to represent the true state.
FALSE: Constant to represent the false state.
UNDEFINED: Constant to represent the undefined state.

Type: TriStateBoolean
Default: UNDEFINED
Defined by: PersonDirectoryPrincipalResolverProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal.principal-transformation.blocking-patternA regular expression that will be used against the username to match for blocking/forbidden values.

no default

SpEL

A regular expression that will be used against the username to match for blocking/forbidden values. If a match is found, an exception will be thrown and principal transformation will fail.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: PrincipalTransformationProperties
Supports: Spring Expression Language

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal.principal-transformation.case-conversionIndicate whether the principal identifier should be transformed into upper-case, lower-case, etc.

NONE

Indicate whether the principal identifier should be transformed into upper-case, lower-case, etc. Available values are as follows:

NONE: No conversion.
LOWERCASE: Lowercase conversion.
UPPERCASE: Uppercase conversion.

Type: PrincipalTransformationProperties.CaseConversion
Default: NONE
Defined by: PrincipalTransformationProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal.principal-transformation.patternA regular expression that will be used against the provided username for username extractions.

no default

SpEL

A regular expression that will be used against the provided username for username extractions. On a successful match, the first matched group in the pattern will be used as the extracted username.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: PrincipalTransformationProperties
Supports: Spring Expression Language

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal.principal-transformation.prefixPrefix to add to the principal id prior to authentication.

no default

SpEL

Prefix to add to the principal id prior to authentication.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: PrincipalTransformationProperties
Supports: Spring Expression Language

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal.principal-transformation.suffixSuffix to add to the principal id prior to authentication.

no default

SpEL

Suffix to add to the principal id prior to authentication.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: PrincipalTransformationProperties
Supports: Spring Expression Language

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal.return-nullReturn a null principal object if no attributes can be found for the principal.

UNDEFINED

Return a null principal object if no attributes can be found for the principal. Available values are as follows:

TRUE: Constant to represent the true state.
FALSE: Constant to represent the false state.
UNDEFINED: Constant to represent the undefined state.

Type: TriStateBoolean
Default: UNDEFINED
Defined by: PersonDirectoryPrincipalResolverProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].principal.use-existing-principal-idUses an existing principal id that may have already been established in order to run person directory queries.

UNDEFINED

Uses an existing principal id that may have already been established in order to run person directory queries. This is generally useful in situations where authentication is delegated to an external identity provider and a principal is first established to then query an attribute source. Available values are as follows:

TRUE: Constant to represent the true state.
FALSE: Constant to represent the false state.
UNDEFINED: Constant to represent the undefined state.

Type: TriStateBoolean
Default: UNDEFINED
Defined by: PersonDirectoryPrincipalResolverProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].stateDefine the scope and state of this authentication handler and the lifecycle in which it can be invoked or activated.

ACTIVE

Define the scope and state of this authentication handler and the lifecycle in which it can be invoked or activated. Available values are as follows:

ACTIVE: Active authentication handler, and is invoked by default automatically to verify credentials globally.
STANDBY: Authentication handler is in a semi-enabled state, waiting to be called only on-demand when explicitly asked for.

Type: AuthenticationHandlerStates
Default: ACTIVE
Defined by: JaasAuthenticationProperties

Required settings may be needed to activate or affect the feature; review them even when they have a default. Optional settings only need to be set to change a default or to turn on the behavior they control. Third party settings belong to libraries such as Spring Boot that CAS builds on; their own documentation may have more detail.

Groovy scripting

CAS takes advantage of Apache Groovy in forms of either embedded or external scripts that allow one to, by default, dynamically build constructs, attributes, access strategies and a lot more. To activate the functionality described here, you may need to prepare CAS to support and integrate with Apache Groovy.

Please review this guide to configure your build.

Authentication

Certain authentication handlers are allowed to determine whether they can operate on the provided credential and as such lend themselves to be tried and tested during the authentication handler selection phase. The credential criteria may be one of the following options:

A regular expression pattern that is tested against the credential identifier.
A fully qualified class name of your own design that looks similar to the below example:

import java.util.function.Predicate;
import org.apereo.cas.authentication.Credential;

public class PredicateExample implements Predicate<Credential> {
    @Override
    public boolean test(final Credential credential) {
        // Examine the credential and return true/false
    }
}

Path to an external Groovy script that looks similar to the below example:

import org.apereo.cas.authentication.Credential
import java.util.function.Predicate

class PredicateExample implements Predicate<Credential> {
    @Override
    boolean test(final Credential credential) {
        // test and return result
    }
}

To prepare CAS to support and integrate with Apache Groovy, please review this guide.

Password encoding

If you need to design your own password encoding scheme where the type is specified as a fully qualified Java class name, the structure of the class would be similar to the following:

package org.example.cas;

import org.springframework.security.crypto.codec.*;
import org.springframework.security.crypto.password.*;

public class MyEncoder extends AbstractPasswordEncoder {
    @Override
    protected byte[] encode(CharSequence rawPassword, byte[] salt) {
        return ...
    }
}

If you need to design your own password encoding scheme where the type is specified as a path to a Groovy script, the structure of the script would be similar to the following:

import java.util.*

byte[] run(final Object... args) {
    def (rawPassword,generatedSalt,logger,applicationContext) = args
    logger.debug("Encoding password...")
    return ...
}

Boolean matches(final Object... args) {
    def (rawPassword,encodedPassword,logger,applicationContext) = args
    logger.debug("Does match or not ?");
    return ...

To prepare CAS to support and integrate with Apache Groovy, please review this guide.

Password policy

Password Policy Strategies

If the password policy strategy is to be handed off to a Groovy script, the outline of the script may be as follows:

import java.util.*
import org.ldaptive.auth.*
import org.apereo.cas.*
import org.apereo.cas.authentication.*
import org.apereo.cas.authentication.support.*

List<MessageDescriptor> run(final Object... args) {
    def (response,configuration,logger,applicationContext) = args
    logger.info("Handling password policy [{}] via ${configuration.getAccountStateHandler()}", response)

    def accountStateHandler = configuration.getAccountStateHandler()
    return accountStateHandler.handle(response, configuration)
}

The parameters passed are as follows:

Parameter	Description
`response`	The LDAP authentication response of type `org.ldaptive.auth.AuthenticationResponse`
`configuration`	The LDAP password policy configuration carrying the account state handler defined.
`logger`	The object responsible for issuing log messages such as `logger.info(...)`.
`applicationContext`	The Spring `ApplicationContext` that allows one to interact with the runtime.

To prepare CAS to support and integrate with Apache Groovy, please review this guide.

Principal transformation

Authentication handlers that generally deal with username-password credentials can be configured to transform the user id prior to executing the authentication sequence. Each authentication strategy in CAS provides settings to properly transform the principal. Refer to the relevant settings for the authentication strategy at hand to learn more.

Authentication handlers as part of principal transformation may also be provided a path to a Groovy script to transform the provided username. The outline of the script may take on the following form:

String run(final Object... args) {
    def (providedUsername,logger) = args
    return providedUsername.concat("SomethingElse")
}

To prepare CAS to support and integrate with Apache Groovy, please review this guide.

Notes on configuration

Configuration Metadata

The collection of configuration properties listed in this section are automatically generated from the CAS source and components that contain the actual field definitions, types, descriptions, modules, etc. This metadata may not always be 100% accurate, or could be lacking details and sufficient explanations.

Be Selective

This section is meant as a guide only. Do NOT copy/paste the entire collection of settings into your CAS configuration; rather pick only the properties that you need. Do NOT enable settings unless you are certain of their purpose and do NOT copy settings into your configuration only to keep them as reference. All these ideas lead to upgrade headaches, maintenance nightmares and premature aging.

YAGNI

Note that for nearly ALL use cases, declaring and configuring properties listed here is sufficient. You should NOT have to explicitly massage a CAS XML/Java/etc configuration file to design an authentication handler, create attribute release policies, etc. CAS at runtime will auto-configure all required changes for you. If you are unsure about the meaning of a given CAS setting, do NOT turn it on without hesitation. Review the codebase or better yet, ask questions to clarify the intended behavior.

Naming Convention

Property names can be specified in very relaxed terms. For instance cas.someProperty, cas.some-property, cas.some_property are all valid names. While all forms are accepted by CAS, there are certain components (in CAS and other frameworks used) whose activation at runtime is conditional on a property value, where this property is required to have been specified in CAS configuration using kebab case. This is both true for properties that are owned by CAS as well as those that might be presented to the system via an external library or framework such as Spring Boot, etc.

Note

When possible, properties should be stored in lower-case kebab format, such as cas.property-name=value. The only possible exception to this rule is when naming actuator endpoints; The name of the actuator endpoints (i.e. ssoSessions) MUST remain in camelCase mode.

Settings and properties that are controlled by the CAS platform directly always begin with the prefix cas. All other settings are controlled and provided to CAS via other underlying frameworks and may have their own schemas and syntax. BE CAREFUL with the distinction. Unrecognized properties are rejected by CAS and/or frameworks upon which CAS depends. This means if you somehow misspell a property definition or fail to adhere to the dot-notation syntax and such, your setting is entirely refused by CAS and likely the feature it controls will never be activated in the way you intend.

Validation

Configuration properties are automatically validated on CAS startup to report issues with configuration binding, especially if defined CAS settings cannot be recognized or validated by the configuration schema. Additional validation processes are also handled via Configuration Metadata and property migrations applied automatically on startup by Spring Boot and family.

Indexed Settings

CAS settings able to accept multiple values are typically documented with an index, such as cas.some.setting[0]=value. The index [0] is meant to be incremented by the adopter to allow for distinct multiple configuration blocks.

Password Policy

JAAS authentication components have limited support for detecting account status and password policy settings defined via CAS settings.

The following settings and properties are available from the CAS configuration catalog:

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.groovy.locationHandle password policy via Groovy script.

no default

Required

Handle password policy via Groovy script. The location of the resource. Resources can be URLs, or files found either on the classpath or outside somewhere in the file system.

You can check the current value via cat /proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_user_instances.

Type: Resource
Default: none
Defined by: SpringResourceProperties

true

Indicates whether account state handling should be enabled to process warnings or errors reported back from the authentication response, produced by the source.

Type: boolean
Default: true
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.display-warning-on-matchIndicates if warning should be displayed, when the ldap attribute value matches the #warningAttributeValue .

true

Indicates if warning should be displayed, when the ldap attribute value matches the #warningAttributeValue.

Type: boolean
Default: true
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.enabledWhether password policy should be enabled.

true

Whether password policy should be enabled.

Type: boolean
Default: true
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.login-failuresWhen dealing with FreeIPA, indicates the number of allows login failures.

5

When dealing with FreeIPA, indicates the number of allows login failures.

Type: int
Default: 5
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.policy-attributesKey-value structure (Map) that indicates a list of boolean attributes as keys.

no default

Type: Map<String, Class<? extends LoginException>>
Default: none
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.strategyDecide how authentication should handle password policy changes.

DEFAULT

Decide how authentication should handle password policy changes. Available values are as follows:

DEFAULT: Default option to handle policy changes.
GROOVY: Handle account password policies via Groovy.
REJECT_RESULT_CODE: Strategy to only activate password policy if the authentication response code is not blocked.

Type: PasswordPolicyProperties.PasswordPolicyHandlingOptions
Default: DEFAULT
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.warn-allAlways display the password expiration warning regardless.

no default

Always display the password expiration warning regardless.

Type: boolean
Default: none
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.warning-attribute-nameUsed by an account state handling policy that only calculates account warnings in case the entry carries this attribute.

no default

Used by an account state handling policy that only calculates account warnings in case the entry carries this attribute.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

no default

Used by an account state handling policy that only calculates account warnings in case the entry carries an attribute #warningAttributeName whose value matches this field.

Type: String
Default: none
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

cas.authn.jaas[0].password-policy.warning-daysThis is used to calculate a warning period to see if account expiry is within the calculated window.

30

This is used to calculate a warning period to see if account expiry is within the calculated window.

Type: int
Default: 30
Defined by: PasswordPolicyProperties

Groovy scripting

Please review this guide to configure your build.

Password policy

Password Policy Strategies

If the password policy strategy is to be handed off to a Groovy script, the outline of the script may be as follows:

import java.util.*
import org.ldaptive.auth.*
import org.apereo.cas.*
import org.apereo.cas.authentication.*
import org.apereo.cas.authentication.support.*

List<MessageDescriptor> run(final Object... args) {
    def (response,configuration,logger,applicationContext) = args
    logger.info("Handling password policy [{}] via ${configuration.getAccountStateHandler()}", response)

    def accountStateHandler = configuration.getAccountStateHandler()
    return accountStateHandler.handle(response, configuration)
}

The parameters passed are as follows:

Parameter	Description
`response`	The LDAP authentication response of type `org.ldaptive.auth.AuthenticationResponse`
`configuration`	The LDAP password policy configuration carrying the account state handler defined.
`logger`	The object responsible for issuing log messages such as `logger.info(...)`.
`applicationContext`	The Spring `ApplicationContext` that allows one to interact with the runtime.

To prepare CAS to support and integrate with Apache Groovy, please review this guide.

Notes on configuration

Configuration Metadata

Be Selective

YAGNI

Naming Convention

Note

Validation

Indexed Settings

JAAS Configuration File

The default JAAS configuration file is located at $JRE_HOME/lib/security/java.security. It’s important to note that JAAS configuration applies to the entire JVM. The path to the JAAS configuration file in effect may be altered by setting the java.security.auth.login.config system property to an alternate file path (i.e. file:/etc/cas/config/jaas.config).

A sample JAAS configuration file is provided for reference.

/**
  * Login Configuration for JAAS with the realm name defined as CAS.
  */
CAS {
  org.sample.jaas.login.SampleLoginModule sufficient
    debug=FALSE;
};

The following login modules are available with CAS:

JNDI

The module prompts for a username and password and then verifies the password against the password stored in a directory service configured under JNDI.

CAS {
  com.sun.security.auth.module.JndiLoginModule sufficient
    user.provider.url=name_service_url
    group.provider.url=name_service_url
    debug=FALSE;
};

The value of name_service_url specifies the directory service and path where this module can access the relevant user and group information. Because this module only performs one-level searches to find the relevant user information, the URL must point to a directory one level above where the user and group information is stored in the directory service.

For a list of all other options and more comprehensive documentation, please see this guide for more info.

Kerberos

This module authenticates users using Kerberos protocols. The configuration entry for module has several options that control the authentication process and additions to the Subject’s private credential set. Irrespective of these options, the Subject’s principal set and private credentials set are updated only when commit is called. When commit is called, the KerberosPrincipal is added to the Subject’s principal set and KerberosTicket is added to the Subject’s private credentials.

If the configuration entry for module has the option storeKey set to true, then KerberosKey will also be added to the subject’s private credentials. KerberosKey, the principal’s key will be either obtained from the keytab or derived from user’s password.

This module also recognizes the doNotPrompt option. If set to true the user will not be prompted for the password. The user can specify the location of the ticket cache by using the option ticketCache in the configuration entry. The user can specify the keytab location by using the option keyTab in the configuration entry.

The principal name can be specified in the configuration entry by using the option principal. The principal name can either be a simple user name or a service name such as host/mission.eng.sun.com. The principal can also be set using the system property sun.security.krb5.principal. This property is checked during login. If this property is not set, then the principal name from the configuration is used. In the case where the principal property is not set and the principal entry also does not exist, the user is prompted for the name. When this property of entry is set, and useTicketCache is set to true, only TGT belonging to this principal is used.

Note that a valid krb5.conf must be supplied to the JVM for Kerberos auth via setting -Djava.security.krb5.conf=/etc/krb5.conf.

CAS {
  com.sun.security.auth.module.Krb5LoginModule sufficient
    refreshKrb5Config=TRUE/FALSE
    useTicketCache=TRUE/FALSE
    ticketCache=...
    renewTGT=TRUE/FALSE
    useKeyTab=TRUE/FALSE
    doNotPrompt=TRUE/FALSE
    keyTab=TRUE/FALSE
    storeKey=TRUE/FALSE
    principal=...
    debug=FALSE;
};

For a list of all other options and more comprehensive documentation, please see this guide for more info.

UNIX

This module imports a user’s Unix Principal information (UnixPrincipal, UnixNumericUserPrincipal, and UnixNumericGroupPrincipal) and associates them with the current Subject.

CAS {
  com.sun.security.auth.module.UnixLoginModule sufficient
    debug=FALSE;
};

For a list of all other options and more comprehensive documentation, please see this guide for more info.

NT

This module renders a user’s NT security information as some number of Principals and associates them with a Subject.

CAS {
  com.sun.security.auth.module.NTLoginModule sufficient
    debugNative=TRUE
    debug=FALSE;
};

For a list of all other options and more comprehensive documentation, please see this guide for more info.

LDAP

This module performs LDAP-based authentication. A username and password is verified against the corresponding user credentials stored in an LDAP directory. If authentication is successful then a new LdapPrincipal is created using the user’s distinguished name and a new UserPrincipal is created using the user’s username and both are associated with the current Subject.

For a list of all other options and more comprehensive documentation, please see this guide for more info.

This module operates in one of three modes. A mode is selected by specifying a particular set of options:

Search First

In search-first mode, the LDAP directory is searched to determine the user’s distinguished name and then authentication is attempted. An (anonymous) search is performed using the supplied username in conjunction with a specified search filter. If successful then authentication is attempted using the user’s distinguished name and the supplied password. To enable this mode, set the userFilter option and omit the authIdentity option. Use search-first mode when the user’s distinguished name is not known in advance.

The example below identifies the LDAP server and specifies that users’ entries be located by their uid and objectClass attributes. It also specifies that an identity based on the user’s employeeNumber attribute should be created.

CAS {
  com.sun.security.auth.module.LdapLoginModule REQUIRED
    userProvider="ldap://ldap-svr/ou=people,dc=example,dc=com"
    userFilter="(&(uid={USERNAME})(objectClass=inetOrgPerson))"
    authzIdentity="{EMPLOYEENUMBER}"
    debug=true;
};

Authentication First

In authentication-first mode, authentication is attempted using the supplied username and password and then the LDAP directory is searched. If authentication is successful then a search is performed using the supplied username in conjunction with a specified search filter. To enable this mode, set the authIdentity and the userFilter options. Use authentication-first mode when accessing an LDAP directory that has been configured to disallow anonymous searches.

The example below requests that the LDAP server be located dynamically, that authentication be performed using the supplied username directly but without the protection of SSL and that users’ entries be located by one of three naming attributes and their objectClass attribute.

CAS {
  com.sun.security.auth.module.LdapLoginModule REQUIRED
    userProvider="ldap:///cn=users,dc=example,dc=com"
    authIdentity="{USERNAME}"
    userFilter="(&(|(samAccountName={USERNAME})(userPrincipalName={USERNAME})(cn={USERNAME}))(objectClass=user))"
    useSSL=false
    debug=true;
};

Authentication Only

In authentication-only mode, authentication is attempted using the supplied username and password. The LDAP directory is not searched because the user’s distinguished name is already known. To enable this mode, set the authIdentity option to a valid distinguished name and omit the userFilter option. Use authentication-only mode when the user’s distinguished name is known in advance.

The example below identifies alternative LDAP servers, it specifies the distinguished name to use for authentication and a fixed identity to use for authorization. No directory search is performed.

CAS {
  com.sun.security.auth.module.LdapLoginModule REQUIRED
    userProvider="ldap://ldap-svr1 ldap://ldap-svr2"
    authIdentity="cn={USERNAME},ou=people,dc=example,dc=com"
    authzIdentity="staff"
    debug=true;
  };

Ldaptive

Ldaptive provides several login modules for authentication and authorization against an LDAP. Each module accepts properties that correspond to the setters on objects in the ldaptive code base. If you are looking to set a specific configuration option that is available as a setter, the chances are that it will be accepted on the module. Any unknown options will be passed to the provider as a generic property.

In order to take advantage of the login modules provided by Ldaptive, the following dependency must be present and added to the overlay:

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apereo.cas</groupId>
    <artifactId>cas-server-support-ldap-core</artifactId>
    <version>${cas.version}</version>
</dependency>

implementation "org.apereo.cas:cas-server-support-ldap-core:${project.'cas.version'}"

dependencyManagement {
    imports {
        mavenBom "org.apereo.cas:cas-server-support-bom:${project.'cas.version'}"
    }
}

dependencies {
    implementation "org.apereo.cas:cas-server-support-ldap-core"
}

dependencies {
    /*
        The following platform references are included automatically and are listed for reference only.

        implementation enforcedPlatform("org.apereo.cas:cas-server-support-bom:${project.'cas.version'}")
        implementation platform(org.springframework.boot.gradle.plugin.SpringBootPlugin.BOM_COORDINATES)
        
    */
    implementation "org.apereo.cas:cas-server-support-ldap-core"
}

Keystore

This module prompts for a key store alias and populates the subject with the alias’s principal and credentials. Stores an X500Principal for the subject distinguished name of the first certificate in the alias’s credentials in the subject’s principals, the alias’s certificate path in the subject’s public credentials, and a X500PrivateCredential whose certificate is the first certificate in the alias’s certificate path and whose private key is the alias’s private key in the subject’s private credentials.

CAS {
  com.sun.security.auth.module.KeyStoreLoginModule sufficient
    keyStoreURL=...
    keyStoreType=
    keyStoreProvider=...
    keyStoreAlias=...
    keyStorePasswordURL=...
    privateKeyPasswordURL=...
    protected=...
    debug=FALSE;
};

For a list of all other options and more comprehensive documentation, please see this guide for more info.

Deployments

If your deployment strategy ultimately uses an embedded container, you can pass along the location of the JAAS configuration file in form of a system property as such:

java -Djava.security.auth.login.config=file:/etc/cas/config/jaas.config -jar ...

Alternatively, you may activate the login configuration type to be JavaLoginConfig in the CAS settings and specify the path to the jaas configuration file there in the settings directly.

For more information on configuration management, please review this guide.

JAAS Authentication

Configuration

Password Policy

JAAS Configuration File

Login Modules

JNDI

Kerberos

UNIX

NT

LDAP

Search First

Authentication First

Authentication Only

Ldaptive

Keystore

Deployments