3 package Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication;
5 use base qw/Class::Accessor::Fast Class::Data::Inheritable/;
8 __PACKAGE__->mk_accessors(qw/_user/);
17 # this optimization breaks under Template::Toolkit
18 # use user_exists instead
21 # constant->import(have_want => eval { require Want });
24 our $VERSION = "0.09999_01";
26 sub set_authenticated {
27 my ( $c, $user, $realmname ) = @_;
30 $c->request->{user} = $user; # compatibility kludge
33 $realmname = 'default';
36 if ( $c->isa("Catalyst::Plugin::Session")
37 and $c->config->{authentication}{use_session}
38 and $user->supports("session") )
40 $c->save_user_in_session($user, $realmname);
42 $user->auth_realm($realmname);
44 $c->NEXT::set_authenticated($user, $realmname);
47 sub _should_save_user_in_session {
48 my ( $c, $user ) = @_;
50 $c->_auth_sessions_supported
51 and $c->config->{authentication}{use_session}
52 and $user->supports("session");
55 sub _should_load_user_from_session {
56 my ( $c, $user ) = @_;
58 $c->_auth_sessions_supported
59 and $c->config->{authentication}{use_session}
60 and $c->session_is_valid;
63 sub _auth_sessions_supported {
65 $c->isa("Catalyst::Plugin::Session");
75 if ( defined($c->_user) ) {
78 return $c->auth_restore_user;
82 # change this to allow specification of a realm - to verify the user is part of that realm
83 # in addition to verifying that they exist.
86 return defined($c->_user) || defined($c->_user_in_session);
89 # works like user_exists - except only returns true if user
90 # exists AND is in the realm requested.
92 my ($c, $realmname) = @_;
94 if (defined($c->_user)) {
95 return ($c->_user->auth_realm eq $realmname);
96 } elsif (defined($c->_user_in_session)) {
97 return ($c->session->{__user_realm} eq $realmname);
103 sub save_user_in_session {
104 my ( $c, $user, $realmname ) = @_;
106 $c->session->{__user_realm} = $realmname;
108 # we want to ask the store for a user prepared for the session.
109 # but older modules split this functionality between the user and the
110 # store. We try the store first. If not, we use the old method.
111 my $realm = $c->get_auth_realm($realmname);
112 if ($realm->{'store'}->can('for_session')) {
113 $c->session->{__user} = $realm->{'store'}->for_session($c, $user);
115 $c->session->{__user} = $user->for_session;
125 $c->isa("Catalyst::Plugin::Session")
126 and $c->config->{authentication}{use_session}
127 and $c->session_is_valid
129 delete @{ $c->session }{qw/__user __user_realm/};
132 $c->NEXT::logout(@_);
136 my ( $c, $userinfo, $realmname ) = @_;
138 $realmname ||= 'default';
139 my $realm = $c->get_auth_realm($realmname);
140 if ( $realm->{'store'} ) {
141 return $realm->{'store'}->find_user($userinfo, $c);
143 $c->log->debug('find_user: unable to locate a store matching the requested realm');
148 sub _user_in_session {
151 return unless $c->_should_load_user_from_session;
153 return $c->session->{__user};
156 sub auth_restore_user {
157 my ( $c, $frozen_user, $realmname ) = @_;
159 $frozen_user ||= $c->_user_in_session;
160 return unless defined($frozen_user);
162 $realmname ||= $c->session->{__user_realm};
163 return unless $realmname; # FIXME die unless? This is an internal inconsistency
165 my $realm = $c->get_auth_realm($realmname);
166 $c->_user( my $user = $realm->{'store'}->from_session( $c, $frozen_user ) );
168 # this sets the realm the user originated in.
169 $user->auth_realm($realmname);
174 # we can't actually do our setup in setup because the model has not yet been loaded.
175 # So we have to trigger off of setup_finished. :-(
179 $app->_authentication_initialize();
180 $app->NEXT::setup(@_);
183 ## the actual initialization routine. whee.
184 sub _authentication_initialize {
187 ## let's avoid recreating / configuring everything if we have already done it, eh?
188 if ($app->can('_auth_realms')) { return };
190 ## make classdata where it is used.
191 $app->mk_classdata( '_auth_realms' => {});
193 my $cfg = $app->config->{'authentication'} ||= {};
195 $cfg->{use_session} = 1;
197 if (exists($cfg->{'realms'})) {
198 foreach my $realm (keys %{$cfg->{'realms'}}) {
199 $app->setup_auth_realm($realm, $cfg->{'realms'}{$realm});
201 # if we have a 'default-realm' in the config hash and we don't already
202 # have a realm called 'default', we point default at the realm specified
203 if (exists($cfg->{'default_realm'}) && !$app->get_auth_realm('default')) {
204 $app->_set_default_auth_realm($cfg->{'default_realm'});
208 ## BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY - if realm is not defined - then we are probably dealing
209 ## with an old-school config. The only caveat here is that we must add a classname
211 foreach my $storename (keys %{$cfg->{'stores'}}) {
213 store => $cfg->{'stores'}{$storename},
215 $app->setup_auth_realm($storename, $realmcfg);
222 sub setup_auth_realm {
223 my ($app, $realmname, $config) = @_;
225 $app->log->debug("Setting up $realmname");
226 if (!exists($config->{'store'}{'class'})) {
227 Carp::croak "Couldn't setup the authentication realm named '$realmname', no class defined";
231 my $storeclass = $config->{'store'}{'class'};
233 ## follow catalyst class naming - a + prefix means a fully qualified class, otherwise it's
234 ## taken to mean C::P::A::Store::(specifiedclass)
235 if ($storeclass !~ /^\+(.*)$/ ) {
236 $storeclass = "Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::Store::${storeclass}";
242 # a little niceness - since most systems seem to use the password credential class,
243 # if no credential class is specified we use password.
244 $config->{credential}{class} ||= "Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::Credential::Password";
246 my $credentialclass = $config->{'credential'}{'class'};
248 ## follow catalyst class naming - a + prefix means a fully qualified class, otherwise it's
249 ## taken to mean C::P::A::Credential::(specifiedclass)
250 if ($credentialclass !~ /^\+(.*)$/ ) {
251 $credentialclass = "Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::Credential::${credentialclass}";
253 $credentialclass = $1;
256 # if we made it here - we have what we need to load the classes;
257 Catalyst::Utils::ensure_class_loaded( $credentialclass );
258 Catalyst::Utils::ensure_class_loaded( $storeclass );
260 # BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY - if the store class does not define find_user, we define it in terms
261 # of get_user and add it to the class. this is because the auth routines use find_user,
262 # and rely on it being present. (this avoids per-call checks)
263 if (!$storeclass->can('find_user')) {
265 *{"${storeclass}::find_user"} = sub {
266 my ($self, $info) = @_;
267 my @rest = @{$info->{rest}} if exists($info->{rest});
268 $self->get_user($info->{id}, @rest);
272 $app->auth_realms->{$realmname}{'store'} = $storeclass->new($config->{'store'}, $app);
273 $app->auth_realms->{$realmname}{'credential'} = $credentialclass->new($config->{'credential'}, $app);
278 return($self->_auth_realms);
282 my ($app, $realmname) = @_;
283 return $app->auth_realms->{$realmname};
287 # Very internal method. Vital Valuable Urgent, Do not touch on pain of death.
288 # Using this method just assigns the default realm to be the value associated
289 # with the realmname provided. It WILL overwrite any real realm called 'default'
290 # so can be very confusing if used improperly. It's used properly already.
291 # Translation: don't use it.
292 sub _set_default_auth_realm {
293 my ($app, $realmname) = @_;
295 if (exists($app->auth_realms->{$realmname})) {
296 $app->auth_realms->{'default'} = $app->auth_realms->{$realmname};
298 return $app->get_auth_realm('default');
302 my ($app, $userinfo, $realmname) = @_;
305 $realmname = 'default';
308 my $realm = $app->get_auth_realm($realmname);
310 ## note to self - make authenticate throw an exception if realm is invalid.
312 if ($realm && exists($realm->{'credential'})) {
313 my $user = $realm->{'credential'}->authenticate($app, $realm->{store}, $userinfo);
315 $app->set_authenticated($user, $realmname);
319 $app->log->debug("The realm requested, '$realmname' does not exist," .
320 " or there is no credential associated with it.")
325 ## BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY -- Warning: Here be monsters!
327 # What follows are backwards compatibility routines - for use with Stores and Credentials
328 # that have not been updated to work with C::P::Authentication v0.10.
329 # These are here so as to not break people's existing installations, but will go away
330 # in a future version.
332 # The old style of configuration only supports a single store, as each store module
333 # sets itself as the default store upon being loaded. This is the only supported
334 # 'compatibility' mode.
338 my ( $c, $uid, @rest ) = @_;
340 return $c->find_user( {'id' => $uid, 'rest'=>\@rest }, 'default' );
344 ## this should only be called when using old-style authentication plugins. IF this gets
345 ## called in a new-style config - it will OVERWRITE the store of your default realm. Don't do it.
346 ## also - this is a partial setup - because no credential is instantiated... in other words it ONLY
347 ## works with old-style auth plugins and C::P::Authentication in compatibility mode. Trying to combine
348 ## this with a realm-type config will probably crash your app.
349 sub default_auth_store {
352 if ( my $new = shift ) {
353 $self->auth_realms->{'default'}{'store'} = $new;
354 my $storeclass = ref($new);
356 # BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY - if the store class does not define find_user, we define it in terms
357 # of get_user and add it to the class. this is because the auth routines use find_user,
358 # and rely on it being present. (this avoids per-call checks)
359 if (!$storeclass->can('find_user')) {
361 *{"${storeclass}::find_user"} = sub {
362 my ($self, $info) = @_;
363 my @rest = @{$info->{rest}} if exists($info->{rest});
364 $self->get_user($info->{id}, @rest);
369 return $self->get_auth_realm('default')->{'store'};
372 ## BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY
373 ## this only ever returns a hash containing 'default' - as that is the only
374 ## supported mode of calling this.
375 sub auth_store_names {
378 my %hash = ( $self->get_auth_realm('default')->{'store'} => 'default' );
382 my ( $self, $name ) = @_;
384 if ($name ne 'default') {
385 Carp::croak "get_auth_store called on non-default realm '$name'. Only default supported in compatibility mode";
387 $self->default_auth_store();
391 sub get_auth_store_name {
392 my ( $self, $store ) = @_;
396 # sub auth_stores is only used internally - here for completeness
400 my %hash = ( 'default' => $self->get_auth_realm('default')->{'store'});
411 Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication - Infrastructure plugin for the Catalyst
412 authentication framework.
421 $c->authenticate({ username => 'myusername',
422 password => 'mypassword' });
423 my $age = $c->user->get('age');
428 The authentication plugin provides generic user support for Catalyst apps. It
429 is the basis for both authentication (checking the user is who they claim to
430 be), and authorization (allowing the user to do what the system authorises
433 Using authentication is split into two parts. A Store is used to actually
434 store the user information, and can store any amount of data related to the
435 user. Credentials are used to verify users, using information from the store,
436 given data from the frontend. A Credential and a Store are paired to form a
437 'Realm'. A Catalyst application using the authentication framework must have
438 at least one realm, and may have several.
440 To implement authentication in a Catalyst application you need to add this
441 module, and specify at least one realm in the configuration.
443 Authentication data can also be stored in a session, if the application
444 is using the L<Catalyst::Plugin::Session> module.
446 B<NOTE> in version 0.10 of this module, the interface to this module changed.
447 Please see L</COMPATIBILITY ROUTINES> for more information.
451 =head2 The Authentication/Authorization Process
453 Web applications typically need to identify a user - to tell the user apart
454 from other users. This is usually done in order to display private information
455 that is only that user's business, or to limit access to the application so
456 that only certain entities can access certain parts.
458 This process is split up into several steps. First you ask the user to identify
459 themselves. At this point you can't be sure that the user is really who they
462 Then the user tells you who they are, and backs this claim with some piece of
463 information that only the real user could give you. For example, a password is
464 a secret that is known to both the user and you. When the user tells you this
465 password you can assume they're in on the secret and can be trusted (ignore
466 identity theft for now). Checking the password, or any other proof is called
467 B<credential verification>.
469 By this time you know exactly who the user is - the user's identity is
470 B<authenticated>. This is where this module's job stops, and your application
471 or other plugins step in.
473 The next logical step is B<authorization>, the process of deciding what a user
474 is (or isn't) allowed to do. For example, say your users are split into two
475 main groups - regular users and administrators. You want to verify that the
476 currently logged in user is indeed an administrator before performing the
477 actions in an administrative part of your application. These decisions may be
478 made within your application code using just the information available after
479 authentication, or it may be facilitated by a number of plugins.
481 =head2 The Components In This Framework
485 Configuration of the Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication framework is done in
486 terms of realms. In simplest terms, a realm is a pairing of a Credential
487 verifier and a User storage (Store) backend.
489 An application can have any number of Realms, each of which operates
490 independant of the others. Each realm has a name, which is used to identify it
491 as the target of an authentication request. This name can be anything, such as
492 'users' or 'members'. One realm must be defined as the default_realm, which is
493 used when no realm name is specified. More information about configuring
494 realms is available in the configuration section.
496 =head3 Credential Verifiers
498 When user input is transferred to the L<Catalyst> application (typically via
499 form inputs) the application may pass this information into the authentication
500 system through the $c->authenticate() method. From there, it is passed to the
501 appropriate Credential verifier.
503 These plugins check the data, and ensure that it really proves the user is who
506 =head3 Storage Backends
508 The authentication data also identifies a user, and the Storage backend modules
509 use this data to locate and return a standardized object-oriented
510 representation of a user.
512 When a user is retrieved from a store it is not necessarily authenticated.
513 Credential verifiers accept a set of authentication data and use this
514 information to retrieve the user from the store they are paired with.
516 =head3 The Core Plugin
518 This plugin on its own is the glue, providing realm configuration, session
519 integration, and other goodness for the other plugins.
523 More layers of plugins can be stacked on top of the authentication code. For
524 example, L<Catalyst::Plugin::Session::PerUser> provides an abstraction of
525 browser sessions that is more persistent per users.
526 L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authorization::Roles> provides an accepted way to separate
527 and group users into categories, and then check which categories the current
532 Let's say we were storing users in a simple perl hash. Users are
533 verified by supplying a password which is matched within the hash.
535 This means that our application will begin like this:
543 __PACKAGE__->config->{authentication} =
545 default_realm => 'members',
550 password_field => 'password',
551 password_type => 'clear'
557 password => "s00p3r",
559 roles => [qw/edit delete/],
562 password => "s3cr3t",
563 roles => [qw/comment/],
572 This tells the authentication plugin what realms are available, which
573 credential and store modules are used, and the configuration of each. With
574 this code loaded, we can now attempt to authenticate users.
576 To show an example of this, let's create an authentication controller:
578 package MyApp::Controller::Auth;
581 my ( $self, $c ) = @_;
583 if ( my $user = $c->req->param("user")
584 and my $password = $c->req->param("password") )
586 if ( $c->authenticate( { username => $user,
587 password => $password } ) ) {
588 $c->res->body( "hello " . $c->user->get("name") );
598 This code should be very readable. If all the necessary fields are supplied,
599 call the "authenticate" method from the controller. If it succeeds the
602 The credential verifier will attempt to retrieve the user whose details match
603 the authentication information provided to $c->authenticate(). Once it fetches
604 the user the password is checked and if it matches the user will be
605 B<authenticated> and C<< $c->user >> will contain the user object retrieved
608 In the above case, the default realm is checked, but we could just as easily
609 check an alternate realm. If this were an admin login, for example, we could
610 authenticate on the admin realm by simply changing the $c->authenticate()
613 if ( $c->authenticate( { username => $user,
614 password => $password }, 'admin' )l ) {
615 $c->res->body( "hello " . $c->user->get("name") );
619 Now suppose we want to restrict the ability to edit to a user with an
620 'editor' value of yes.
622 The restricted action might look like this:
625 my ( $self, $c ) = @_;
627 $c->detach("unauthorized")
628 unless $c->user_exists
629 and $c->user->get('editor') eq 'yes';
631 # do something restricted here
634 (Note that if you have multiple realms, you can use $c->user_in_realm('realmname')
635 in place of $c->user_exists(); This will essentially perform the same
636 verification as user_exists, with the added requirement that if there is a
637 user, it must have come from the realm specified.)
639 The above example is somewhat similar to role based access control.
640 L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::Store::Minimal> treats the roles field as
641 an array of role names. Let's leverage this. Add the role authorization
650 my ( $self, $c ) = @_;
652 $c->detach("unauthorized") unless $c->check_roles("edit");
654 # do something restricted here
657 This is somewhat simpler and will work if you change your store, too, since the
658 role interface is consistent.
660 Let's say your app grew, and you now have 10000 users. It's no longer
661 efficient to maintain a hash of users, so you move this data to a database.
662 You can accomplish this simply by installing the DBIx::Class Store and
663 changing your config:
665 __PACKAGE__->config->{authentication} =
667 default_realm => 'members',
672 password_field => 'password',
673 password_type => 'clear'
676 class => 'DBIx::Class',
677 user_class => 'MyApp::Users',
678 role_column => 'roles'
684 The authentication system works behind the scenes to load your data from the
685 new source. The rest of your application is completely unchanged.
693 __PACKAGE__->config->{authentication} =
695 default_realm => 'members',
700 password_field => 'password',
701 password_type => 'clear'
704 class => 'DBIx::Class',
705 user_class => 'MyApp::Users',
706 role_column => 'roles'
712 password_field => 'password',
713 password_type => 'clear'
716 class => '+MyApp::Authentication::Store::NetAuth',
717 authserver => '192.168.10.17'
726 Whether or not to store the user's logged in state in the session, if the
727 application is also using L<Catalyst::Plugin::Session>. This
728 value is set to true per default.
732 This defines which realm should be used as when no realm is provided to methods
733 that require a realm such as authenticate or find_user.
737 This contains the series of realm configurations you want to use for your app.
738 The only rule here is that there must be at least one. A realm consists of a
739 name, which is used to reference the realm, a credential and a store.
741 Each realm config contains two hashes, one called 'credential' and one called
742 'store', each of which provide configuration details to the respective modules.
743 The contents of these hashes is specific to the module being used, with the
744 exception of the 'class' element, which tells the core Authentication module the
745 classname to instantiate.
747 The 'class' element follows the standard Catalyst mechanism of class
748 specification. If a class is prefixed with a +, it is assumed to be a complete
749 class name. Otherwise it is considered to be a portion of the class name. For
750 credentials, the classname 'B<Password>', for example, is expanded to
751 Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::Credential::B<Password>. For stores, the
752 classname 'B<storename>' is expanded to:
753 Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::Store::B<storename>.
763 =item authenticate( $userinfo, $realm )
765 Attempts to authenticate the user using the information in the $userinfo hash
766 reference using the realm $realm. $realm may be omitted, in which case the
767 default realm is checked.
771 Returns the currently logged in user or undef if there is none.
775 Returns true if a user is logged in right now. The difference between
776 user_exists and user is that user_exists will return true if a user is logged
777 in, even if it has not been yet retrieved from the storage backend. If you only
778 need to know if the user is logged in, depending on the storage mechanism this
779 can be much more efficient.
781 =item user_in_realm ( $realm )
783 Works like user_exists, except that it only returns true if a user is both
784 logged in right now and was retrieved from the realm provided.
788 Logs the user out, Deletes the currently logged in user from $c->user and the session.
790 =item find_user( $userinfo, $realm )
792 Fetch a particular users details, matching the provided user info, from the realm
797 =head1 INTERNAL METHODS
799 These methods are for Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication B<INTERNAL USE> only.
800 Please do not use them in your own code, whether application or credential /
801 store modules. If you do, you will very likely get the nasty shock of having
802 to fix / rewrite your code when things change. They are documented here only
807 =item set_authenticated ( $user, $realmname )
809 Marks a user as authenticated. This is called from within the authenticate
810 routine when a credential returns a user. $realmname defaults to 'default'
812 =item auth_restore_user ( $user, $realmname )
814 Used to restore a user from the session. In most cases this is called without
815 arguments to restore the user via the session. Can be called with arguments
816 when restoring a user from some other method. Currently not used in this way.
818 =item save_user_in_session ( $user, $realmname )
820 Used to save the user in a session. Saves $user in session, marked as
821 originating in $realmname. Both arguments are required.
825 Returns a hashref containing realmname -> realm instance pairs. Realm
826 instances contain an instantiated store and credential object as the 'store'
827 and 'credential' elements, respectively
829 =item get_auth_realm ( $realmname )
831 Retrieves the realm instance for the realmname provided.
839 This list might not be up to date. Below are modules known to work with the updated
840 API of 0.10 and are therefore compatible with realms.
842 =head2 User Storage Backends
844 L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::Store::Minimal>,
845 L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::Store::DBIx::Class>,
847 =head2 Credential verification
849 L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::Credential::Password>,
853 L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authorization::ACL>,
854 L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authorization::Roles>
856 =head2 Internals Documentation
858 L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::Internals>
862 L<Catalyst::Plugin::Session>,
863 L<Catalyst::Plugin::Session::PerUser>
865 =head1 DON'T SEE ALSO
867 This module along with its sub plugins deprecate a great number of other
868 modules. These include L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::Simple>,
869 L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::CDBI>.
871 At the time of writing these plugins have not yet been replaced or updated, but
872 should be eventually: L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::OpenID>,
873 L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::LDAP>,
874 L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::CDBI::Basic>,
875 L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::Basic::Remote>.
877 =head1 INCOMPATABILITIES
879 The realms based configuration and functionality of the 0.10 update
880 of L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication> required a change in the API used by
881 credentials and stores. It has a compatibility mode which allows use of
882 modules that have not yet been updated. This, however, completely mimics the
883 older api and disables the new realm-based features. In other words you can
884 not mix the older credential and store modules with realms, or realm-based
885 configs. The changes required to update modules are relatively minor and are
886 covered in L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::Internals>. We hope that most
887 modules will move to the compatible list above very quickly.
889 =head1 COMPATIBILITY ROUTINES
891 In version 0.10 of L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication>, the API
892 changed. For app developers, this change is fairly minor, but for
893 Credential and Store authors, the changes are significant.
895 Please see the documentation in version 0.09 of
896 Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication for a better understanding of how the old API
899 The items below are still present in the plugin, though using them is
900 deprecated. They remain only as a transition tool, for those sites which can
901 not yet be upgraded to use the new system due to local customizations or use
902 of Credential / Store modules that have not yet been updated to work with the
905 These routines should not be used in any application using realms
906 functionality or any of the methods described above. These are for reference
913 This method is used to initiate authentication and user retrieval. Technically
914 this is part of the old Password credential module and it still resides in the
915 L<Password|Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::Credential::Password> class. It is
916 included here for reference only.
918 =item default_auth_store
920 Return the store whose name is 'default'.
922 This is set to C<< $c->config->{authentication}{store} >> if that value exists,
923 or by using a Store plugin:
925 # load the Minimal authentication store.
926 use Catalyst qw/Authentication Authentication::Store::Minimal/;
928 Sets the default store to
929 L<Catalyst::Plugin::Authentication::Store::Minimal>.
931 =item get_auth_store $name
933 Return the store whose name is $name.
935 =item get_auth_store_name $store
937 Return the name of the store $store.
941 A hash keyed by name, with the stores registered in the app.
943 =item register_auth_stores %stores_by_name
945 Register stores into the application.
953 Yuval Kogman, C<nothingmuch@woobling.org>
955 Jay Kuri, C<jayk@cpan.org>
962 =head1 COPYRIGHT & LICENSE
964 Copyright (c) 2005 the aforementioned authors. All rights
965 reserved. This program is free software; you can redistribute
966 it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.