path: root/info/cerberus.texinfo

\input texinfo   @c -*-texinfo-*-

@c %**start of header
@setfilename cerberus.info
@settitle cerberus
@afourpaper
@documentencoding UTF-8
@documentlanguage en
@finalout
@c %**end of header


@dircategory System
@direntry
* cerberus: (cerberus).     A minimal unbloated login program.
@end direntry


@copying
Copyright @copyright{} 2013, 2014 Mattias Andrée

@quotation
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover
Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled
``GNU Free Documentation License''.
@end quotation
@end copying

@ifnottex
@node Top
@top cerberus -- A minimal unbloated login program
@insertcopying
@end ifnottex

@titlepage
@title cerberus
@subtitle A minimal unbloated login program
@author by Mattias Andrée (maandree)

@page
@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
@insertcopying
@end titlepage

@contents



@menu
* Overview::                        Brief overview of @command{cerberus}.
* Invoking::                        Invocation of @command{cerberus}.
* Configuring::                     Configuration of @command{cerberus}.
* GNU Free Documentation License::  Copying and sharing this manual.
@end menu



@node Overview
@chapter Overview

@command{cerberus} @footnote{Which should not be confused with
Kerberos (which could be possible despite having no common syllables).}
is a login command which can be used as a drop in replacement for
@command{login} (provided by util-linux), except for services
that require @command{login} to ask for a username. @command{cerberus}
aims to be minimal, unbloated and configurable.



@node Invoking
@chapter Invoking

@command{cerberus} recognised the same for options as @command{login}:

@table @option

@item -p
If this option is used, @command{cerberus} will not clear
@footnote{The variable @var{TERM} is always perserved.}
the environment, only override (and add if missing) the variables
it would otherwise put into the environment.

@item -f [USERNAME]
This option can only be used by root. If used, not pasphrase
is require to log in.

@item -h HOSTNAME
This option is by other services to which host the user is
logging in from.

@item -H
This option is ignored as it is used to suppress printing
of the hostname in the prompt for a username, which is lacking
in @command{cerberus} and with be suppressed anyway if it was
not lacking.

@item -V
@command{login} would disable version information and exit,
but @command{cerberus} simple exits instead.

@item --
@option{--} can be placed directly before the username to
make sure it is not parse as an option.

@end table



@node Configuring
@chapter Configuring

Rather than configuring @command{cerberus} via an @file{/etc}
file, @command{cerberus} is only configured at compile time.

@command{cerberus} can be configured to the authentication
method of your choose, this is done by specifing a value
for the variable @var{AUTH} when invoking @command{make}:

@table @command
@item make AUTH=pam
Use Pluggable Authentication Module.


@item make AUTH=crypt
Use the @command{crypt} function to verify the
passphrase against the the hashed passphrase in
@file{/etc/shadow}, with @file{/etc/passwd} as
fallback.

This option will not require the user to even
press Return, if the user does not have a passphrase
(blank in the shadow file.)


@item make AUTH=crypt EXTRA_CPP_FLAGS=-DNO_SHADOW
Use the @command{crypt} function to verify the
passphrase against the the hashd passphrase in
@file{/etc/passwd}.

Note: @file{/etc/passwd} does probably not contain
a passphrase, but just an `x' instead.

This option will not require the user to even
press Return, if the user does not have a passphrase
(blank in the passwd file.)


@item make AUTH=none
Always bypass authentication.

@end table


The makefile variable @var{EXTRA_CPP_FLAGS} is
used to add definitions the to C preprocessor
when compiling @command{cerberus}. As seen,
the option @code{NO_SHADOW} can be added by
setting @var{EXTRA_CPP_FLAGS} to @code{-DNO_SHADOW}.
Additional options can be added with by adding
them with a @code{-D} prefix, and adding them
as a space separated list.

Other recognised definitions are:

@table @code

@item OWN_VCS
Transfer ownership and change permission bits of
the @file{/dev/vcs[0-9]+} file corresponding to the
terminal the user logs in to, if any.

If the prefix for this files are not @file{/dev/vcs},
it can be specified by the makefile variable @var{VCS}.
Just the prefix @file{/dev} can be change by setting
the makefile variable @var{DEV}.


@item OWN_VCSA
Transfer ownership and change permission bits of
the @file{/dev/vcsa[0-9]+} file corresponding to the
terminal the user logs in to, if any.

If the prefix for this files are not @file{/dev/vcsa},
it can be specified by the makefile variable @var{VCSA}.
Just the prefix @file{/dev} can be change by setting
the makefile variable @var{DEV}.


@item USE_TTY_GROUP
Change the group to the TTY group instead of keeping
the group as root, in addition to changing the owner.

The TTY group is by default `tty', but this can be
changed by setting the makefile variable @var{TTY_GROUP}
to the name of the TTY group. For example:
@command{make EXTRA_CPP_FLAGS=-DUSE_TTY_GROUP TTY_GROUP=ttyspies}

By default the group has no permissions, this can
be change by specifing the files' permissions bits
with the definition @code{TTY_PERM}, for example
@command{make EXTRA_CPP_FLAGS=-TTY_PERM=0660}.
Remember that the leading zero is needed if you
want to specify the value in octal form.


@item ERROR_SLEEP
By default @command{cerberus} waits 2 seconds before
exiting if an error occurred, to give the user time
to read the error message before the getty program
@footnote{For example: @command{getty}, @command{agetty},
@command{mgetty}, @command{gates-of-tartaros}}
clears the screen when it is invoked again by the
@command{init} process.

To change this specify the a rational number of
seconds expressed in the form @command{a.b} or
@command{a}. For example:
@command{make EXTRA_CPP_FLAGS=-ERROR_SLEEP=0.5}.

Zero as the value will disable this.


@item FAILURE_SLEEP
By default @command{cerberus} waits 5 seconds before
exiting if an incorrect passphrased was entered, to
prevent online brute forcing by remote machines.

To change this specify the a rational number of
seconds expressed in the form @command{a.b} or
@command{a}. For example:
@command{make EXTRA_CPP_FLAGS=-FAILURE_SLEEP=0}.

Zero as the value will disable this.


@item TIMEOUT_SECONDS
By default @command{cerberus} waits 60 seconds
before exiting unless the user have entered the
correct passphrase that as been verified.

This value must be an integer, zero as the value
will disable this.

Example:
@command{make EXTRA_CPP_FLAGS=-FAILURE_SLEEP=30}.

@end table


The are a few additional settings that can be
configured by changing the values of makefile
variables:

@table @var

@item DEFAULT_SH
@itemx DEFAULT_SHELL
If the user do not have a default shell specified,
a POSIX shell will be used. The same shell will
also be used to parse the arguments if the specified
shell contains spaces. By default this shell will
be @command{sh}@footnote{The shell will be invoked
with its basename prefixed by a dash as its zeroth
argument} with the path @file{/bin/sh}.
@command{sh} can be changed to, for example
@command{bash} by setting invoking @command{make}
with the argument @code{DEFAULT_SH=bash}. This
will set the executed file to @file{/bin/bash},
the prefix @file{/bin} is specified by the variable
@var{BIN}. If path is incorrect it can be set by
change the value of the variable @var{DEFAULT_SHELL}.

@item DEFAULT_HOME
If the user does not have a home specified,
the login shell well be started in the @file{/}
directory instead. This directory can be change
by change the value of the makefile variable
@var{DEFAULT_HOME}.

@item DEFAULT_TERM
If @command{cerberus} is invoked without the
environment variable @var{TERM} set (may be empty),
it will be exported with the value of the
makefile variable @var{DEFAULT_TERM} with by
default is `dumb'.

@item PATH
@item PATH_ROOT
By default the environment variable @var{PATH} will be
exported to @file{/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin}, and
@file{/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin/:/bin}
if the user logs in as root.

@file{/bin} is specified by the makefile variable
@var{BIN}, @file{/sbin} by @var{SBIN}, @file{/usr/local}
by @var{LOCAL_PREFIX} and @file{/usr} (even in
@file{/usr/local}) by @var{USR_PREFIX}.

If the values are not good they can be changed by
setting the value of the makefile variables
@command{PATH} for normal users and @command{PATH_ROOT}
for the root user.

When this variables are used by programs, they
are parsed as @code{:} being the separator and
paths specified to the left takes precedence over
paths specified to the right. @file{sbin} directories
are only useful by root so there is no reason
for adding them for non-root users.

@end table



@node GNU Free Documentation License
@appendix GNU Free Documentation License
@include fdl.texinfo

@bye