On 3/22/21 6:49 PM, Christopher Paul wrote:
> I read the warning in SLAPO_PPOLICY(5) regarding ppolicy_hash_cleartext:
> "It is recommended that when this option is used that compare, search,
> and read access be denied to all directory users".

IMHO this is more a warning regarding the functional model than a
security warning.

Because strictly speaking an LDAP client expects the server not to muck
with attribute values. To be more clear: If the client writes value
'bar' to attribute 'foo' it expects a search with (foo=bar) to return
that entry later. Similar with compare requests.

Wording could be better though.

> Am I correct to presume that this means that the compare, search, read
> access be denied for directory users' _own_ (self) userPassword attrs,
> right?

In general access to attribute userPassword should be very restrictive.
Only replicas should be granted read access. Account owner (self) should
be able to write (not read!) the userPassword value (=w).

There are use-cases where userPassword values are read by an LDAP client
for using them as shared secret with challenge-response mechs, e.g. some
RADIUS methods. But in these cases passwords are not hashed anyway.

> Because compare, search, read access to _other_ users' userPassword
> is rightfully denied typically by any sensible access control
> ruleset. (Right?)
Right.

Ciao, Michael.

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