Changes between Initial Version and Version 1 of login-service

Timestamp:

Sep 6, 2013, 12:59:11 AM (12 years ago)

Author:

Jamie McClelland

Comment:

--

login-service

@@ +1 @@
+= Login Service =
+
+May First/People Link provides a web-based API for verifying login credentials called "login-service". It is designed to allow applications to verify that a given username and password is valid. It takes as input a username, password, and application id, and responds with either a 1 (indicating invalid) or a 0 indicating a valid username and password.
+
+== Server side ==
+
+The server is running a python twisted web application, available via git: git://git.mayfirst.org/mfpl/login-service. It is currently installed on hay.mayfirst.org in /usr/local/share/login-service, listens on port 8080, requires tls, and is configured to use the members.mayfirst.org key and certificate.
+
+The application is managed by runit (via /etc/sv/login-service), so it should restart when the system restarts.
+
+The application runs as the login-service unix user. It also has access to it's own mysql username and password (configured via files in /etc/sv/login-service/env) that grant it the privilege of logging into the MySQL server on hay and of executing the `get_salt` and `valid_hash` MySQL procedures that enable it to verify a username and password witout having access to the table of usernames and passwords.
+
+One environment variable set via the file /etc/sv/login-service/env/LS_APP_IDS contains a space separated list of randomly generated strings that act as an application id. The idea is that each application that we configure to use the service will share a secret that is stored in this file. The shared secret helps prevent dictionary attacks against the service.
+
+== Client side ==
+
+Writing a client to interface with the login service is relatively easy.
+
+Here are a few examples:
+
+{{{
+<?php
+
+function authenticate_user($user, $password, $app_id) {
+  $url = 'https://members.mayfirst.org:8080/check?user=' . urlencode($user) .
+   '&password=' . urlencode($password) . '&app_id=' . $app_id;
+  $out = file_get_contents($url);
+  if($out == "0") return TRUE; 
+  return FALSE;
+}
+?>
+}}}
+
+{{{
+#!/bin/bash
+user="$1"
+pass="$2"
+app_id="$3"
+out=$(curl "https://members.mayfirst.org:8080/check?user=$user&password=$pass&app_id=$3")
+[ "$out" = "0" ] && exit 0
+exit 1
+}}}