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Subsections

- 7.1 Authentication via uid or alternate email
  - 7.1.1 auth.conf
- 7.2 Named Filters
  - 7.2.1 Definition
  - 7.2.2 Search Condition

#
7. Using Sympa with LDAP

is a client-server protocol for accessing a directory service. Sympa provide various features based on access to one or more LDAP directories :

- authentication using LDAP directory insteed of sympa internal storage of password

- named filters used in scenario condition

- LDAP extraction of list subscribers (see )

#
7.1 Authentication via uid or alternate email

Sympa stores the data relative to the subscribers in a DataBase. Among these data: password, email exploited during the Web authentication . The module of allows to use Sympa in intranet without duplicating the user's passwords.

Then, users can indiferently authenticate with their ldap_uid, their alternate_email or their canonic email stored in the directory.

Sympa gets the canonic email in the directory with the ldap_uid or the alternate_email. Sympa will first intend an anonymous bind to the directory to get the user's DN, and then Sympa will bind with the DN and the user's ldap_password in order to realise an efficient authentication. This last bind will work only if the good ldap_password is provided. Indeed the value returned by the bind(DN,ldap_password) is tested.

Example: a person is described by

                     Dn:cn=Fabrice Rafart,
                     ou=Siege ,
                     o=MaSociete ,
                     c=FR Objectclass:
                     person Cn: Fabrice Rafart
                     Title: Network Responsible
                     O: Siege
                     Or: Data processing
                     Telephonenumber: 01-00-00-00-00
                     Facsimiletelephonenumber:01-00-00-00-00
                     L:Paris
                     Country: France

    		 uid: frafart
     		 mail: Fabrice.Rafart@MaSociete.fr
                     alternate_email: frafart@MaSociete.fr
                     alternate:rafart@MaSociete.fr

So Fabrice Rafart can be authenticated with: frafart, Fabrice.Rafart@MaSociete.fr, frafart@MaSociete.fr,Rafart@MaSociete.fr. After this operation, the address in the field FROM will be the Canonic email, in this case Fabrice.Rafart@MaSociete.fr. That means that Sympa will get this email and use it during all the session until you clearly ask to Sympa to change your email address via 2 pages : which and pref.

## 7.1.1 auth.conf

The `~sympa/etc/auth.conf` configuration file contains numerous parameters which are read on start-up of Sympa. If you change this file, do not forget that you will need to restart Sympa afterwards.

The `sympa/etc/auth.conf` is organised in paragraphs. Each paragraph coincides with the configuration of an ldap directory.

The `sympa/etc/auth.conf` file contains directives in the following format:

> paragraphs
> keyword value

> paragraphs
> keyword value

Comments start with the `#` character at the beginning of a line.

Empty lines are also considered as comments and are ignored at the beginning. After the first paragraph they are consideredas paragrahs separators.

There should only be one directive per line, but their order in the file is of no importance.

Thanks to this type of configuration Sympa is able to consult various directories. So, users who come from different directories will be authenticated thanks to their ldap_password. Indeed, Sympa will try to bind on the first directory with the given ldap_password, if it does not work, Sympa will try to bind on the second with the same ldap_password etc.. This mecanism is useful in the case of homonyms.

Example :

    #Configuration file auth.conf for the LDAP authentification
    #Description of parameters for each directory

    ldap
    	host				ldap.univ-rennes1.fr:389
    	timeout				30
    	suffix				dc=univ-rennes1,dc=fr
    	get_dn_by_uid_filter		(uid=[sender])
    	get_dn_by_email_filter		(|(mail=[sender])(mailalternateaddress=[sender]))
    	email_attribute			mail
    	alternative_email_attribute	mailalternateaddress,ur1mail
    	scope				sub

    ldap
    	host				ldap.univ-nancy2.fr:392,ldap1.univ-nancy2.fr:392,ldap2.univ-nancy2.fr:392
    	timeout				20
    	suffix				dc=univ-nancy2,dc=fr
    	get_dn_by_uid_filter		(uid=[sender])
    	get_dn_by_email_filter			(|(mail=[sender])(n2atraliasmail=[sender]))
    	alternative_email_attribute	n2atrmaildrop
    	email_attribute			mail
    	scope				sub

- host

  This keyword is mandatory. It is the domain name used in order to bind to the directory and then to extract informations. You must mention the port number after the server name. The replication is also taken in charge, then the different servers are comma separated.

  Example :

      	host ldap.univ-rennes1.fr:389
      	host ldap0.university.com:389,ldap1.university.com:389,ldap2.university.com:389

- timeout

  It corresponds to the timelimit in the Search fonction. A timelimit that restricts the maximum time (in seconds) allowed for a search. A value of 0, and the default, means that no timelimit will be requested.

- suffix

  The root of the DIT (Directory Information Tree).The DN that is the base object entry relative to which the search is to be performed.

  Example: `dc=university,dc=fr`

- get_dn_by_uid_filter

  You define the search filter corresponding to the ldap_uid. (RFC 2254 compliant). If you want to apply the filter on the user, mention him with the variable ' [sender] '. It would work with every type of authentication (uid, alternate_email..).

  Example :

      	(Login = [sender])
      	(|(ID = [sender])(UID = [sender]))

- get_dn_by_email_filter

  You define the search filter corresponding to the emails (canonic and alternative).(RFC 2254 compliant). If you want to apply the filter on the user, mention him with the variable ' [sender] '. It would work with every type of authentication (uid, alternate_email..).

  Example: a person is described by

                       Dn:cn=Fabrice Rafart,
                       ou=Siege ,
                       o=MaSociete ,
                       c=FR Objectclass:
                       person Cn: Fabrice Rafart
                       Title: Network Responsible
                       O: Siege
                       Or: Data processing
                       Telephonenumber: 01-00-00-00-00
                       Facsimiletelephonenumber:01-00-00-00-00
                       L:Paris
                       Country: France

      		 uid: frafart
       		 mail: Fabrice.Rafart@MaSociete.fr
                       alternate_email: frafart@MaSociete.fr
                       alternate:rafart@MaSociete.fr

  The filters can be :

      	(mail = [sender])
      	(| (mail = [sender])(alternate_email = [sender]) )
      	(| (mail = [sender])(alternate_email = [sender])(alternate  = [sender]) )

- email_attribute

  The name of the attribute for the canonic email in your directory : for instance mail, canonic_email, canonic_add res ... In the previous example the canonic email is 'mail'.

- alternate_email_attribute

  The name of the attribute for the alternate email in your directory : for instance alternate_email, mailalternatea ddress, ... You make a list of these attributes separated by commas.

  With this list Sympa creates a cookie which contains various informations : the user is authenticated via Ldap or not, his alternate email. To store the alternate email is interesting when you want to canonify your preferences an d subscriptions. That is to say you want to use a unique adress in User_table and Subscriber_table which is the canonic email.

- scope

  (Default value: `sub`) By default the search is performed on the whole tree below the specified base object. This may be changed by specifying a scope :

  - base
    Search only the base object.

  - one
    Search the entries immediately below the base object.

  - sub
    Search the whole tree below the base object. This is the default.

# 7.2 Named Filters

At the moment Named Filters are only used in scenarii. They enable to select a category of people who will be authorized or not to realise some actions.

As a consequence, you can grant privileges in a list to people belonging to an directory thanks to a scenario.

## 7.2.1 Definition

People are selected thanks to an defined in a configuration file. This file must have the extension '.ldap'.It is stored in `~sympa/etc/search_filters/`.

You must mention many informations in order to create a Named Filter:

- host
  A list of host:port LDAP directories (replicates) entries.

- suffix
  Defines the naming space covered by the search (optional, depending on the LDAP server).

- filter
  Defines the LDAP search filter (RFC 2254 compliant). But you must absolutely take into account the first part of the filter which is: ('mail_attribute' = [sender]) as shown in the example. you will have to replce 'mail_attribute' by the name of the attribute for the email. So Sympa verifies if the user belongs to the category of people defined in the filter.

- scope
  By default the search is performed on the whole tree below the specified base object. This may be chaned by specify ing a scope :

  - base : Search only the base object.
  - one
    Search the entries immediately below the base object.
  - sub
    Search the whole tree below the base object. This is the default.

example.ldap : we want to select the professors of mathematics in the university of Rennes1 in France

    	host		ldap.univ-rennes1.fr:389,ldap2.univ-rennes1.fr:390
    	suffix		dc=univ-rennes1.fr,dc=fr
    	filter		(&(canonic_mail = [sender])(EmployeeType = prof)(subject = math))
    	scope		sub

## 7.2.2 Search Condition

The search condition is used in scenarii which are defined and decribed in (see )

The syntax of this rule is:

    	search(example.ldap,[sender])      smtp,smime,md5    -> do_it

The variables used by 'search' are :

- the name of the LDAP Configuration file
- the [sender]
  That is to say the sender email.

The method of authentication does not change.

Next: 8. Sympa with S/MIME and HTTPS Up: Sympa Mailing Lists Management Software version Previous: 6. Sympa and its database Contents Index