Linux PAM Authentication Security: A Hands-on Guide to Developing Secure, Custom Authentication Flows for Modern Linux Systems
Linux PAM Authentication Security: A hands-on guide to developing secure, custom authentication flows for modern Linux systems
Authentication is the first line of defense in any Linux system. But as attacks grow more sophisticated and infrastructure spans desktops, servers, and containers, relying on defaults is no longer enough. How do you ensure that your authentication stack is both flexible and hardened against evolving threats?
This book provides the complete solution: a practical, hands-on guide to mastering Linux Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM). With clarity and precision, it takes you beyond surface-level usage into the mechanics of building, customizing, and securing PAM modules for today's most demanding environments.
Through step-by-step examples, real-world scenarios, and expert commentary, you'll gain the ability to confidently design authentication flows tailored to your system's exact requirements. From session management and resource limits to cryptographic updates and CVE mitigations, every chapter delivers actionable knowledge you can apply immediately.
What you'll gain from this book:
A solid understanding of how PAM works across desktops, servers, and containerized environments.
Practical skills to develop and extend custom PAM modules in C with safe, maintainable code.
Techniques for integrating PAM with modern authentication methods, including U2F, biometrics, and systemd sessions.
Proven strategies for handling hash variations, FIPS compliance, and secure defaults like yescrypt.
CI/CD patterns for testing authentication logic and detecting vulnerabilities before they reach production.
Guidance on maintaining compatibility across distributions and kernel versions without sacrificing security.
Whether you are a system administrator tightening access controls, a security engineer tasked with compliance, or a developer writing custom modules for advanced authentication scenarios, this book equips you with the tools and insights to raise the bar on Linux security.
Authentication flaws are too costly to leave to chance. Equip yourself with the expertise to build secure, future-ready PAM configurations, starting now.
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