1. Introduction : The Apache OpenID Module
  2. Example
  3. Installation
    1. Prerequisites
    2. Get The Source
    3. Compile
    4. Usage
  4. Upgrading
  5. Questions/Problems/Complaints

Introduction : The Apache OpenID Module

mod_auth_openid is an authentication module for the Apache 2 webserver. It handles the functions of an OpenID consumer as specified in the OpenID 2.0 specification. See the FAQ for more information. Download the current release from the the releases page.

Example

Most people want to see an example first:

Installation

These docs assume that you have Apache 2 installed and running already.

Prerequisites

Get The Source

You can download the current stable release from the releases page or use Subversion to get a development release: 

svn co https://svn.butterfat.net/public/mod_auth_openid/trunk mod_auth_openid

Note that if you download a development release you will need current versions of the autotools installed, and you must run ./autogen.sh first before following these instructions.

Compile

Enter the mod_auth_openid directory and type: 

./configure

You can use the following to see additional configuration options: 

./configure --help

Then: 

make
su root
make install

Verify that the module has been enabled in your httpd.conf: 

# note that the path to your module might be different
LoadModule authopenid_module /usr/lib/apache2/modules/mod_auth_openid.so

Depending on where you specify your AuthOpenIDDBLocation (see below), you may need to touch the db file as the user that's running Apache (or chown the directory it's being stored in). For instance: 

# /tmp/mod_auth_openid.db is the default location for the DB
su root
touch /tmp/mod_auth_openid.db
chown www-data /tmp/mod_auth_openid.db

Usage

Place the following directive in either a Directory, Location, or File directive in your httpd.conf (or in an .htaccess file if you have AllowOverride AuthConfig): 

AuthOpenIDEnabled                 On
  • AuthOpenIDEnabled: The directory/location/file should be secured by mod_auth_openid. This is the only required directive.

The following are optional: 

AuthOpenIDDBLocation              /some/location/my_file.db
AuthOpenIDTrusted                 ^http://myopenid.com/server$ ^http://someprovider.com/idp$
AuthOpenIDDistrusted              ^http://hackerdomain ^http://openid.microsoft.com$ 
AuthOpenIDUseCookie               Off
AuthOpenIDTrustRoot               http://example.com
AuthOpenIDCookieName              example_cookie_name
AuthOpenIDLoginPage               /login.html
AuthOpenIDCookieLifespan          3600 # one hour
AuthOpenIDServerName              http://example.com
  • AuthOpenIDDBLocation: Specifies the place the BDB file should be stored. Default: /tmp/mod_auth_openid.db.
  • AuthOpenIDTrusted: If specified, only users using providers that match one of the (Perl compatible) regular expressions listed will be allowed to authenticate. Default: Trust all providers.
  • AuthOpenIDDistrusted: If specified, only users using providers that do not match one of the (Perl compatible) regular expressions listed will be allowed to authenticate. You can use this in combination with AuthOpenIDTrusted; in that case, only a domain that is listed as trusted and not listed as distrusted can be used. Default: No providers are distrusted.
  • AuthOpenIDUseCookie: If "Off", then a session cookie will not be set on the client upon successful authentication. The page will load once; if reloaded or if the user visits it again it will ask the user to reauthenticate. Default: On
  • AuthOpenIDTrustRoot: User's are asked to approve this value by their identity provider after redirection. Most providers will error out unless this value matches the URL they are being redirected from, or some subset of that URL. For instance, if a user is trying to access http://example.com/protected/index.html then either http://example.com or http://example.com/protected/ would work but http://example.com/protected/area/ would not. Default: The URL the user is trying to access (without filenames / query parameters at the end).
  • AuthOpenIDCookieName: The name of the session cookie set by mod_auth_openid. Default: open_id_session_id
  • AuthOpenIDLoginPage: The URL location of a customized login page. This could be a location on a different server or domain. Default: use the mod_auth_openid login page that exists in the module. See the custom login page howto for more information.
  • AuthOpenIDCookieLifespan: The number of seconds that the session cookie should live after being set. Default: If the cookie lifespan is not set than it will expire at the end of the browser session (when the browser is closed).
  • AuthOpenIDServerName: If mod_auth_openid is being used behind a proxy, this option can be used to specify a hostname that will be used to create redirection URLs. For more info, see #3.

Next, restart apache: 

/path/to/apache2/bin/apachectl stop
/path/to/apache2/bin/apachectl start

After a user authenticates themselves, the user's identity will be available in the REMOTE_USER cgi environment variable. A cookie named open_id_session_id is saved to maintain each user's session.

Upgrading

If you're upgrading, make sure you delete the old database file after installation.

Questions/Problems/Complaints

First, read the FAQ. If it's a bug, report it by creating a new ticket (link at top). If it's a complaint, email bmuller@butterfat.net.