6.35. pam_timestamp - authenticate using cached successful authentication attempts
Prev | Chapter 6. A reference guide for available modules | Next

## 6.35. pam_timestamp - authenticate using cached successful authentication attempts

`pam_timestamp.so` [ timestamp_timeout=`number` ] [ verbose ] [ debug ]

### 6.35.1. DESCRIPTION

In a nutshell, pam_timestamp caches successful authentication attempts, and allows you to use a recent successful attempt as the basis for authentication. This is similar mechanism which is used in sudo.

When an application opens a session using pam_timestamp, a timestamp file is created in the timestampdir directory for the user. When an application attempts to authenticate the user, a pam_timestamp will treat a sufficiently recent timestamp file as grounds for succeeding.

### 6.35.2. OPTIONS

`timestamp_timeout=`number``

  How long should pam_timestamp treat timestamp as valid after their last modification date (in seconds). Default is 300 seconds.

`verbose`

  Attempt to inform the user when access is granted.

`debug`

  Turns on debugging messages sent to syslog(3).

### 6.35.3. MODULE TYPES PROVIDED

The `auth` and `session` module types are provided.

### 6.35.4. RETURN VALUES

PAM_AUTH_ERR

  The module was not able to retrieve the user name or no valid timestamp file was found.

PAM_SUCCESS

  Everything was successful.

PAM_SESSION_ERR

  Timestamp file could not be created or updated.

### 6.35.5. NOTES

Users can get confused when they are not always asked for passwords when running a given program. Some users reflexively begin typing information before noticing that it is not being asked for.

### 6.35.6. EXAMPLES

    auth sufficient pam_timestamp.so verbose
    auth required   pam_unix.so

    session required pam_unix.so
    session optional pam_timestamp.so

### 6.35.7. FILES

`/var/run/sudo/...`

  timestamp files and directories

### 6.35.8. AUTHOR

pam_tally was written by Nalin Dahyabhai.

Prev | Up | Next
6.34. pam_time - time controled access | Home | 6.36. pam_umask - set the file mode creation mask