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Authentication Packages

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Authentication packages are contained in dynamic-link libraries. The Local Security Authority (LSA) loads authentication packages by using configuration information stored in the registry. Loading multiple authentication packages permits the LSA to support multiple logon processes and multiple security protocols.

Logon processes use authentication packages to analyze logon data. New logon processes are added to a system by adding a GINA to collect the required logon data and, if needed, by adding a new authentication package to analyze the data.

Security protocols are implemented by authentication packages. An authentication package analyzes logon data by following the rules and procedures set forth in a security protocol.

Authentication packages are responsible for the following tasks:

  • Analyzing logon data to determine whether a security principal is allowed to log on to a system.
  • Establishing a new logon session and creating a unique logon identifier for the successfully authenticated principal.
  • Passing security information to the LSA for the principal's security token.

When a user attempts an interactive logon, the LSA calls an authentication package to determine whether to permit the user to log on. MSV1_0, for example, is an authentication package installed with the Microsoft Windows operating system. The MSV1_0 package accepts a user name and a hashed password. It looks up the user name and hashed password combination in the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) database. If the logon data matches the stored credentials, the authentication package permits the logon to succeed.

After successfully authenticating a security principal's credentials, an authentication package is responsible for creating a new LSA logon session for the principal and allocating the logon identifier that uniquely identifies the logon session. The authentication package may associate credential information with the logon session for subsequent authentication requests. For example, the MSV1_0 authentication package (provided by Microsoft) associates the user account name and a hash of the user's password with each logon session.

The authentication package also provides a set of security identifiers (SIDs) and other information appropriate for inclusion in the security token created by the LSA. This token will represent the principal's security context for access to Windows operations.

After a logon session is created and associated with a principal, subsequent authentication requests made on behalf of the principal are handled differently than the initial logon. The authentication package does not create a new logon session nor return information for creating a token. The authentication package can, however, associate supplemental credentials obtained during a subsequent authentication with the principal's existing logon session. Supplemental credentials are obtained when access to a requested resource requires information beyond the credentials established by the initial logon. For example, when a logged-on user requests a Novell network logon, a Novell-specific authentication package can be called and Novell-specific credentials can be authenticated and associated with the logon session. These credentials can be referenced by a Novell redirector (by way of the Novell authentication package) when the user accesses the Novell network.

The following topics discuss the various types of Authentication packages: