1 [[chapter_user_management]]
13 pveum - Proxmox VE User Manager
19 include::pveum.1-synopsis.adoc[]
31 // Copied from pve wiki: Revision as of 16:10, 27 October 2015
33 {pve} supports multiple authentication sources, for example Linux PAM,
34 an integrated Proxmox VE authentication server, LDAP, Microsoft Active
35 Directory and OpenID Connect.
37 By using role-based user and permission management for all objects (VMs,
38 Storage, nodes, etc.), granular access can be defined.
45 {pve} stores user attributes in `/etc/pve/user.cfg`.
46 Passwords are not stored here; users are instead associated with the
47 <<pveum_authentication_realms,authentication realms>> described below.
48 Therefore, a user is often internally identified by their username and
49 realm in the form `<userid>@<realm>`.
51 Each user entry in this file contains the following information:
57 * An optional expiration date
58 * A comment or note about this user
59 * Whether this user is enabled or disabled
60 * Optional two-factor authentication keys
62 CAUTION: When you disable or delete a user, or if the expiry date set is
63 in the past, this user will not be able to log in to new sessions or start new
64 tasks. All tasks which have already been started by this user (for example,
65 terminal sessions) will **not** be terminated automatically by any such event.
71 The system's root user can always log in via the Linux PAM realm and is an
72 unconfined administrator. This user cannot be deleted, but attributes can
73 still be changed. System mails will be sent to the email address
74 assigned to this user.
81 Each user can be a member of several groups. Groups are the preferred
82 way to organize access permissions. You should always grant permissions
83 to groups instead of individual users. That way you will get a
84 much more maintainable access control list.
90 API tokens allow stateless access to most parts of the REST API from another
91 system, software or API client. Tokens can be generated for individual users
92 and can be given separate permissions and expiration dates to limit the scope
93 and duration of the access. Should the API token get compromised, it can be
94 revoked without disabling the user itself.
96 API tokens come in two basic types:
98 * Separated privileges: The token needs to be given explicit access with ACLs.
99 Its effective permissions are calculated by intersecting user and token
101 * Full privileges: The token's permissions are identical to that of the
104 CAUTION: The token value is only displayed/returned once when the token is
105 generated. It cannot be retrieved again over the API at a later time!
107 To use an API token, set the HTTP header 'Authorization' to the displayed value
108 of the form `PVEAPIToken=USER@REALM!TOKENID=UUID` when making API requests, or
109 refer to your API client's documentation.
111 [[pveum_resource_pools]]
115 [thumbnail="screenshot/gui-datacenter-pool-window.png"]
117 A resource pool is a set of virtual machines, containers, and storage
118 devices. It is useful for permission handling in cases where certain users
119 should have controlled access to a specific set of resources, as it allows for a
120 single permission to be applied to a set of elements, rather than having to
121 manage this on a per-resource basis. Resource pools are often used in tandem
122 with groups, so that the members of a group have permissions on a set of
123 machines and storage.
125 [[pveum_authentication_realms]]
126 Authentication Realms
127 ---------------------
129 As {pve} users are just counterparts for users existing on some external
130 realm, the realms have to be configured in `/etc/pve/domains.cfg`.
131 The following realms (authentication methods) are available:
133 Linux PAM Standard Authentication::
135 Linux PAM is a framework for system-wide user authentication. These users are
136 created on the host system with commands such as `adduser`. If PAM users exist
137 on the {pve} host system, corresponding entries can be added to {pve}, to allow
138 these users to log in via their system username and password.
140 {pve} Authentication Server::
142 This is a Unix-like password store, which stores hashed passwords in
143 `/etc/pve/priv/shadow.cfg`. Passwords are hashed using the SHA-256 hashing
144 algorithm. This is the most convenient realm for small-scale (or even
145 mid-scale) installations, where users do not need access to anything outside of
146 {pve}. In this case, users are fully managed by {pve} and are able to change
147 their own passwords via the GUI.
151 LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is an open, cross-platform protocol
152 for authentication using directory services. OpenLDAP is a popular open-source
153 implementations of the LDAP protocol.
155 Microsoft Active Directory (AD)::
157 Microsoft Active Directory (AD) is a directory service for Windows domain
158 networks and is supported as an authentication realm for {pve}. It supports LDAP
159 as an authentication protocol.
163 OpenID Connect is implemented as an identity layer on top of the OATH 2.0
164 protocol. It allows clients to verify the identity of the user, based on
165 authentication performed by an external authorization server.
168 Linux PAM Standard Authentication
169 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
171 As Linux PAM corresponds to host system users, a system user must exist on each
172 node which the user is allowed to log in on. The user authenticates with their
173 usual system password. This realm is added by default and can't be removed. In
174 terms of configurability, an administrator can choose to require two-factor
175 authentication with logins from the realm and to set the realm as the default
176 authentication realm.
180 {pve} Authentication Server
181 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
183 The {pve} authentication server realm is a simple Unix-like password store.
184 The realm is created by default, and as with Linux PAM, the only configuration
185 items available are the ability to require two-factor authentication for users
186 of the realm, and to set it as the default realm for login.
188 Unlike the other {pve} realm types, users are created and authenticated entirely
189 through {pve}, rather than authenticating against another system. Hence, you are
190 required to set a password for this type of user upon creation.
197 You can also use an external LDAP server for user authentication (for examle,
198 OpenLDAP). In this realm type, users are searched under a 'Base Domain Name'
199 (`base_dn`), using the username attribute specified in the 'User Attribute Name'
202 A server and optional fallback server can be configured, and the connection can
203 be encrypted via SSL. Furthermore, filters can be configured for directories and
204 groups. Filters allow you to further limit the scope of the realm.
206 For instance, if a user is represented via the following LDIF dataset:
209 # user1 of People at ldap-test.com
210 dn: uid=user1,ou=People,dc=ldap-test,dc=com
213 objectClass: organizationalPerson
214 objectClass: inetOrgPerson
218 description: This is the first test user.
221 The 'Base Domain Name' would be `ou=People,dc=ldap-test,dc=com` and the user
222 attribute would be `uid`.
224 If {pve} needs to authenticate (bind) to the LDAP server before being
225 able to query and authenticate users, a bind domain name can be
226 configured via the `bind_dn` property in `/etc/pve/domains.cfg`. Its
227 password then has to be stored in `/etc/pve/priv/ldap/<realmname>.pw`
228 (for example, `/etc/pve/priv/ldap/my-ldap.pw`). This file should contain a
229 single line with the raw password.
231 To verify certificates, you need to set `capath`. You can set it either
232 directly to the CA certificate of your LDAP server, or to the system path
233 containing all trusted CA certificates (`/etc/ssl/certs`).
234 Additionally, you need to set the `verify` option, which can also be done over
237 The main configuration options for an LDAP server realm are as follows:
239 * `Realm` (`realm`): The realm identifier for {pve} users
241 * `Base Domain Name` (`base_dn`): The directory which users are searched under
243 * `User Attribute Name` (`user_attr`): The LDAP attribute containing the
244 username that users will log in with
246 * `Server` (`server1`): The server hosting the LDAP directory
248 * `Fallback Server` (`server2`): An optional fallback server address, in case
249 the primary server is unreachable
251 * `Port` (`port`): The port that the LDAP server listens on
253 NOTE: In order to allow a particular user to authenticate using the LDAP server,
254 you must also add them as a user of that realm from the {pve} server. This can
255 be carried out automatically with <<pveum_ldap_sync, syncing>>.
259 Microsoft Active Directory (AD)
260 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
262 To set up Microsoft AD as a realm, a server address and authentication domain
263 need to be specified. Active Directory supports most of the same properties as
264 LDAP, such as an optional fallback server, port, and SSL encryption.
265 Furthermore, users can be added to {pve} automatically via
266 <<pveum_ldap_sync, sync>> operations, after configuration.
268 As with LDAP, if {pve} needs to authenticate before it binds to the AD server,
269 you must configure the 'Bind User' (`bind_dn`) property. This property is
270 typically required by default for Microsoft AD.
272 The main configuration settings for Microsoft Active Directory are:
274 * `Realm` (`realm`): The realm identifier for {pve} users
276 * `Domain` (`domain`): The AD domain of the server
278 * `Server` (`server1`): The FQDN or IP address of the server
280 * `Fallback Server` (`server2`): An optional fallback server address, in case
281 the primary server is unreachable
283 * `Port` (`port`): The port that the Microsoft AD server listens on
286 Syncing LDAP-Based Realms
287 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
289 [thumbnail="screenshot/gui-datacenter-realm-add-ldap.png"]
291 It's possible to automatically sync users and groups for LDAP-based realms (LDAP
292 & Microsoft Active Directory), rather than having to add them to {pve} manually.
293 You can access the sync options from the Add/Edit window of the web interface's
294 `Authentication` panel or via the `pveum realm add/modify` commands. You can
295 then carry out the sync operation from the `Authentication` panel of the GUI or
296 using the following command:
299 pveum realm sync <realm>
302 Users and groups are synced to the cluster-wide configuration file,
306 Attributes to Properties
307 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
309 If the sync response includes user attributes, they will be synced into the
310 matching user property in the `user.cfg`. For example: `firstname` or
313 If the names of the attributes are not matching the {pve} properties, you can
314 set a custom field-to-field map in the config by using the `sync_attributes`
317 How such properties are handled if anything vanishes can be controlled via the
318 sync options, see below.
323 The configuration options for syncing LDAP-based realms can be found in the
324 `Sync Options` tab of the Add/Edit window.
326 The configuration options are as follows:
328 * `Bind User` (`bind_dn`): Refers to the LDAP account used to query users
329 and groups. This account needs access to all desired entries. If it's set, the
330 search will be carried out via binding; otherwise, the search will be carried
331 out anonymously. The user must be a complete LDAP formatted distinguished name
332 (DN), for example, `cn=admin,dc=example,dc=com`.
334 * Groupname attr. (group_name_attr): Represents the
335 users' groups. Only entries which adhere to the usual character limitations of
336 the `user.cfg` are synced. Groups are synced with `-$realm` attached to the
337 name, in order to avoid naming conflicts. Please ensure that a sync does not
338 overwrite manually created groups.
340 * `User classes` (`user_classes`): Objects classes associated with users.
342 * `Group classes` (`group_classes`): Objects classes associated with groups.
344 * `E-Mail attribute`: If the LDAP-based server specifies user email addresses,
345 these can also be included in the sync by setting the associated attribute
346 here. From the command line, this is achievable through the
347 `--sync_attributes` parameter.
349 * `User Filter` (`filter`): For further filter options to target specific users.
351 * `Group Filter` (`group_filter`): For further filter options to target specific
354 NOTE: Filters allow you to create a set of additional match criteria, to narrow
355 down the scope of a sync. Information on available LDAP filter types and their
356 usage can be found at https://ldap.com/ldap-filters/[ldap.com].
358 [[pveum_ldap_sync_options]]
362 [thumbnail="screenshot/gui-datacenter-realm-add-ldap-sync-options.png"]
364 In addition to the options specified in the previous section, you can also
365 configure further options that describe the behavior of the sync operation.
367 These options are either set as parameters before the sync, or as defaults via
368 the realm option `sync-defaults-options`.
370 The main options for syncing are:
372 * `Scope` (`scope`): The scope of what to sync. It can be either `users`,
375 * `Enable new` (`enable-new`): If set, the newly synced users are enabled and
376 can log in. The default is `true`.
378 * `Remove Vanished` (`remove-vanished`): This is a list of options which, when
379 activated, determine if they are removed when they are not returned from
380 the sync response. The options are:
382 - `ACL` (`acl)`: Remove ACLs of users and groups which were not returned
383 returned in the sync response. This most often makes sense together with
386 - `Entry` (`entry`): Removes entries (i.e. users and groups) when they are
387 not returned in the sync response.
389 - `Properties` (`properties`): Removes properties of entries where the user
390 in the sync response did not contain those attributes. This includes
391 all properties, even those never set by a sync. Exceptions are tokens
392 and the enable flag, these will be retained even with this option enabled.
394 * `Preview` (`dry-run`): No data is written to the config. This is useful if you
395 want to see which users and groups would get synced to the `user.cfg`.
402 The main OpenID Connect configuration options are:
404 * `Issuer URL` (`issuer-url`): This is the URL of the authorization server.
405 Proxmox uses the OpenID Connect Discovery protocol to automatically configure
408 While it is possible to use unencrypted `http://` URLs, we strongly recommend to
409 use encrypted `https://` connections.
411 * `Realm` (`realm`): The realm identifier for {pve} users
413 * `Client ID` (`client-id`): OpenID Client ID.
415 * `Client Key` (`client-key`): Optional OpenID Client Key.
417 * `Autocreate Users` (`autocreate`): Automatically create users if they do not
418 exist. While authentication is done at the OpenID server, all users still need
419 an entry in the {pve} user configuration. You can either add them manually, or
420 use the `autocreate` option to automatically add new users.
422 * `Username Claim` (`username-claim`): OpenID claim used to generate the unique
423 username (`subject`, `username` or `email`).
428 The OpenID Connect specification defines a single unique attribute
429 ('claim' in OpenID terms) named `subject`. By default, we use the
430 value of this attribute to generate {pve} usernames, by simple adding
431 `@` and the realm name: `${subject}@${realm}`.
433 Unfortunately, most OpenID servers use random strings for `subject`, like
434 `DGH76OKH34BNG3245SB`, so a typical username would look like
435 `DGH76OKH34BNG3245SB@yourrealm`. While unique, it is difficult for
436 humans to remember such random strings, making it quite impossible to
437 associate real users with this.
439 The `username-claim` setting allows you to use other attributes for
440 the username mapping. Setting it to `username` is preferred if the
441 OpenID Connect server provides that attribute and guarantees its
444 Another option is to use `email`, which also yields human readable
445 usernames. Again, only use this setting if the server guarantees the
446 uniqueness of this attribute.
451 Here is an example of creating an OpenID realm using Google. You need to
452 replace `--client-id` and `--client-key` with the values
453 from your Google OpenID settings.
456 pveum realm add myrealm1 --type openid --issuer-url https://accounts.google.com --client-id XXXX --client-key YYYY --username-claim email
459 The above command uses `--username-claim email`, so that the usernames on the
460 {pve} side look like `example.user@google.com@myrealm1`.
462 Keycloak (https://www.keycloak.org/) is a popular open source Identity
463 and Access Management tool, which supports OpenID Connect. In the following
464 example, you need to replace the `--issuer-url` and `--client-id` with
468 pveum realm add myrealm2 --type openid --issuer-url https://your.server:8080/realms/your-realm --client-id XXX --username-claim username
471 Using `--username-claim username` enables simple usernames on the
472 {pve} side, like `example.user@myrealm2`.
474 WARNING: You need to ensure that the user is not allowed to edit
475 the username setting themselves (on the Keycloak server).
479 Two-Factor Authentication
480 -------------------------
482 There are two ways to use two-factor authentication:
484 It can be required by the authentication realm, either via 'TOTP'
485 (Time-based One-Time Password) or 'YubiKey OTP'. In this case, a newly
486 created user needs to have their keys added immediately, as there is no way to
487 log in without the second factor. In the case of 'TOTP', users can
488 also change the 'TOTP' later on, provided they can log in first.
490 Alternatively, users can choose to opt-in to two-factor authentication
491 later on, even if the realm does not enforce it.
493 Available Second Factors
494 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
496 You can set up multiple second factors, in order to avoid a situation in
497 which losing your smartphone or security key locks you out of your
500 The following two-factor authentication methods are available in
501 addition to realm-enforced TOTP and YubiKey OTP:
503 * User configured TOTP
504 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-based_One-Time_Password[Time-based One-Time Password]).
505 A short code derived from a shared secret and the current time, it changes
507 * WebAuthn (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebAuthn[Web Authentication]).
508 A general standard for authentication. It is implemented by various
509 security devices, like hardware keys or trusted platform modules (TPM)
510 from a computer or smart phone.
511 * Single use Recovery Keys. A list of keys which should either be
512 printed out and locked in a secure place or saved digitally in an
513 electronic vault. Each key can be used only once. These are perfect for
514 ensuring that you are not locked out, even if all of your other second
515 factors are lost or corrupt.
517 Before WebAuthn was supported, U2F could be setup by the user. Existing
518 U2F factors can still be used, but it is recommended to switch to
519 WebAuthn, once it is configured on the server.
521 Realm Enforced Two-Factor Authentication
522 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
524 This can be done by selecting one of the available methods via the
525 'TFA' dropdown box when adding or editing an Authentication Realm.
526 When a realm has TFA enabled, it becomes a requirement, and only users
527 with configured TFA will be able to log in.
529 Currently there are two methods available:
531 Time-based OATH (TOTP):: This uses the standard HMAC-SHA1 algorithm,
532 where the current time is hashed with the user's configured key. The
533 time step and password length parameters are configurable.
535 A user can have multiple keys configured (separated by spaces), and the keys
536 can be specified in Base32 (RFC3548) or hexadecimal notation.
538 {pve} provides a key generation tool (`oathkeygen`) which prints out a random
539 key in Base32 notation, that can be used directly with various OTP tools, such
540 as the `oathtool` command line tool, or on Android Google Authenticator,
541 FreeOTP, andOTP or similar applications.
544 For authenticating via a YubiKey a Yubico API ID, API KEY and validation
545 server URL must be configured, and users must have a YubiKey available. In
546 order to get the key ID from a YubiKey, you can trigger the YubiKey once
547 after connecting it via USB, and copy the first 12 characters of the typed
548 password into the user's 'Key IDs' field.
550 Please refer to the https://developers.yubico.com/OTP/[YubiKey OTP]
551 documentation for how to use the
552 https://www.yubico.com/products/services-software/yubicloud/[YubiCloud] or
553 https://developers.yubico.com/Software_Projects/Yubico_OTP/YubiCloud_Validation_Servers/[host your own verification server].
555 [[pveum_user_configured_totp]]
556 User Configured TOTP Authentication
557 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
559 Users can choose to enable 'TOTP' or 'WebAuthn' as a second factor on login, via
560 the 'TFA' button in the user list (unless the realm enforces 'YubiKey OTP').
562 Users can always add and use one time 'Recovery Keys'.
564 [thumbnail="screenshot/gui-datacenter-two-factor.png"]
566 After opening the 'TFA' window, the user is presented with a dialog to set up
567 'TOTP' authentication. The 'Secret' field contains the key, which can be
568 randomly generated via the 'Randomize' button. An optional 'Issuer Name' can be
569 added to provide information to the 'TOTP' app about what the key belongs to.
570 Most 'TOTP' apps will show the issuer name together with the corresponding
571 'OTP' values. The username is also included in the QR code for the 'TOTP' app.
573 After generating a key, a QR code will be displayed, which can be used with most
574 OTP apps such as FreeOTP. The user then needs to verify the current user
575 password (unless logged in as 'root'), as well as the ability to correctly use
576 the 'TOTP' key, by typing the current 'OTP' value into the 'Verification Code'
577 field and pressing the 'Apply' button.
579 [[user_tfa_setup_totp]]
582 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-gui-tfa-add-totp.png"]
584 There is no server setup required. Simply install a TOTP app on your
585 smartphone (for example, https://freeotp.github.io/[FreeOTP]) and use
586 the Proxmox Backup Server web-interface to add a TOTP factor.
588 [[user_tfa_setup_webauthn]]
591 For WebAuthn to work, you need to have two things:
593 * A trusted HTTPS certificate (for example, by using
594 https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Certificate_Management[Let's Encrypt]).
595 While it probably works with an untrusted certificate, some browsers may
596 warn or refuse WebAuthn operations if it is not trusted.
597 * Setup the WebAuthn configuration (see *Datacenter -> Options ->
598 WebAuthn Settings* in the Proxmox VE web interface). This can be
599 auto-filled in most setups.
601 Once you have fulfilled both of these requirements, you can add a WebAuthn
602 configuration in the *Two Factor* panel under *Datacenter -> Permissions -> Two
605 [[user_tfa_setup_recovery_keys]]
608 [thumbnail="screenshot/pve-gui-tfa-add-recovery-keys.png"]
610 Recovery key codes do not need any preparation; you can simply create a
611 set of recovery keys in the *Two Factor* panel under *Datacenter -> Permissions
614 NOTE: There can only be one set of single-use recovery keys per user at any
618 [[pveum_configure_webauthn]]
619 Server Side Webauthn Configuration
620 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
622 [thumbnail="screenshot/gui-datacenter-webauthn-edit.png"]
624 To allow users to use 'WebAuthn' authentication, it is necessaary to use a valid
625 domain with a valid SSL certificate, otherwise some browsers may warn or refuse
626 to authenticate altogether.
628 NOTE: Changing the 'WebAuthn' configuration may render all existing 'WebAuthn'
629 registrations unusable!
631 This is done via `/etc/pve/datacenter.cfg`. For instance:
634 webauthn: rp=mypve.example.com,origin=https://mypve.example.com:8006,id=mypve.example.com
637 [[pveum_configure_u2f]]
638 Server Side U2F Configuration
639 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
641 NOTE: It is recommended to use WebAuthn instead.
643 To allow users to use 'U2F' authentication, it may be necessary to use a valid
644 domain with a valid SSL certificate, otherwise, some browsers may print
645 a warning or reject U2F usage altogether. Initially, an 'AppId'
646 footnote:[AppId https://developers.yubico.com/U2F/App_ID.html]
647 needs to be configured.
649 NOTE: Changing the 'AppId' will render all existing 'U2F' registrations
652 This is done via `/etc/pve/datacenter.cfg`. For instance:
655 u2f: appid=https://mypve.example.com:8006
658 For a single node, the 'AppId' can simply be the address of the web-interface,
659 exactly as it is used in the browser, including the 'https://' and the port, as
660 shown above. Please note that some browsers may be more strict than others when
663 When using multiple nodes, it is best to have a separate `https` server
664 providing an `appid.json`
665 footnote:[Multi-facet apps: https://developers.yubico.com/U2F/App_ID.html]
666 file, as it seems to be compatible with most
667 browsers. If all nodes use subdomains of the same top level domain, it may be
668 enough to use the TLD as 'AppId'. It should however be noted that some browsers
671 NOTE: A bad 'AppId' will usually produce an error, but we have encountered
672 situations when this does not happen, particularly when using a top level domain
673 'AppId' for a node that is accessed via a subdomain in Chromium. For this reason
674 it is recommended to test the configuration with multiple browsers, as changing
675 the 'AppId' later will render existing 'U2F' registrations unusable.
677 [[pveum_user_configured_u2f]]
678 Activating U2F as a User
679 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
681 To enable 'U2F' authentication, open the 'TFA' window's 'U2F' tab, type in the
682 current password (unless logged in as root), and press the 'Register' button.
683 If the server is set up correctly and the browser accepts the server's provided
684 'AppId', a message will appear prompting the user to press the button on the
685 'U2F' device (if it is a 'YubiKey', the button light should be toggling on and
686 off steadily, roughly twice per second).
688 Firefox users may need to enable 'security.webauth.u2f' via 'about:config'
689 before they can use a 'U2F' token.
691 [[pveum_permission_management]]
692 Permission Management
693 ---------------------
695 In order for a user to perform an action (such as listing, modifying or
696 deleting parts of a VM's configuration), the user needs to have the
697 appropriate permissions.
699 {pve} uses a role and path based permission management system. An entry in
700 the permissions table allows a user, group or token to take on a specific role
701 when accessing an 'object' or 'path'. This means that such an access rule can
702 be represented as a triple of '(path, user, role)', '(path, group,
703 role)' or '(path, token, role)', with the role containing a set of allowed
704 actions, and the path representing the target of these actions.
711 A role is simply a list of privileges. Proxmox VE comes with a number
712 of predefined roles, which satisfy most requirements.
714 * `Administrator`: has full privileges
715 * `NoAccess`: has no privileges (used to forbid access)
716 * `PVEAdmin`: can do most tasks, but has no rights to modify system settings (`Sys.PowerMgmt`, `Sys.Modify`, `Realm.Allocate`)
717 * `PVEAuditor`: has read only access
718 * `PVEDatastoreAdmin`: create and allocate backup space and templates
719 * `PVEDatastoreUser`: allocate backup space and view storage
720 * `PVEPoolAdmin`: allocate pools
721 * `PVESysAdmin`: User ACLs, audit, system console and system logs
722 * `PVETemplateUser`: view and clone templates
723 * `PVEUserAdmin`: manage users
724 * `PVEVMAdmin`: fully administer VMs
725 * `PVEVMUser`: view, backup, configure CD-ROM, VM console, VM power management
727 You can see the whole set of predefined roles in the GUI.
729 You can add new roles via the GUI or the command line.
731 [thumbnail="screenshot/gui-datacenter-role-add.png"]
732 From the GUI, navigate to the 'Permissions -> Roles' tab from 'Datacenter' and
733 click on the 'Create' button. There you can set a role name and select any
734 desired privileges from the 'Privileges' drop-down menu.
736 To add a role through the command line, you can use the 'pveum' CLI tool, for
740 pveum role add PVE_Power-only --privs "VM.PowerMgmt VM.Console"
741 pveum role add Sys_Power-only --privs "Sys.PowerMgmt Sys.Console"
748 A privilege is the right to perform a specific action. To simplify
749 management, lists of privileges are grouped into roles, which can then
750 be used in the permission table. Note that privileges cannot be directly
751 assigned to users and paths without being part of a role.
753 We currently support the following privileges:
755 Node / System related privileges::
757 * `Permissions.Modify`: modify access permissions
758 * `Sys.PowerMgmt`: node power management (start, stop, reset, shutdown, ...)
759 * `Sys.Console`: console access to node
760 * `Sys.Syslog`: view syslog
761 * `Sys.Audit`: view node status/config, Corosync cluster config, and HA config
762 * `Sys.Modify`: create/modify/remove node network parameters
763 * `Sys.Incoming`: allow incoming data streams from other clusters (experimental)
764 * `Group.Allocate`: create/modify/remove groups
765 * `Pool.Allocate`: create/modify/remove a pool
766 * `Pool.Audit`: view a pool
767 * `Realm.Allocate`: create/modify/remove authentication realms
768 * `Realm.AllocateUser`: assign user to a realm
769 * `User.Modify`: create/modify/remove user access and details.
771 Virtual machine related privileges::
773 * `VM.Allocate`: create/remove VM on a server
774 * `VM.Migrate`: migrate VM to alternate server on cluster
775 * `VM.PowerMgmt`: power management (start, stop, reset, shutdown, ...)
776 * `VM.Console`: console access to VM
777 * `VM.Monitor`: access to VM monitor (kvm)
778 * `VM.Backup`: backup/restore VMs
779 * `VM.Audit`: view VM config
780 * `VM.Clone`: clone/copy a VM
781 * `VM.Config.Disk`: add/modify/remove disks
782 * `VM.Config.CDROM`: eject/change CD-ROM
783 * `VM.Config.CPU`: modify CPU settings
784 * `VM.Config.Memory`: modify memory settings
785 * `VM.Config.Network`: add/modify/remove network devices
786 * `VM.Config.HWType`: modify emulated hardware types
787 * `VM.Config.Options`: modify any other VM configuration
788 * `VM.Config.Cloudinit`: modify Cloud-init parameters
789 * `VM.Snapshot`: create/delete VM snapshots
791 Storage related privileges::
793 * `Datastore.Allocate`: create/modify/remove a datastore and delete volumes
794 * `Datastore.AllocateSpace`: allocate space on a datastore
795 * `Datastore.AllocateTemplate`: allocate/upload templates and ISO images
796 * `Datastore.Audit`: view/browse a datastore
802 Access permissions are assigned to objects, such as virtual machines,
803 storages or resource pools.
804 We use file system like paths to address these objects. These paths form a
805 natural tree, and permissions of higher levels (shorter paths) can
806 optionally be propagated down within this hierarchy.
808 [[pveum_templated_paths]]
809 Paths can be templated. When an API call requires permissions on a
810 templated path, the path may contain references to parameters of the API
811 call. These references are specified in curly braces. Some parameters are
812 implicitly taken from the API call's URI. For instance, the permission path
813 `/nodes/{node}` when calling '/nodes/mynode/status' requires permissions on
814 `/nodes/mynode`, while the path `{path}` in a PUT request to `/access/acl`
815 refers to the method's `path` parameter.
819 * `/nodes/{node}`: Access to {pve} server machines
820 * `/vms`: Covers all VMs
821 * `/vms/{vmid}`: Access to specific VMs
822 * `/storage/{storeid}`: Access to a specific storage
823 * `/pool/{poolname}`: Access to resources contained in a specific <<pveum_pools,pool>>
824 * `/access/groups`: Group administration
825 * `/access/realms/{realmid}`: Administrative access to realms
831 As mentioned earlier, object paths form a file system like tree, and
832 permissions can be inherited by objects down that tree (the propagate flag is
833 set by default). We use the following inheritance rules:
835 * Permissions for individual users always replace group permissions.
836 * Permissions for groups apply when the user is member of that group.
837 * Permissions on deeper levels replace those inherited from an upper level.
839 Additionally, privilege separated tokens can never have permissions on any
840 given path that their associated user does not have.
846 Pools can be used to group a set of virtual machines and datastores. You can
847 then simply set permissions on pools (`/pool/{poolid}`), which are inherited by
848 all pool members. This is a great way to simplify access control.
851 Which Permissions Do I Need?
852 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
854 The required API permissions are documented for each individual
855 method, and can be found at https://pve.proxmox.com/pve-docs/api-viewer/.
857 The permissions are specified as a list, which can be interpreted as a
858 tree of logic and access-check functions:
860 `["and", <subtests>...]` and `["or", <subtests>...]`::
861 Each(`and`) or any(`or`) further element in the current list has to be true.
863 `["perm", <path>, [ <privileges>... ], <options>...]`::
864 The `path` is a templated parameter (see
865 <<pveum_templated_paths,Objects and Paths>>). All (or, if the `any`
866 option is used, any) of the listed
867 privileges must be allowed on the specified path. If a `require-param`
868 option is specified, then its specified parameter is required even if the
869 API call's schema otherwise lists it as being optional.
871 `["userid-group", [ <privileges>... ], <options>...]`::
872 The caller must have any of the listed privileges on `/access/groups`. In
873 addition, there are two possible checks, depending on whether the
874 `groups_param` option is set:
876 * `groups_param` is set: The API call has a non-optional `groups` parameter
877 and the caller must have any of the listed privileges on all of the listed
879 * `groups_param` is not set: The user passed via the `userid` parameter
880 must exist and be part of a group on which the caller has any of the listed
881 privileges (via the `/access/groups/<group>` path).
883 `["userid-param", "self"]`::
884 The value provided for the API call's `userid` parameter must refer to the
885 user performing the action (usually in conjunction with `or`, to allow
886 users to perform an action on themselves, even if they don't have elevated
889 `["userid-param", "Realm.AllocateUser"]`::
890 The user needs `Realm.AllocateUser` access to `/access/realm/<realm>`, with
891 `<realm>` referring to the realm of the user passed via the `userid`
892 parameter. Note that the user does not need to exist in order to be
893 associated with a realm, since user IDs are passed in the form of
894 `<username>@<realm>`.
896 `["perm-modify", <path>]`::
897 The `path` is a templated parameter (see
898 <<pveum_templated_paths,Objects and Paths>>). The user needs either the
899 `Permissions.Modify` privilege or,
900 depending on the path, the following privileges as a possible substitute:
902 * `/storage/...`: requires 'Datastore.Allocate`
903 * `/vms/...`: requires 'VM.Allocate`
904 * `/pool/...`: requires 'Pool.Allocate`
906 If the path is empty, `Permission.Modify` on `/access` is required.
911 Most users will simply use the GUI to manage users. But there is also
912 a fully featured command line tool called `pveum` (short for ``**P**roxmox
913 **VE** **U**ser **M**anager''). Please note that all Proxmox VE command
914 line tools are wrappers around the API, so you can also access those
915 functions through the REST API.
917 Here are some simple usage examples. To show help, type:
922 or (to show detailed help about a specific command)
930 pveum user add testuser@pve -comment "Just a test"
932 Set or change the password (not all realms support this):
935 pveum passwd testuser@pve
940 pveum user modify testuser@pve -enable 0
945 pveum group add testgroup
950 pveum role add PVE_Power-only -privs "VM.PowerMgmt VM.Console"
960 It is possible that an administrator would want to create a group of users with
961 full administrator rights (without using the root account).
963 To do this, first define the group:
966 pveum group add admin -comment "System Administrators"
968 Then assign the role:
971 pveum acl modify / -group admin -role Administrator
973 Finally, you can add users to the new 'admin' group:
976 pveum user modify testuser@pve -group admin
982 You can give read only access to users by assigning the `PVEAuditor`
983 role to users or groups.
985 Example 1: Allow user `joe@pve` to see everything
988 pveum acl modify / -user joe@pve -role PVEAuditor
990 Example 2: Allow user `joe@pve` to see all virtual machines
993 pveum acl modify /vms -user joe@pve -role PVEAuditor
996 Delegate User Management
997 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
999 If you want to delegate user management to user `joe@pve`, you can do
1003 pveum acl modify /access -user joe@pve -role PVEUserAdmin
1005 User `joe@pve` can now add and remove users, and change other user attributes,
1006 such as passwords. This is a very powerful role, and you most
1007 likely want to limit it to selected realms and groups. The following
1008 example allows `joe@pve` to modify users within the realm `pve`, if they
1009 are members of group `customers`:
1012 pveum acl modify /access/realm/pve -user joe@pve -role PVEUserAdmin
1013 pveum acl modify /access/groups/customers -user joe@pve -role PVEUserAdmin
1015 NOTE: The user is able to add other users, but only if they are
1016 members of the group `customers` and within the realm `pve`.
1018 Limited API Token for Monitoring
1019 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1021 Permissions on API tokens are always a subset of those of their corresponding
1022 user, meaning that an API token can't be used to carry out a task that the
1023 backing user has no permission to do. This section will demonstrate how you can
1024 use an API token with separate privileges, to limit the token owner's
1025 permissions further.
1027 Give the user `joe@pve` the role PVEVMAdmin on all VMs:
1030 pveum acl modify /vms -user joe@pve -role PVEVMAdmin
1032 Add a new API token with separate privileges, which is only allowed to view VM
1033 information (for example, for monitoring purposes):
1036 pveum user token add joe@pve monitoring -privsep 1
1037 pveum acl modify /vms -token 'joe@pve!monitoring' -role PVEAuditor
1039 Verify the permissions of the user and token:
1042 pveum user permissions joe@pve
1043 pveum user token permissions joe@pve monitoring
1048 An enterprise is usually structured into several smaller departments, and it is
1049 common that you want to assign resources and delegate management tasks to each
1050 of these. Let's assume that you want to set up a pool for a software development
1051 department. First, create a group:
1054 pveum group add developers -comment "Our software developers"
1056 Now we create a new user which is a member of that group:
1059 pveum user add developer1@pve -group developers -password
1061 NOTE: The "-password" parameter will prompt you for a password
1063 Then we create a resource pool for our development department to use:
1066 pveum pool add dev-pool --comment "IT development pool"
1068 Finally, we can assign permissions to that pool:
1071 pveum acl modify /pool/dev-pool/ -group developers -role PVEAdmin
1073 Our software developers can now administer the resources assigned to
1078 include::pve-copyright.adoc[]