1 [[chapter_user_management]]
10 pveum - Proxmox VE User Manager
16 include::pveum.1-synopsis.adoc[]
28 // Copied from pve wiki: Revision as of 16:10, 27 October 2015
30 Proxmox VE supports multiple authentication sources, e.g. Linux PAM,
31 an integrated Proxmox VE authentication server, LDAP, Microsoft Active
34 By using the role based user- and permission management for all
35 objects (VMs, storages, nodes, etc.) granular access can be defined.
42 {pve} stores user attributes in `/etc/pve/user.cfg`.
43 Passwords are not stored here, users are instead associated with
44 <<pveum_authentication_realms,authentication realms>> described below.
45 Therefore a user is internally often identified by its name and
46 realm in the form `<userid>@<realm>`.
48 Each user entry in this file contains the following information:
54 * An optional Expiration date
55 * A comment or note about this user
56 * Whether this user is enabled or disabled
57 * Optional two factor authentication keys
63 The system's root user can always log in via the Linux PAM realm and is an
64 unconfined administrator. This user cannot be deleted, but attributes can
65 still be changed and system mails will be sent to the email address
66 assigned to this user.
73 Each user can be member of several groups. Groups are the preferred
74 way to organize access permissions. You should always grant permission
75 to groups instead of using individual users. That way you will get a
76 much shorter access control list which is easier to handle.
79 [[pveum_authentication_realms]]
83 As {pve} users are just counterparts for users existing on some external
84 realm, the realms have to be configured in `/etc/pve/domains.cfg`.
85 The following realms (authentication methods) are available:
87 Linux PAM standard authentication::
88 In this case a system user has to exist (e.g. created via the `adduser`
89 command) on all nodes the user is allowed to login, and the user
90 authenticates with their usual system password.
97 usermod -a -G watchman heinz
100 Proxmox VE authentication server::
101 This is a unix like password store (`/etc/pve/priv/shadow.cfg`).
102 Password are encrypted using the SHA-256 hash method.
103 This is the most convenient method for small (or even medium)
104 installations where users do not need access to anything outside of
105 {pve}. In this case users are fully managed by {pve} and are able to
106 change their own passwords via the GUI.
109 It is possible to authenticate users via an LDAP server (e.g.
110 openldap). The server and an optional fallback server can be
111 configured and the connection can be encrypted via SSL.
113 Users are searched under a 'Base Domain Name' (`base_dn`), with the
114 user name found in the attribute specified in the 'User Attribute Name'
117 For instance, if a user is represented via the
118 following ldif dataset:
121 # user1 of People at ldap-test.com
122 dn: uid=user1,ou=People,dc=ldap-test,dc=com
125 objectClass: organizationalPerson
126 objectClass: inetOrgPerson
130 description: This is the first test user.
133 The 'Base Domain Name' would be `ou=People,dc=ldap-test,dc=com` and the user
134 attribute would be `uid`.
136 If {pve} needs to authenticate (bind) to the ldap server before being
137 able to query and authenticate users, a bind domain name can be
138 configured via the `bind_dn` property in `/etc/pve/domains.cfg`. Its
139 password then has to be stored in `/etc/pve/priv/ldap/<realmname>.pw`
140 (e.g. `/etc/pve/priv/ldap/my-ldap.pw`). This file should contain a
141 single line containing the raw password.
143 Microsoft Active Directory::
145 A server and authentication domain need to be specified. Like with
146 ldap an optional fallback server, optional port, and SSL
147 encryption can be configured.
151 Two factor authentication
152 -------------------------
154 There are two ways to use two factor authentication:
156 It can be required by the authentication realm, either via 'TOTP' or
157 'YubiKey OTP'. In this case a newly created user needs their keys added
158 immediately as there is no way to log in without the second factor. In the case
159 of 'TOTP' a user can also change the 'TOTP' later on provided they can log in
162 Alternatively a user can choose to opt into two factor authentication via 'TOTP'
163 later on even if the realm does not enforce it. As another option, if the server
164 has an 'AppId' configured, a user can opt into 'U2F' authentication, provided
165 the realm does not enforce any other second factor.
167 Realm enforced two factor authentication
168 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
170 This can be done by selecting one of the available methods
171 via the 'TFA' dropdown box when adding or editing an Authentication Realm.
172 When a realm has TFA enabled it becomes a requirement and only users with
173 configured TFA will be able to login.
175 Currently there are two methods available:
177 Time based OATH (TOTP)::
178 This uses the standard HMAC-SHA1 algorithm where the current time is hashed
179 with the user's configured key. The time step and password length
180 parameters are configured.
182 A user can have multiple keys configured (separated by spaces), and the
183 keys can be specified in Base32 (RFC3548) or hexadecimal notation.
185 {pve} provides a key generation tool (`oathkeygen`) which prints out a
186 random key in Base32 notation which can be used directly with various OTP
187 tools, such as the `oathtool` command line tool, the Google authenticator
188 or FreeOTP Android apps.
191 For authenticating via a YubiKey a Yubico API ID, API KEY and validation
192 server URL must be configured, and users must have a YubiKey available. In
193 order to get the key ID from a YubiKey, you can trigger the YubiKey once
194 after connecting it to USB and copy the first 12 characters of the typed
195 password into the user's 'Key IDs' field.
198 https://developers.yubico.com/OTP/[YubiKey OTP] documentation for how to use the
199 https://www.yubico.com/products/services-software/yubicloud/[YubiCloud] or
200 https://developers.yubico.com/Software_Projects/YubiKey_OTP/YubiCloud_Validation_Servers/[
201 host your own verification server].
203 [[pveum_user_configured_totp]]
204 User configured TOTP authentication
205 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
207 A user can choose to use 'TOTP' as a second factor on login via the 'TFA' button
208 in the user list, unless the realm enforces 'YubiKey OTP'.
210 [thumbnail="screenshot/gui-datacenter-users-tfa.png"]
212 After opening the 'TFA' window, the user is presented with a dialog to setup
213 'TOTP' authentication. The 'Secret' field contains the key, which can simply be
214 generated randomly via the 'Randomize' button. An optional 'Issuer Name' can be
215 added to provide information to the 'TOTP' app what the key belongs to.
216 Most 'TOTP' apps will show the issuer name together with the corresponding
217 'OTP' values. The user name is also included in the QR code for the 'TOTP' app.
219 After generating a key, a QR code will be displayed which can be used with most
220 OTP apps such as FreeOTP. Now the user needs to verify both the current user
221 password (unless logged in as 'root'), as well as the ability to correctly use
222 the 'TOTP' key by typing the current 'OTP' value into the 'Verification Code'
223 field before pressing the 'Apply' button.
225 [[pveum_configure_u2f]]
226 Server side U2F configuration
227 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
229 To allow users to use 'U2F' authentication, the server needs to have a valid
230 domain with a valid https certificate. Initially an 'AppId'
231 footnote:[AppId https://developers.yubico.com/U2F/App_ID.html]
232 needs to be configured.
234 NOTE: Changing the 'AppId' will render all existing 'U2F' registrations
237 This is done via `/etc/pve/datacenter.cfg`, for instance:
240 u2f: appid=https://mypve.example.com:8006
243 For a single node, the 'AppId' can simply be the web UI address exactly as it
244 is used in the browser, including the 'https://' and the port as shown above.
245 Please note that some browsers may be more strict than others when matching
248 When using multiple nodes, it is best to have a separate `https` server
249 providing an `appid.json`
250 footnote:[Multi-facet apps: https://developers.yubico.com/U2F/App_ID.html]
251 file, as it seems to be compatible with most
252 browsers. If all nodes use subdomains of the same top level domain, it may be
253 enough to use the TLD as 'AppId', but note that some browsers may not accept
256 NOTE: A bad 'AppId' will usually produce an error, but we have encountered
257 situation where this does not happen, particularly when using a top level domain
258 'AppId' for a node accessed via a subdomain in Chromium. For this reason it is
259 recommended to test the configuration with multiple browsers, as changing the
260 'AppId' later will render existing 'U2F' registrations unusable.
262 [[pveum_user_configured_u2f]]
263 Activating U2F as a user
264 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
266 To enable 'U2F' authentication, open the 'TFA' window's 'U2F' tab, type in the
267 current password (unless logged in as root), and press the 'Register' button.
268 If the server is setup correctly and the browser accepted the server's provided
269 'AppId', a message will appear prompting the user to press the button on the
270 'U2F' device (if it is a 'YubiKey' the button light should be toggling off and
271 on steadily around twice per second).
273 Firefox users may need to enable 'security.webauth.u2f' via 'about:config'
274 before they can use a 'U2F' token.
276 [[pveum_permission_management]]
277 Permission Management
278 ---------------------
280 In order for a user to perform an action (such as listing, modifying or
281 deleting a parts of a VM configuration), the user needs to have the
282 appropriate permissions.
284 {pve} uses a role and path based permission management system. An entry in
285 the permissions table allows a user or group to take on a specific role
286 when accessing an 'object' or 'path'. This means an such an access rule can
287 be represented as a triple of '(path, user, role)' or '(path, group,
288 role)', with the role containing a set of allowed actions, and the path
289 representing the target of these actions.
296 A role is simply a list of privileges. Proxmox VE comes with a number
297 of predefined roles which satisfies most needs.
299 * `Administrator`: has all privileges
300 * `NoAccess`: has no privileges (used to forbid access)
301 * `PVEAdmin`: can do most things, but miss rights to modify system settings (`Sys.PowerMgmt`, `Sys.Modify`, `Realm.Allocate`).
302 * `PVEAuditor`: read only access
303 * `PVEDatastoreAdmin`: create and allocate backup space and templates
304 * `PVEDatastoreUser`: allocate backup space and view storage
305 * `PVEPoolAdmin`: allocate pools
306 * `PVESysAdmin`: User ACLs, audit, system console and system logs
307 * `PVETemplateUser`: view and clone templates
308 * `PVEUserAdmin`: user administration
309 * `PVEVMAdmin`: fully administer VMs
310 * `PVEVMUser`: view, backup, config CDROM, VM console, VM power management
312 You can see the whole set of predefined roles on the GUI.
314 Adding new roles can be done via both GUI and the command line.
316 [thumbnail="screenshot/gui-datacenter-role-add.png"]
317 For the GUI just navigate to 'Permissions -> User' Tab from 'Datacenter' and
318 click on the 'Create' button, there you can set a name and select all desired
319 roles from the 'Privileges' dropdown box.
321 To add a role through the command line you can use the 'pveum' CLI tool, like
325 pveum roleadd PVE_Power-only -privs "VM.PowerMgmt VM.Console"
326 pveum roleadd Sys_Power-only -privs "Sys.PowerMgmt Sys.Console"
333 A privilege is the right to perform a specific action. To simplify
334 management, lists of privileges are grouped into roles, which can then
335 be used in the permission table. Note that privileges cannot directly be
336 assigned to users and paths without being part of a role.
338 We currently use the following privileges:
340 Node / System related privileges::
342 * `Permissions.Modify`: modify access permissions
343 * `Sys.PowerMgmt`: Node power management (start, stop, reset, shutdown, ...)
344 * `Sys.Console`: console access to Node
345 * `Sys.Syslog`: view Syslog
346 * `Sys.Audit`: view node status/config, Corosync cluster config and HA config
347 * `Sys.Modify`: create/remove/modify node network parameters
348 * `Group.Allocate`: create/remove/modify groups
349 * `Pool.Allocate`: create/remove/modify a pool
350 * `Realm.Allocate`: create/remove/modify authentication realms
351 * `Realm.AllocateUser`: assign user to a realm
352 * `User.Modify`: create/remove/modify user access and details.
354 Virtual machine related privileges::
356 * `VM.Allocate`: create/remove new VM to server inventory
357 * `VM.Migrate`: migrate VM to alternate server on cluster
358 * `VM.PowerMgmt`: power management (start, stop, reset, shutdown, ...)
359 * `VM.Console`: console access to VM
360 * `VM.Monitor`: access to VM monitor (kvm)
361 * `VM.Backup`: backup/restore VMs
362 * `VM.Audit`: view VM config
363 * `VM.Clone`: clone/copy a VM
364 * `VM.Config.Disk`: add/modify/delete Disks
365 * `VM.Config.CDROM`: eject/change CDROM
366 * `VM.Config.CPU`: modify CPU settings
367 * `VM.Config.Memory`: modify Memory settings
368 * `VM.Config.Network`: add/modify/delete Network devices
369 * `VM.Config.HWType`: modify emulated HW type
370 * `VM.Config.Options`: modify any other VM configuration
371 * `VM.Snapshot`: create/remove VM snapshots
373 Storage related privileges::
375 * `Datastore.Allocate`: create/remove/modify a data store, delete volumes
376 * `Datastore.AllocateSpace`: allocate space on a datastore
377 * `Datastore.AllocateTemplate`: allocate/upload templates and iso images
378 * `Datastore.Audit`: view/browse a datastore
384 Access permissions are assigned to objects, such as a virtual machines,
385 storages or pools of resources.
386 We use file system like paths to address these objects. These paths form a
387 natural tree, and permissions of higher levels (shorter path) can
388 optionally be propagated down within this hierarchy.
390 [[pveum_templated_paths]]
391 Paths can be templated. When an API call requires permissions on a
392 templated path, the path may contain references to parameters of the API
393 call. These references are specified in curly braces. Some parameters are
394 implicitly taken from the API call's URI. For instance the permission path
395 `/nodes/{node}` when calling '/nodes/mynode/status' requires permissions on
396 `/nodes/mynode`, while the path `{path}` in a PUT request to `/access/acl`
397 refers to the method's `path` parameter.
401 * `/nodes/{node}`: Access to {pve} server machines
402 * `/vms`: Covers all VMs
403 * `/vms/{vmid}`: Access to specific VMs
404 * `/storage/{storeid}`: Access to a storages
405 * `/pool/{poolname}`: Access to VMs part of a <<pveum_pools,pool>>
406 * `/access/groups`: Group administration
407 * `/access/realms/{realmid}`: Administrative access to realms
413 As mentioned earlier, object paths form a file system like tree, and
414 permissions can be inherited down that tree (the propagate flag is set
415 by default). We use the following inheritance rules:
417 * Permissions for individual users always replace group permissions.
418 * Permissions for groups apply when the user is member of that group.
419 * Permissions replace the ones inherited from an upper level.
426 Pools can be used to group a set of virtual machines and data
427 stores. You can then simply set permissions on pools (`/pool/{poolid}`),
428 which are inherited to all pool members. This is a great way simplify
432 What permission do I need?
433 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
435 The required API permissions are documented for each individual
436 method, and can be found at http://pve.proxmox.com/pve-docs/api-viewer/
438 The permissions are specified as a list which can be interpreted as a
439 tree of logic and access-check functions:
441 `["and", <subtests>...]` and `["or", <subtests>...]`::
442 Each(`and`) or any(`or`) further element in the current list has to be true.
444 `["perm", <path>, [ <privileges>... ], <options>...]`::
445 The `path` is a templated parameter (see
446 <<pveum_templated_paths,Objects and Paths>>). All (or, if the `any`
447 option is used, any) of the listed
448 privileges must be allowed on the specified path. If a `require-param`
449 option is specified, then its specified parameter is required even if the
450 API call's schema otherwise lists it as being optional.
452 `["userid-group", [ <privileges>... ], <options>...]`::
453 The caller must have any of the listed privileges on `/access/groups`. In
454 addition there are two possible checks depending on whether the
455 `groups_param` option is set:
457 * `groups_param` is set: The API call has a non-optional `groups` parameter
458 and the caller must have any of the listed privileges on all of the listed
460 * `groups_param` is not set: The user passed via the `userid` parameter
461 must exist and be part of a group on which the caller has any of the listed
462 privileges (via the `/access/groups/<group>` path).
464 `["userid-param", "self"]`::
465 The value provided for the API call's `userid` parameter must refer to the
466 user performing the action. (Usually in conjunction with `or`, to allow
467 users to perform an action on themselves even if they don't have elevated
470 `["userid-param", "Realm.AllocateUser"]`::
471 The user needs `Realm.AllocateUser` access to `/access/realm/<realm>`, with
472 `<realm>` referring to the realm of the user passed via the `userid`
473 parameter. Note that the user does not need to exist in order to be
474 associated with a realm, since user IDs are passed in the form of
475 `<username>@<realm>`.
477 `["perm-modify", <path>]`::
478 The `path` is a templated parameter (see
479 <<pveum_templated_paths,Objects and Paths>>). The user needs either the
480 `Permissions.Modify` privilege, or,
481 depending on the path, the following privileges as a possible substitute:
483 * `/storage/...`: additionally requires 'Datastore.Allocate`
484 * `/vms/...`: additionally requires 'VM.Allocate`
485 * `/pool/...`: additionally requires 'Pool.Allocate`
487 If the path is empty, `Permission.Modify` on `/access` is required.
492 Most users will simply use the GUI to manage users. But there is also
493 a fully featured command line tool called `pveum` (short for ``**P**roxmox
494 **VE** **U**ser **M**anager''). Please note that all Proxmox VE command
495 line tools are wrappers around the API, so you can also access those
496 functions through the REST API.
498 Here are some simple usage examples. To show help type:
503 or (to show detailed help about a specific command)
511 pveum useradd testuser@pve -comment "Just a test"
513 Set or Change the password (not all realms support that):
516 pveum passwd testuser@pve
521 pveum usermod testuser@pve -enable 0
526 pveum groupadd testgroup
531 pveum roleadd PVE_Power-only -privs "VM.PowerMgmt VM.Console"
541 One of the most wanted features was the ability to define a group of
542 users with full administrator rights (without using the root account).
547 pveum groupadd admin -comment "System Administrators"
549 Then add the permission:
552 pveum aclmod / -group admin -role Administrator
554 You can finally add users to the new 'admin' group:
557 pveum usermod testuser@pve -group admin
563 You can give read only access to users by assigning the `PVEAuditor`
564 role to users or groups.
566 Example1: Allow user `joe@pve` to see everything
569 pveum aclmod / -user joe@pve -role PVEAuditor
571 Example1: Allow user `joe@pve` to see all virtual machines
574 pveum aclmod /vms -user joe@pve -role PVEAuditor
577 Delegate User Management
578 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
580 If you want to delegate user management to user `joe@pve` you can do
584 pveum aclmod /access -user joe@pve -role PVEUserAdmin
586 User `joe@pve` can now add and remove users, change passwords and
587 other user attributes. This is a very powerful role, and you most
588 likely want to limit that to selected realms and groups. The following
589 example allows `joe@pve` to modify users within realm `pve` if they
590 are members of group `customers`:
593 pveum aclmod /access/realm/pve -user joe@pve -role PVEUserAdmin
594 pveum aclmod /access/groups/customers -user joe@pve -role PVEUserAdmin
596 NOTE: The user is able to add other users, but only if they are
597 members of group `customers` and within realm `pve`.
603 An enterprise is usually structured into several smaller departments,
604 and it is common that you want to assign resources to them and
605 delegate management tasks. A pool is simply a set of virtual machines
606 and data stores. You can create pools on the GUI. After that you can
607 add resources to the pool (VMs, Storage).
609 You can also assign permissions to the pool. Those permissions are
610 inherited to all pool members.
612 Lets assume you have a software development department, so we first
616 pveum groupadd developers -comment "Our software developers"
618 Now we create a new user which is a member of that group
621 pveum useradd developer1@pve -group developers -password
623 NOTE: The -password parameter will prompt you for a password
625 I assume we already created a pool called ``dev-pool'' on the GUI. So we can now assign permission to that pool:
628 pveum aclmod /pool/dev-pool/ -group developers -role PVEAdmin
630 Our software developers can now administrate the resources assigned to
635 include::pve-copyright.adoc[]