Description: This manual documents what an application developer needs to know about the Linux-PAM library. It describes how an application might use the Linux-PAM library to authenticate users. In addition it contains a description of the functions to be found in libpam_misc library, that can be used in general applications. Finally, it contains some comments on PAM related security issues for the application developer.

The Linux-PAM Application Developers' Guide
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# The Linux-PAM Application Developers' Guide

### Andrew G. Morgan

`<morgan@kernel.org>`

### Thorsten Kukuk

`<kukuk@thkukuk.de>`

Version 1.7.2, January 2026

Abstract

This manual documents what an application developer needs to know about the Linux-PAM library. It describes how an application might use the Linux-PAM library to authenticate users. In addition it contains a description of the functions to be found in `libpam_misc` library, that can be used in general applications. Finally, it contains some comments on PAM related security issues for the application developer.

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|  | Chapter 1. Introduction