Kerberos API Reference - Security

Kerberos Security

The Kerberos Protocol

Kerberos is a trusted authentication and authorization service used in Windows networks. It ensures that users can only access resources that they are authorized to access.

Overview: Kerberos is a secure authentication protocol that uses a ticket-based system. It allows principals (users, services, etc.) to authenticate themselves against a trusted authority (Kerberos Server) to gain access to resources.

Key Components: Kerberos operates on a hierarchical trust model.

Ticket Granting:** A ticket is issued to a user upon authentication. This ticket is crucial for authorization.

Authentication & Authorization:** The server uses the ticket to identify the user and then performs authorization checks.

Sequence Numbering:** The server assigns a sequence number to each ticket to help track access.

Expiration:** Tickets have a limited lifespan, requiring periodic renewal.

Recent Security Updates

This page provides a summary of recent Kerberos security changes and best practices.

Key Concepts:

  • Principal: A user, service, or application requesting access.
  • Ticket: A digital credential issued to a principal to authenticate and authorize access to resources.
  • Kerberos Server: The authoritative server responsible for issuing and managing tickets.
  • Trust: A mechanism for verifying the identity of the principal.
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