man/man8/pam_zfs_key.8

.\" SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
.\"
.\" Copyright (c) 2020, Felix Dörre
.\" All rights reserved.
.\"
.Dd December 24, 2025
.Dt PAM_ZFS_KEY 8
.Os
.
.Sh NAME
.Nm pam_zfs_key
.Nd PAM module for ZFS encryption key management
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm pam_zfs_key.so
.Op Ar options
.
.Sh DESCRIPTION
.Nm
is a PAM module that automatically manages encryption keys for ZFS
datasets during user authentication and session management.
When a user logs in, the module uses their password to unlock their encrypted
home directory.
When the last session closes, the module unmounts the dataset and unloads
the key.
.Pp
The module tracks active sessions using reference counting to support multiple
simultaneous logins from the same user.
.Ss Multiple Home Prefixes
When configured with multiple home prefixes, the module attempts operations
on all matching datasets.
Operations that succeed are not rolled back if others fail.
The module returns success only if all operations succeed.
.Pp
For example, with datasets 1, 2, 3 where dataset 2 fails:
.Bl -bullet -compact
.It
Auth/session: datasets 1 and 3 are unlocked and mounted, dataset 2 is not.
.It
Password change: datasets 1 and 3 have the new password,
dataset 2 retains the old.
.El
.Pp
With
.Sy required ,
login fails even though datasets 1 and 3 succeeded.
With
.Sy optional ,
login proceeds.
For password changes, datasets 1 and 3 are updated while dataset 2
retains the old password.
With
.Sy required ,
the user sees an error.
With
.Sy optional ,
the user sees success and may not notice the inconsistency.
Either way, passwords are left out of sync.
.Pp
Errors are logged to syslog.
Use
.Xr zfs-change-key 8
to resync passwords after partial failure.
.
.Sh OPTIONS
.Bl -tag -width "mount_recursively"
.It Sy homes Ns = Ns Ar path Ns Oo , Ns Ar path2 Ns ... Oc
Comma-separated list of dataset prefixes where user home directories
are located.
The module constructs the full dataset path as
.Ar prefix Ns / Ns Ar username .
Default:
.Sy zroot/home
on
.Fx ,
.Sy rpool/home
on Linux.
.It Sy runstatedir Ns = Ns Ar path
Directory for storing session reference counts.
Default:
.Pa /var/run/pam_zfs_key .
.It Sy uid_min Ns = Ns Ar uid
Minimum user ID for which the module will operate.
Default: 1000.
.It Sy uid_max Ns = Ns Ar uid
Maximum user ID for which the module will operate.
Default: MAXUID.
.It Sy nounmount
Do not unmount datasets or unload encryption keys when sessions close.
Datasets remain mounted and keys remain loaded.
.It Sy forceunmount
Force unmount datasets even if busy
.Pq Dv MS_FORCE .
.It Sy recursive_homes
Recursively search for encrypted datasets under the homes prefix.
.It Sy mount_recursively
Mount and unmount child datasets recursively.
.It Sy prop_mountpoint
Find the user's dataset by matching the dataset's
.Sy mountpoint
property to the user's home directory from
.Pa /etc/passwd ,
instead of constructing the dataset name as
.Ar prefix Ns / Ns Ar username .
.El
.
.Sh FILES
.Bl -tag -width Pa
.It Pa /var/run/pam_zfs_key/ Ns Ar uid
Session reference count files tracking active logins per user.
.El
.
.Sh EXAMPLES
.Ss Example 1: Basic Configuration
Add to
.Pa /etc/pam.d/system-auth :
.Bd -literal -offset indent
auth     optional  pam_zfs_key.so
password optional  pam_zfs_key.so
session  optional  pam_zfs_key.so
.Ed
.Pp
This configuration uses default settings.
User home datasets are expected at
.Sy zroot/home/ Ns Ar username
on
.Fx
or
.Sy rpool/home/ Ns Ar username
on Linux.
.
.Ss Example 2: Custom Home Directory Prefix
.Bd -literal -offset indent
auth     optional  pam_zfs_key.so homes=tank/users
password optional  pam_zfs_key.so homes=tank/users
session  optional  pam_zfs_key.so homes=tank/users
.Ed
.Pp
Looks for user datasets at
.Sy tank/users/ Ns Ar username .
.
.Ss Example 3: Multiple Dataset Prefixes
.Bd -literal -offset indent
session  optional  pam_zfs_key.so homes=rpool/home,tank/users
.Ed
.Pp
Searches for user datasets in both
.Sy rpool/home
and
.Sy tank/users .
.
.Ss Example 4: Keep Datasets Mounted
.Bd -literal -offset indent
session  optional  pam_zfs_key.so nounmount
.Ed
.Pp
Leaves datasets mounted and keys loaded when sessions close.
Useful for systems with background processes accessing the home directory.
.
.Ss Example 5: Recursive Mounting
.Bd -literal -offset indent
session  optional  pam_zfs_key.so mount_recursively
.Ed
.Pp
Mounts child datasets recursively, useful when user data is organized
hierarchically like
.Sy rpool/home/alice/documents
and
.Sy rpool/home/alice/photos .
.
.Ss Example 6: Creating an Encrypted Home Dataset
.Bd -literal -offset indent
# zfs create -o encryption=on \e
    -o keyformat=passphrase \e
    -o keylocation=prompt \e
    -o canmount=on \e
    -o mountpoint=/home/alice \e
    rpool/home/alice
.Ed
.Pp
The user's login password must match the dataset passphrase for automatic
unlocking to work.
The dataset must have a ZFS-managed mountpoint (not legacy) and
.Sy canmount Ns = Ns Sy on
for automatic mounting.
.
.Ss Example 7: Multiple Homes with Password Sync Check
.Bd -literal -offset indent
auth     optional  pam_zfs_key.so homes=rpool/home,tank/home
password required  pam_zfs_key.so homes=rpool/home,tank/home
session  optional  pam_zfs_key.so homes=rpool/home,tank/home
.Ed
.Pp
Login proceeds even if some datasets are unavailable.
Password changes fail if any dataset cannot be updated, ensuring
the user is notified of sync issues.
See
.Sx Multiple Home Prefixes
for failure behavior.
.
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr pam 8 ,
.Xr zfs-change-key 8 ,
.Xr zfs-load-key 8 ,
.Xr zfs-mount 8
.
.Sh NOTES
.Bl -bullet -compact
.It
Only works with datasets using
.Sy keyformat Ns = Ns Sy passphrase .
.It
Datasets must have
.Sy keylocation Ns = Ns Sy prompt .
.It
Datasets with
.Sy mountpoint Ns = Ns Sy legacy ,
.Sy canmount Ns = Ns Sy off ,
or
.Sy canmount Ns = Ns Sy noauto
will have keys loaded but not be automatically mounted.
.El