PAM_SYSTEMD_LOADKEY(8) pam_systemd_loadkey PAM_SYSTEMD_LOADKEY(8)
NAME
pam_systemd_loadkey - Read password from kernel keyring and set it as
PAM authtok
SYNOPSIS
pam_systemd_loadkey.so
DESCRIPTION
pam_systemd_loadkey reads a NUL-separated password list from the kernel
keyring, and sets the last password in the list as the PAM authtok,
which can be used by e.g. pam_get_authtok(3).
The password list is supposed to be stored in the "user" keyring of the
root user, by an earlier call to systemd-ask-password(1) with
--keyname=. You can pass the keyname to pam_systemd_loadkey via the
keyname= option.
OPTIONS
The following options are understood:
keyname=
Takes a string argument which sets the keyname to read. The default
is "cryptsetup". During boot, systemd-cryptsetup@.service(8) stores
a passphrase or PIN in the keyring. The LUKS2 volume key can also be
used, via the link-volume-key option in crypttab(5).
Table 1. Possible values for keyname.
┌────────────┬────────────────────────────┐
│ Value │ Description │
├────────────┼────────────────────────────┤
│ cryptsetup │ Passphrase or recovery key │
├────────────┼────────────────────────────┤
│ fido2-pin │ Security token PIN │
├────────────┼────────────────────────────┤
│ luks2-pin │ LUKS2 token PIN │
├────────────┼────────────────────────────┤
│ tpm2-pin │ TPM2 PIN │
└────────────┴────────────────────────────┘
Added in version 255.
debug
The module will log debugging information as it operates.
Added in version 255.
EXAMPLE
This module is intended to be used when you use LUKS with a passphrase,
enable autologin in the display manager, and want to unlock Gnome
Keyring / KDE KWallet automatically. So in total, you only enter one
password during boot.
You need to set the password of your Gnome Keyring/KWallet to the same
as your LUKS passphrase. Then add the following lines to your display
manager's PAM config under /etc/pam.d/ (e.g. sddm-autologin):
-auth optional pam_systemd_loadkey.so
-auth optional pam_gnome_keyring.so
-session optional pam_gnome_keyring.so auto_start
-session optional pam_kwallet5.so auto_start
And add the following lines to your display manager's systemd service
file, so it can access root's keyring:
[Service]
KeyringMode=inherit
In this setup, early during the boot process, systemd-
cryptsetup@.service(8) will ask for the passphrase and store it in the
kernel keyring with the keyname "cryptsetup". Then when the display
manager does the autologin, pam_systemd_loadkey will read the passphrase
from the kernel keyring, set it as the PAM authtok, and then
pam_gnome_keyring and pam_kwallet5 will unlock with the same passphrase.
systemd 257.9 PAM_SYSTEMD_LOADKEY(8)
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