Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)

FreeBSD Manual Pages

  
 
  

home | help
LDAP.CONF(5)		       File Formats Manual		    LDAP.CONF(5)

NAME
     ldap.conf, .ldaprc - LDAP configuration file/environment variables

SYNOPSIS
     /usr/local/etc/openldap/ldap.conf, ldaprc, .ldaprc, $LDAP<option-name>

DESCRIPTION
     If  the  environment variable LDAPNOINIT is defined, all defaulting is dis-
     abled.

     The ldap.conf configuration file is used to set system-wide defaults to  be
     applied when running ldap clients.

     Users  may  create  an  optional  configuration file, ldaprc or .ldaprc, in
     their home directory which will be used to  override  the	system-wide  de-
     faults  file.   The  file	ldaprc	in the current working directory is also
     used.

     Additional configuration files can be  specified  using  the  LDAPCONF  and
     LDAPRC environment variables.  LDAPCONF may be set to the path of a config-
     uration file.  This path can be absolute or relative to the current working
     directory.  The LDAPRC, if defined, should be the basename of a file in the
     current working directory or in the user's home directory.

     Environmental  variables  may  also  be  used to augment the file based de-
     faults.  The name of the variable is the option name with an  added  prefix
     of LDAP.  For example, to define BASE via the environment, set the variable
     LDAPBASE to the desired value.

     Some  options  are  user-only.   Such options are ignored if present in the
     ldap.conf (or file specified by LDAPCONF).

     Thus the following files and variables are read, in order:
	 variable     $LDAPNOINIT, and if that is not set:
	 system file  /usr/local/etc/openldap/ldap.conf,
	 user files   $HOME/ldaprc,  $HOME/.ldaprc,  ./ldaprc,
	 system file  $LDAPCONF,
	 user files   $HOME/$LDAPRC, $HOME/.$LDAPRC, ./$LDAPRC,
	 variables    $LDAP<uppercase option name>.
     Settings late in the list override earlier ones.

SYNTAX
     The configuration options are case-insensitive; their value, on a	case  by
     case basis, may be case-sensitive.

     Blank lines are ignored.
     Lines beginning with a hash mark (`#') are comments, and ignored.

     Valid lines are made of an option's name (a sequence of non-blanks, conven-
     tionally written in uppercase, although not required), followed by a value.
     The  value  starts  with  the  first non-blank character after the option's
     name, and terminates at the end of the line, or at  the  last  sequence  of
     blanks  before the end of the line.  The tokenization of the value, if any,
     is delegated to the handler(s) for that option,  if  any.	 Quoting  values
     that  contain  blanks  may be incorrect, as the quotes would become part of
     the value.  For example,

	  # Wrong - erroneous quotes:
	  URI	  "ldap:// ldaps://"

	  # Right - space-separated list of URIs, without quotes:
	  URI	  ldap:// ldaps://

	  # Right - DN syntax needs quoting for Example, Inc:
	  BASE	  ou=IT staff,o="Example, Inc",c=US
	  # or:
	  BASE	  ou=IT staff,o=Example\2C Inc,c=US

	  # Wrong - comment on same line as option:
	  DEREF   never 	  # Never follow aliases

     A line cannot be longer than LINE_MAX, which should be more than 2000 bytes
     on all platforms.	There is no mechanism to split a long line  on	multiple
     lines, either for beautification or to overcome the above limit.

OPTIONS
     The different configuration options are:

     URI <ldap[si]://[name[:port]] ...>
	    Specifies  the URI(s) of an LDAP server(s) to which the LDAP library
	    should connect.  The URI scheme may be any of ldap, ldaps or  ldapi,
	    which  refer to LDAP over TCP, LDAP over SSL (TLS) and LDAP over IPC
	    (UNIX domain sockets), respectively.   Each  server's  name  can  be
	    specified  as a domain-style name or an IP address literal.  Option-
	    ally, the server's name can followed by a ':' and  the  port  number
	    the LDAP server is listening on.  If no port number is provided, the
	    default  port  for	the  scheme  is  used  (389 for ldap://, 636 for
	    ldaps://).	For LDAP over IPC, name is the name of the  socket,  and
	    no	port  is  required,  nor allowed; note that directory separators
	    must be URL-encoded, like any other characters that are  special  to
	    URLs; so the socket

		 /usr/local/var/ldapi

	    must be specified as

		 ldapi://%2Fusr%2Flocal%2Fvar%2Fldapi

	    A space separated list of URIs may be provided.

     BASE <base>
	    Specifies  the  default  base  DN to use when performing ldap opera-
	    tions.  The base must be specified as a Distinguished Name	in  LDAP
	    format.

     BINDDN <dn>
	    Specifies  the  default  bind  DN to use when performing ldap opera-
	    tions.  The bind DN must be specified as  a  Distinguished	Name  in
	    LDAP format.  This is a user-only option.

     DEREF <when>
	    Specifies  how alias dereferencing is done when performing a search.
	    The <when> can be specified as one of the following keywords:

	    never  Aliases are never dereferenced. This is the default.

	    searching
		   Aliases are dereferenced in subordinates of the base  object,
		   but not in locating the base object of the search.

	    finding
		   Aliases  are  only dereferenced when locating the base object
		   of the search.

	    always
		   Aliases are dereferenced both in searching  and  in	locating
		   the base object of the search.

     HOST <name[:port] ...>
	    Specifies the name(s) of an LDAP server(s) to which the LDAP library
	    should  connect.   Each  server's name can be specified as a domain-
	    style name or an IP address and optionally followed by a ':' and the
	    port number the ldap server is listening on.  A space separated list
	    of hosts may be provided.  HOST is deprecated in favor of URI.

     KEEPALIVE_IDLE
	    Sets/gets the number of seconds a connection needs	to  remain  idle
	    before TCP starts sending keepalive probes. Linux only.

     KEEPALIVE_PROBES
	    Sets/gets the maximum number of keepalive probes TCP should send be-
	    fore dropping the connection. Linux only.

     KEEPALIVE_INTERVAL
	    Sets/gets  the  interval  in  seconds  between  individual keepalive
	    probes.  Linux only.

     NETWORK_TIMEOUT <integer>
	    Specifies the timeout (in seconds) after which the poll(2)/select(2)
	    following a connect(2) returns in case of no activity.

     PORT <port>
	    Specifies the default port used when connecting to LDAP  servers(s).
	    The  port may be specified as a number.  PORT is deprecated in favor
	    of URI.

     REFERRALS <on/true/yes/off/false/no>
	    Specifies if the client should automatically  follow  referrals  re-
	    turned  by	LDAP servers.  The default is on.  Note that the command
	    line tools ldapsearch(1) &co always override this option.

     SIZELIMIT <integer>
	    Specifies a size limit (number of entries) to  use	when  performing
	    searches.	The  number should be a non-negative integer.  SIZELIMIT
	    of zero (0) specifies a request for unlimited search  size.   Please
	    note  that	the  server may still apply any server-side limit on the
	    amount of entries that can be returned by a search operation.

     SOCKET_BIND_ADDRESSES <IP>
	    Specifies the source bind IP to be used  for  connecting  to  target
	    LDAP  server.   Multiple  IP addresses must be space separated. Only
	    one valid IPv4 address and/or one valid IPv6 address are allowed  in
	    the list.

     TIMELIMIT <integer>
	    Specifies a time limit (in seconds) to use when performing searches.
	    The  number should be a non-negative integer.  TIMELIMIT of zero (0)
	    specifies unlimited search time to be used.  Please  note  that  the
	    server  may  still	apply any server-side limit on the duration of a
	    search operation.

     VERSION {2|3}
	    Specifies what version of the LDAP protocol should be used.

     TIMEOUT <integer>
	    Specifies a timeout (in seconds) after which  calls  to  synchronous
	    LDAP  APIs will abort if no response is received.  Also used for any
	    ldap_result(3) calls where a NULL timeout parameter is supplied.

SASL OPTIONS
     If OpenLDAP is built with Simple Authentication and Security Layer support,
     there are more options you can specify.

     SASL_MECH <mechanism>
	    Specifies the SASL mechanism to use.

     SASL_REALM <realm>
	    Specifies the SASL realm.

     SASL_AUTHCID <authcid>
	    Specifies the authentication identity.  This is a user-only option.

     SASL_AUTHZID <authcid>
	    Specifies the proxy authorization identity.  This is a user-only op-
	    tion.

     SASL_SECPROPS <properties>
	    Specifies Cyrus SASL security properties. The  <properties>  can  be
	    specified as a comma-separated list of the following:

	    none   (without any other properties) causes the properties defaults
		   ("noanonymous,noplain") to be cleared.

	    noplain
		   disables mechanisms susceptible to simple passive attacks.

	    noactive
		   disables mechanisms susceptible to active attacks.

	    nodict
		   disables  mechanisms  susceptible  to  passive dictionary at-
		   tacks.

	    noanonymous
		   disables mechanisms which support anonymous login.

	    forwardsec
		   requires forward secrecy between sessions.

	    passcred
		   requires mechanisms which pass client credentials (and allows
		   mechanisms which can pass credentials to do so).

	    minssf=<factor>
		   specifies the minimum acceptable security strength factor  as
		   an  integer	approximate to effective key length used for en-
		   cryption.  0 (zero) implies	no  protection,  1  implies  in-
		   tegrity  protection	only, 128 allows RC4, Blowfish and other
		   similar ciphers, 256 will require modern  ciphers.	The  de-
		   fault is 0.

	    maxssf=<factor>
		   specifies  the maximum acceptable security strength factor as
		   an integer (see minssf description).  The default is INT_MAX.

	    maxbufsize=<factor>
		   specifies the maximum security layer receive buffer size  al-
		   lowed.  0 disables security layers.	The default is 65536.

     SASL_NOCANON <on/true/yes/off/false/no>
	    Do	not perform reverse DNS lookups to canonicalize SASL host names.
	    The default is off.

     SASL_CBINDING <none/tls-unique/tls-endpoint>
	    The channel-binding type to use, see also  LDAP_OPT_X_SASL_CBINDING.
	    The default is none.

GSSAPI OPTIONS
     If OpenLDAP is built with Generic Security Services Application Programming
     Interface support, there are more options you can specify.

     GSSAPI_SIGN <on/true/yes/off/false/no>
	    Specifies  if GSSAPI signing (GSS_C_INTEG_FLAG) should be used.  The
	    default is off.

     GSSAPI_ENCRYPT <on/true/yes/off/false/no>
	    Specifies	 if    GSSAPI	 encryption    (GSS_C_INTEG_FLAG     and
	    GSS_C_CONF_FLAG) should be used. The default is off.

     GSSAPI_ALLOW_REMOTE_PRINCIPAL <on/true/yes/off/false/no>
	    Specifies if GSSAPI based authentication should try to form the tar-
	    get  principal  name  out  of the ldapServiceName or dnsHostName at-
	    tribute of the targets RootDSE entry. The default is off.

TLS OPTIONS
     If OpenLDAP is built with Transport Layer Security support, there are  more
     options  you  can	specify.  These options are used when an ldaps:// URI is
     selected (by default or otherwise) or when the application  negotiates  TLS
     by issuing the LDAP StartTLS operation.

     TLS_CACERT <filename>
	    Specifies  the  file  that contains certificates for all of the Cer-
	    tificate Authorities the client will recognize.

     TLS_CACERTDIR <path>
	    Specifies the path of directories that contain Certificate Authority
	    certificates in separate individual files. Multiple directories  may
	    be	specified,  separated by a semi-colon.	The TLS_CACERT is always
	    used before TLS_CACERTDIR.

     TLS_CERT <filename>
	    Specifies the file that contains the client certificate.  This is  a
	    user-only option.

     TLS_ECNAME <name>
	    Specify  the  name of the curve(s) to use for Elliptic curve Diffie-
	    Hellman ephemeral key  exchange.   This  option  is  only  used  for
	    OpenSSL.   This  option  is  not used with GnuTLS; the curves may be
	    chosen in the GnuTLS ciphersuite specification.

     TLS_KEY <filename>
	    Specifies the file that contains the private key  that  matches  the
	    certificate  stored in the TLS_CERT file. Currently, the private key
	    must not be protected with a password, so it is of	critical  impor-
	    tance that the key file is protected carefully.  This is a user-only
	    option.

     TLS_CIPHER_SUITE <cipher-suite-spec>
	    Specifies  acceptable  cipher  suite and preference order.	<cipher-
	    suite-spec> should be a cipher specification for the TLS library  in
	    use (OpenSSL or GnuTLS).  Example:

		   OpenSSL:
			  TLS_CIPHER_SUITE HIGH:MEDIUM:+SSLv2

		   GnuTLS:
			  TLS_CIPHER_SUITE SECURE256:!AES-128-CBC

	    To check what ciphers a given spec selects in OpenSSL, use:

		 openssl ciphers -v <cipher-suite-spec>

	    With  GnuTLS  the available specs can be found in the manual page of
	    gnutls-cli(1) (see the description of the option --priority).

	    In older versions of GnuTLS, where gnutls-cli does not  support  the
	    option --priority, you can obtain the -- more limited -- list of ci-
	    phers by calling:

		 gnutls-cli -l

     TLS_PROTOCOL_MIN <major>[.<minor>]
	    Specifies  minimum SSL/TLS protocol version that will be negotiated.
	    If the server doesn't support at least that version, the  SSL  hand-
	    shake  will  fail.	To require TLS 1.x or higher, set this option to
	    3.(x+1), e.g.,

		 TLS_PROTOCOL_MIN 3.2

	    would require TLS 1.1.  Specifying a minimum  that	is  higher  than
	    that  supported by the OpenLDAP implementation will result in it re-
	    quiring the highest level that it does support.  This  parameter  is
	    ignored with GnuTLS.

     TLS_RANDFILE <filename>
	    Specifies the file to obtain random bits from when /dev/[u]random is
	    not  available.  Generally	set to the name of the EGD/PRNGD socket.
	    The environment variable RANDFILE can also be used	to  specify  the
	    filename.  This parameter is ignored with GnuTLS.

     TLS_REQCERT <level>
	    Specifies  what  checks  to  perform on server certificates in a TLS
	    session.  The <level> can be specified as one of the following  key-
	    words:

	    never  The client will not request or check any server certificate.

	    allow  The	server certificate is requested. If a bad certificate is
		   provided, it will be ignored and the  session  proceeds  nor-
		   mally.

	    try    The	server certificate is requested. If a bad certificate is
		   provided, the session is immediately terminated.

	    demand | hard
		   These keywords are equivalent and the same as try.	This  is
		   the default setting.

     TLS_REQSAN <level>
	    Specifies what checks to perform on the subjectAlternativeName (SAN)
	    extensions	in  a server certificate when validating the certificate
	    name against the specified hostname of the server. The  <level>  can
	    be specified as one of the following keywords:

	    never  The client will not check any SAN in the certificate.

	    allow  The	SAN  is checked against the specified hostname. If a SAN
		   is present but none match the specified  hostname,  the  SANs
		   are ignored and the usual check against the certificate DN is
		   used.  This is the default setting.

	    try    The	SAN is checked against the specified hostname. If no SAN
		   is present in the server certificate, the usual check against
		   the certificate DN is used. If a SAN is present  but  doesn't
		   match the specified hostname, the session is immediately ter-
		   minated.  This  setting  may be preferred when a mix of certs
		   with and without SANs are in use.

	    demand | hard
		   These keywords are equivalent. The SAN is checked against the
		   specified hostname. If no SAN is present in the  server  cer-
		   tificate, or no SANs match, the session is immediately termi-
		   nated.  This  setting  should  be used when only certificates
		   with SANs are in use.

     TLS_CRLCHECK <level>
	    Specifies if the Certificate Revocation List (CRL) of the CA  should
	    be	used to verify if the server certificates have not been revoked.
	    This requires TLS_CACERTDIR parameter to be set. This  parameter  is
	    ignored with GnuTLS.  <level> can be specified as one of the follow-
	    ing keywords:

	    none   No CRL checks are performed

	    peer   Check the CRL of the peer certificate

	    all    Check the CRL for a whole certificate chain

     TLS_CRLFILE <filename>
	    Specifies  the  file  containing a Certificate Revocation List to be
	    used to verify if the server certificates  have  not  been	revoked.
	    This parameter is only supported with GnuTLS.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
     LDAPNOINIT
	    disable all defaulting

     LDAPCONF
	    path of a configuration file

     LDAPRC
	    basename of ldaprc file in $HOME or $CWD

     LDAP<option-name>
	    Set <option-name> as from ldap.conf

FILES
     /usr/local/etc/openldap/ldap.conf
	    system-wide ldap configuration file

     $HOME/ldaprc, $HOME/.ldaprc
	    user ldap configuration file

     $CWD/ldaprc
	    local ldap configuration file

SEE ALSO
     ldap(3), ldap_set_option(3), ldap_result(3), openssl(1), sasl(3)

AUTHOR
     Kurt Zeilenga, The OpenLDAP Project

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
     OpenLDAP  Software  is  developed	and  maintained  by The OpenLDAP Project
     <http://www.openldap.org/>.  OpenLDAP Software is derived from the  Univer-
     sity of Michigan LDAP 3.3 Release.

OpenLDAP 2.6.13 		   2026/03/09			    LDAP.CONF(5)

Want to link to this manual page? Use this URL:
<https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=ldap.conf&sektion=5&manpath=FreeBSD+Ports+15.1.quarterly>

home | help