Integration with vBulletin - vBulletin Ldap Authentication Plugin

I am using vbulletin for a long time now and before there was the plugin system introduces i hacked every single version of vb to enable ldap authentication. with the introduction of the plugin system i have written a little plugin that works in every version since VBulletin 3.5. This Plugin is the buyable VBulletin Ligh Authentication from http://www.sartori.at. now its FREE.

Since its working and i will not enhance this small plugin anymore, i will make it public. If there are any enhancements, i can put it into my versioning system and update this plugin.

In contrast to the ldap authentication from zemic my board can authenticate against every - already deployed - ldap directory without changeing the encryption type.

If the ldap user is not added in the VBulletin database, the user is automatically added the first time he authenticates against the ldap. if the user already exists then nothing is changed, except the authentication against the directory.

in the admin or moderator panel no user is authenticated against the directory.

Requirements

• php with ldap support

Installation Notes:

1. copy ldapAuth directory to your vb forum installation directory
2. change the path to controller.php directory in ldap-plugin.xml
3. copy the hooks_ldap.xml to FORUM_ROOT/inclucdes/xml directory
4. in login.php search for:
   
   PHP Code:

   if ($vbulletin->GPC['vb_login_username'] == '')
         {
          eval(standard_error(fetch_error('badlogin', $vbulletin->options['bburl'], ....
         } 

   insert below:
   
   PHP Code:

   ($hook = vBulletinHook::fetch_hook('ldap_login_hook')) ? eval($hook) : false; 

5. activate plugin system (if not done already) in admincp
6. in admin cp import the product at "Download / Upload" Plugins
7. in global.php search for:
   
   PHP Code:

   $show['nopasswordempty'] 

   and change:
   
   PHP Code:

   defined('DISABLE_PASSWORD_CLEARING') ? 1 : 0; 

   to:
   
   PHP Code:

   defined('DISABLE_PASSWORD_CLEARING') ? 0 : 1; 

8. configure the ldap settings in: ldapconfig.inc.php
9. test the product

Additional Notes:
If you are running a Microsoft Active Directory as Ldap server you have to change some settings to allow anonymous queries. This is described at
Novell and Microsoft


I would be happy if you support my modification in any way. Install or nominate it or donate some cents at paypal.

[malcolmx]

i assume you use active directory as ldap server?

if you want to give me the changes, please make a diff and post it here on the boards. i will look at the changes.

-malc

[randycarroll]

I'll send ya a PM with the actual file details.

It's Active Directory on Windows Server 2003.

edit: I'll put it up tomorrow -- I'm going to clean up/comment my code additions + its easier to manipulate files at work.
Laptop keyboard -- not for me.

edit: Hold off a little more, can we fix the missing arguments issue? At the end of controller.php when it calls upon function_login.php from VB, it is giving errors about missing arguments. I get these, however, I can still login no problem. Essentially, if I shut off verbose error reporting, I can use this script error free :-).

Warning: Missing argument 4 for verify_authentication(), called in [path]/ldapAuth/controller.php on line 98 and defined in [path]/includes/functions_login.php on line 135

Warning: Missing argument 5 for verify_authentication(), called in [path]/ldapAuth/controller.php on line 98 and defined in [path]/includes/functions_login.php on line 135

Warning: Missing argument 6 for verify_authentication(), called in [path]/ldapAuth/controller.php on line 98 and defined in [path]/includes/functions_login.php on line 135

[malcolmx]

look at the file forum_root/includes/functions_login.php. there you can find the function verify_authentication().

i didnt need to pass over some parameters, since thre is no need to verify.

text from my initial post:

Additional Notes:
If you are running a Microsoft Active Directory as Ldap server you have to change some settings to allow anonymous queries. This is described at
Novell and Microsoft

[randycarroll]

Originally Posted by malcolmx

look at the file forum_root/includes/functions_login.php. there you can find the function verify_authentication().

i didnt need to pass over some parameters, since thre is no need to verify.

text from my initial post:

I'm eliminating the need for anonymous queries and modifying the script for authenticated binding.

[malcolmx]

thats nice.i didnt implement this, because some of my customers (when i sold the plugin) had problems with some tachnical aspects. the administrator of the company didnt even know what a DN is. so i never implemented this (in case there are more people that just know: right click, left click, right,...)

-malc

[kev82]

Would allowing (or enabling) admincp/modcp logins with this script be difficult? What would I need to do to enable it?

[malcolmx]

thats easy. but before you do that, you have to give users rights to access the admin /mod cp.

if(($vbulletin->GPC['logintype'] == "cplogin") || ($vbulletin->GPC['logintype'] == "modcplogin"))
{
        return;
}

try to remove this after you have set the rights. that should be the solution.

-malc

[kev82]

I commented this bit out and gave the proper permissions but that didn't seem to cut it... Could there be something else?

btw thanks for the fast reply, I didn't expect that

[malcolmx]

maybe, that was just a shot into the blue. i will try it in the next days and give you some hint.

-malc

[kev82]

Did you get a chance to look at this? I'm no good with vbulletin architechture so I couldn't figure this one out myself.