DACS_CURRENT_CREDENTIALS(8) | DACS Web Services and CGI | DACS_CURRENT_CREDENTIALS(8)

## NAME

dacs_current_credentials — display DACS credentials

## SYNOPSIS

`dacs_current_credentials` [`dacsoptions`]

## DESCRIPTION

This program is part of the DACS suite.

The dacs_current_credentials web service provides information about the credentials that accompany the request and the identities described by those credentials. It can be used to determine whether credentials are valid, confirm who they belong to, find out which roles are associated with the credentials, and so on.

If user activity data is available, dacs_current_credentials can also return information for the identity associated with each valid set of credentials, including the time of the last sign on and a description of any sign-on that is still "active" (i.e., has not expired and was not signed off). This information can be useful for detecting unauthorized account access, regardless of the authentication method used, and other potentially problematic activity.

The `FORMAT` argument determines the type of output, with the default being HTML, using the style sheet dacs_current_credentials.css. If XML output is selected, a document conforming to dacs_current_credentials.dtd is returned, which supplies additional information. The `JSON` format is also recognized. The `previous_auth` and `active_auth` elements appear only when user activity tracking data is accessible. The `previous_auth` element is empty if there are not two or more records of authentication activity for the associated identity. For a given identity, an `active_auth` element is present for each authentication event for which there is no corresponding sign off event, other than the most recent one, and for which the issued credentials have not expired - these are "active sessions". Reauthentication as the same identity does not create a sign off event, however, and signing off (e.g., via dacs_signout(8)) does not necessarily mean that a user agent has destroyed credentials (though that is normally the case). Also, a user can unilaterally destroy credentials (e.g., by terminating a browser session or removing cookies manually), so not all active sessions necessarily exist.

## OPTIONS

### Web Service Arguments

dacs_current_credentials accepts the following arguments in addition to the standard CGI arguments.

`DETAIL`

  If "`yes`", this optional argument requests additional information. It is recognized only in conjunction with XML format output. By default, this argument can only be used by a DACS administrator (see dacs_admin()). The activity tracking information is returned only if detail is requested.

## EXAMPLE

After authenticating as `DSS::INFOCARDS:bob`, invoke dacs_current_credentials (HTML) to view the identity (or identities) stored as a cookie in your browser. Information about the credentials can also be returned as XML.

## FILES

dacs_current_credentials.css

## DIAGNOSTICS

The program exits `0` if everything was fine, `1` if an error occurred.

## SEE ALSO

dacs_authenticate(8), dacs_signout(8)

## AUTHOR

Distributed Systems Software (www.dss.ca)

## COPYING

Copyright © 2003-2012 Distributed Systems Software. See the `LICENSE` file that accompanies the distribution for licensing information.

DACS Version 1.4.27b | 19-Mar-2012 | DACS_CURRENT_CREDENTIALS(8)

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$Id: dacs_current_credentials.8.xml 2563 2012-02-07 22:40:41Z brachman $