---
title: GSS
framework: GSS
role: collection
role_heading: Framework
platforms: [iOS 5.0+, iPadOS 5.0+, Mac Catalyst 13.0+, macOS 10.14+, visionOS 1.0+]
path: gss
---

# GSS

Conduct secure, authenticated network transactions.

## Overview

Overview The open source Generic Security Service Application Programming Interface (GSS-API) defines a standardized interface through which the operating system vends secure data transport operations. The GSS framework provides an implementation of the interface and the underlying libraries. Using GSS-API, you can: Create a security context in which data can be passed between applications. A context represents a “state of trust” between two applications. Applications that share a context recognize each other and permit data transfers as long as the context lasts. Apply one or more types of protection, known as security services, to the data to be transmitted. For more on security services, see Security. Perform data conversion, error-checking, delegation of user privileges, information display, and identity comparison. See RFC 2743 for the definitive description of the GSS-API 2, and RFC 2744 for a description of the related C bindings.

## Topics

### Memory and Context

- [Allocating and Releasing Objects](gss/allocating-and-releasing-objects.md)
- [Function Status](gss/function-status.md)
- [Buffer Management](gss/buffer-management.md)
- [Context Services](gss/context-services.md)

### Credentials

- [Credential Management](gss/credential-management.md)
- [Security Mechanisms](gss/security-mechanisms.md)

### Names and Object Identifiers

- [Name Handling](gss/name-handling.md)
- [Object Identifiers](gss/object-identifiers.md)

### Messages

- [Token Management](gss/token-management.md)
- [Message Protection](gss/message-protection.md)
- [Kerberos Implementation](gss/kerberos-implementation.md)