GSS

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
• Function Status
• Buffer Management
• Context Services

Credentials

• Credential Management
• Security Mechanisms

Names and Object Identifiers

• Name Handling
• Object Identifiers

Messages

• Token Management
• Message Protection
• Kerberos Implementation