CentOS - Jul 2010 - nss_pam against centos-ds fails for non-root users

Hi all,
I'm new to LDAP and want to use nss_ldap (version 253) against a centos
directory server (version 8.1.0) running on the same host. The great
mystery is, that as root everything works find, but as any other local
user, it does not:
root$ getent passwd 
[...]
ldap:x:55:55:LDAP User:/var/lib/ldap:/bin/false
ns:*:4000:4000:Nicolai Stange:/home/ns:/bin/bash
root$ su some_local_user -
some_local_user$ getent passwd
[...]
ldap:x:55:55:LDAP User:/var/lib/ldap:/bin/false
some_local_user$ 

It just hangs for a while after printing the local user 'ldap' on the
screen and then exits without displaying the ldap-user 'ns'.
Instead /var/log/dirsrv/slapd-ldap/access the following lines appear:
[20/Jul/2010:21:48:38 +0200] conn=14 fd=65 slot=65 SSL connection from
192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.2.
[20/Jul/2010:21:48:38 +0200] conn=14 op=-1 fd=65 closed - Encountered
end of file.


The only entries in my /etc/ldap.conf are those:
tls_cacertfile /etc/nss/ca.example.org-cert.pem
tls_cert /etc/nss/nss-cert.pem
tls_key /etc/nss/nss-key.pem

The nss-{key,cert}.pem may be used to bind at the following DN:
dn: cn=nss,ou=Special Users,dc=example,dc=org
objectClass: top
objectClass: person
cn: nss
sn: nss


Again: It works for user root!
$ ls -l /etc/ldap.conf /etc/nss/
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 9186 Jul 20 22:05 /etc/ldap.conf

/etc/nss/:
total 12
-rw------- 1 root root 1261 Jul 19 23:16 ca.example.org-cert.pem
-rw------- 1 root root 1289 Jul 19 23:16 nss-cert.pem
-r-------- 1 root root 1821 Jul 19 23:16 nss-key.pem
$ 

Setting ownerships to world readable, e.g.
$ ls -l /etc/ldap.conf /etc/nss/
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 9186 Jul 20 22:05 /etc/ldap.conf

/etc/nss/:
total 12
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1261 Jul 19 23:16 ca.example.org-cert.pem
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1289 Jul 19 23:16 nss-cert.pem
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 1821 Jul 19 23:16 nss-key.pem
$ 
doesn't change anything.

Just for completeness the entry for the ldap-user 'ns':
dn: uid=ns,ou=People,dc=example,dc=org
objectClass: top
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
objectClass: posixAccount
objectClass: organizationalPerson
objectClass: person
cn: Nicolai Stange
displayName: Nicolai Stange
sn: Stange
givenName: Nicolai
initials: NS
uid: ns
mail: nicolai.stange at example.org
preferredLanguage: de, en;q=0.8
homeDirectory: /home/ns
uidNumber: 4000
gidNumber: 4000
loginShell: /bin/bash
userPassword: {SSHA}some_ssha_encrypted_pw

I would really appreciate your help, I have no clue what the reason for
this could be...

Wishes

Nicolai

On 07/20/2010 02:11 PM, Nicolai Stange wrote:
>
> The only entries in my /etc/ldap.conf are those:
> tls_cacertfile /etc/nss/ca.example.org-cert.pem
> tls_cert /etc/nss/nss-cert.pem
> tls_key /etc/nss/nss-key.pem
I don't think that can possibly be true.  If you don't have a uri 
specified, you won't get any results.  I just tested that on a system 
which is running a directory server.

Try this:
$ grep '^[^#]' /etc/ldap.conf

I get:

base dc=private,dc=dragonsdawn,dc=net
timelimit 120
bind_timelimit 120
idle_timelimit 3600
nss_initgroups_ignoreusers 
root,ldap,named,avahi,haldaemon,dbus,radvd,tomcat,radiusd,news,mailman,nscd,gdm,polkituser,rtkit,pulse
uri ldap://directory.private.dragonsdawn.net/
ssl no
tls_cacertdir /etc/openldap/cacerts
pam_password md5
> The nss-{key,cert}.pem may be used to bind at the following DN:
> dn: cn=nss,ou=Special Users,dc=example,dc=org
I don't think that makes any difference unless you specify binddn in 
/etc/ldap.conf
> Setting ownerships to world readable, e.g.
...
> doesn't change anything.
What about the permission on the directory /etc/nss?

All of those items must be readable by all users.  The only file which 
can be restricted is an optional file referenced by rootbinddn in 
/etc/ldap.conf which is typically used if you require specific 
credentials to change passwords.  If you use this file, non-root users 
still need valid credentials to bind and search the directory read-only.

You might be able to avoid giving users any access if you use sssd and 
nss_sss, but that's an unusual configuration.

The key to solving this problem is that all users of your system must 
have read access to all of the information that they require to bind and 
search in your directory server.