Integration with AUTH_LDAP_FIND_GROUP_PERMS does not work #4345

@jeremystretch commented on GitHub (Dec 11, 2020):

This might be a duplicate of #5125.

@jeremystretch commented on GitHub (Dec 11, 2020): This might be a duplicate of #5125.

adam commented

@igor-raits commented on GitHub (Dec 11, 2020):

@jeremystretch yep, that seems to be same case, though linked ticket is missing information why it is broken so if you decide to close one as dupe of another - IMO would be better to close that one as a duplicate (even though it is older).

NetBox's LDAPBackend class likely needs to be extended to support the described behavior

Do you have any hint about this? I could try to make a patch, but quick look into the code does not help me to guess even where to look.

@igor-raits commented on GitHub (Dec 11, 2020): @jeremystretch yep, that seems to be same case, though linked ticket is missing information *why* it is broken so if you decide to close one as dupe of another - IMO would be better to close *that one* as a duplicate (even though it is older). > NetBox's LDAPBackend class likely needs to be extended to support the described behavior Do you have any hint about this? I could try to make a patch, but quick look into the code does not help me to guess even where to look.

adam commented

@jeremystretch commented on GitHub (Dec 24, 2020):

I wasn't able to replicate this on v2.10.2: The group assignment works automatically as expected. Here's what I did:

Create a group in NetBox and assign it permission to create sites
Create a group of the same name in OpenLDAP
Create a user in OpenLDAP and assign it to the group
Log into NetBox using that user's LDAP credentials

The LDAP user account is automatically created and assigned to the specified group. After logging in as the user, I am granted the permissions assigned to the group.

Here's my LDAP configuration:

import ldap
from django_auth_ldap.config import LDAPSearch, PosixGroupType

# Server URI
AUTH_LDAP_SERVER_URI = "ldap://$SERVER_NAME_OR_IP"

# Set the DN and password for the NetBox service account.
AUTH_LDAP_BIND_DN = "userid=netbox,dc=example,dc=com"
AUTH_LDAP_BIND_PASSWORD = "netbox_ldap"

LDAP_IGNORE_CERT_ERRORS = True

AUTH_LDAP_USER_DN_TEMPLATE = "cn=%(user)s,ou=users,dc=example,dc=com"

AUTH_LDAP_USER_ATTR_MAP = {
    "first_name": "givenName",
    "last_name": "sn",
}

AUTH_LDAP_GROUP_SEARCH = LDAPSearch("dc=example,dc=com", ldap.SCOPE_SUBTREE, "(objectClass=posixGroup)")
AUTH_LDAP_GROUP_TYPE = PosixGroupType()

AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS = True
AUTH_LDAP_FIND_GROUP_PERMS = True

AUTH_LDAP_USER_FLAGS_BY_GROUP = {
    "is_staff": "cn=staff,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com",
}

Note that I'm using PosixGroupType rather than GroupOfNamesType as given in the documentation, but I believe this is dependent on the specific LDAP backend.

@jeremystretch commented on GitHub (Dec 24, 2020): I wasn't able to replicate this on v2.10.2: The group assignment works automatically as expected. Here's what I did: 1. Create a group in NetBox and assign it permission to create sites 2. Create a group of the same name in OpenLDAP 3. Create a user in OpenLDAP and assign it to the group 4. Log into NetBox using that user's LDAP credentials The LDAP user account is automatically created and assigned to the specified group. After logging in as the user, I am granted the permissions assigned to the group. Here's my LDAP configuration: ``` import ldap from django_auth_ldap.config import LDAPSearch, PosixGroupType # Server URI AUTH_LDAP_SERVER_URI = "ldap://$SERVER_NAME_OR_IP" # Set the DN and password for the NetBox service account. AUTH_LDAP_BIND_DN = "userid=netbox,dc=example,dc=com" AUTH_LDAP_BIND_PASSWORD = "netbox_ldap" LDAP_IGNORE_CERT_ERRORS = True AUTH_LDAP_USER_DN_TEMPLATE = "cn=%(user)s,ou=users,dc=example,dc=com" AUTH_LDAP_USER_ATTR_MAP = { "first_name": "givenName", "last_name": "sn", } AUTH_LDAP_GROUP_SEARCH = LDAPSearch("dc=example,dc=com", ldap.SCOPE_SUBTREE, "(objectClass=posixGroup)") AUTH_LDAP_GROUP_TYPE = PosixGroupType() AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS = True AUTH_LDAP_FIND_GROUP_PERMS = True AUTH_LDAP_USER_FLAGS_BY_GROUP = { "is_staff": "cn=staff,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com", } ``` Note that I'm using `PosixGroupType` rather than `GroupOfNamesType` as given in the documentation, but I believe this is dependent on the specific LDAP backend.

adam commented

https://django-auth-ldap.readthedocs.io/en/latest/permissions.html#group-mirroring

@igor-raits commented on GitHub (Dec 24, 2020):

AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS = True

I believe this is the key. This will sync all groups of a user into the netbox and will "add user to the group".

The second way to turn LDAP group memberships into permissions is to mirror the groups themselves. This approach has some important disadvantages and should be avoided if possible.

@jeremystretch , it is supposed to work without that option but that is not compatible with netbox user backend.

@igor-raits commented on GitHub (Dec 24, 2020): > AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS = True I believe this is the key. This will sync all groups of a user into the netbox and will "add user to the group". https://django-auth-ldap.readthedocs.io/en/latest/permissions.html#group-mirroring > The second way to turn LDAP group memberships into permissions is to mirror the groups themselves. This approach has some important disadvantages and should be avoided if possible. @jeremystretch , it is supposed to work without that option but that is not compatible with netbox user backend.

adam commented

@jeremystretch commented on GitHub (Dec 24, 2020):

Ok, I think I see the disconnect. My expectation is just to have the LDAP user assigned to the groups that exist in Django, so that it gets granted the associated permissions by proxy. But it looks like you're trying to assign those permissions to the user directly?

As you point out, django-auth-ldap's _load_group_permissions() method references Django's built-in Permission class, which NetBox v2.9+ no longer uses. So if the goal is to replicate permissions to the individual user, this method needs to be overridden to work with NetBox's ObjectPermission class.

@jeremystretch commented on GitHub (Dec 24, 2020): Ok, I think I see the disconnect. My expectation is just to have the LDAP user assigned to the groups that exist in Django, so that it gets granted the associated permissions by proxy. But it looks like you're trying to assign those permissions to the user directly? As you point out, django-auth-ldap's `_load_group_permissions()` method references Django's built-in `Permission` class, which NetBox v2.9+ no longer uses. So if the goal is to _replicate_ permissions to the individual user, this method needs to be overridden to work with NetBox's ObjectPermission class.

adam commented

@igor-raits commented on GitHub (Dec 24, 2020):

But it looks like you're trying to assign those permissions to the user directly?

If I understand how AUTH_LDAP_FIND_GROUP_PERMS works, when user tries to do something - django-auth-ldap checks in which groups the user is and give him permissions from the group that is already created in netbox. Without adding user specifically to the group or creating new one.

@igor-raits commented on GitHub (Dec 24, 2020): > But it looks like you're trying to assign those permissions to the user directly? If I understand how `AUTH_LDAP_FIND_GROUP_PERMS` works, when user tries to do something - django-auth-ldap checks in which groups the user is and give him permissions from the group that is already created in netbox. Without adding user specifically to the group or creating new one.

adam commented

@jeremystretch commented on GitHub (Dec 24, 2020):

That's my impression as well. This seems undesirable, though: IMO I'd rather just assign the user to the appropriate Django group(s) so that they inherit all associated permissions assigned to each group. It looks like AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS is required for that though?

@jeremystretch commented on GitHub (Dec 24, 2020): That's my impression as well. This seems undesirable, though: IMO I'd rather just assign the user to the appropriate Django group(s) so that they inherit all associated permissions assigned to each group. It looks like `AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS` is required for that though?

adam commented

@igor-raits commented on GitHub (Dec 24, 2020):

@jeremystretch I don't think it actually "assigns" them. It just overrides "get_group_permissions()" from Django to return "extra" permissions without assigning user to a group. So it actually does not modify permissions DB at all, merely just returns more permissions on the fly.

That seems quite desirable because you don't have to force re-login users when you change some group assignment and so on.

@igor-raits commented on GitHub (Dec 24, 2020): @jeremystretch I don't think it actually "assigns" them. It just overrides "get_group_permissions()" from Django to return "extra" permissions without assigning user to a group. So it actually does not modify permissions DB at all, merely just returns more permissions on the fly. That seems quite desirable because you don't have to force re-login users when you change some group assignment and so on.

adam commented

@PieterL75 commented on GitHub (Jan 28, 2021):

Hey, any update on this ?
We are facing this issue. New users dont get the group added to them when being auto-created by ldap.
I can see that the ldap debug shows they are member of the group.. (I tried creating groups in netbox with the whole CN and lots of other lower/uppercase combinations, but non work)

I dont want all of the ldap groups to be created in netbox wirh 'AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS '

@PieterL75 commented on GitHub (Jan 28, 2021): Hey, any update on this ? We are facing this issue. New users dont get the group added to them when being auto-created by ldap. I can see that the ldap debug shows they are member of the group.. (I tried creating groups in netbox with the whole CN and lots of other lower/uppercase combinations, but non work) I dont want all of the ldap groups to be created in netbox wirh 'AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS '

adam commented

@moonrail commented on GitHub (Jan 28, 2021):

We are also facing this issue.

We've started on 2.10 with a blank installation and neither AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS, AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS_EXCEPT or AUTH_LDAP_FIND_GROUP_PERMS are currently working.

As @PieterL75 we've tried numerous combinations of DNs, plain "True" on AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS and multiple manually created, DN-equal, groups, but no luck.

While testing, we've debug-logged django-auth-ldap & Django and ran Netbox itself in debug-Mode, but no error messages were thrown on logins. Logs show, that all infos on a DN are found and processed.

@PieterL75
If AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS would be working, you could define Groups to mirror, if you provide a list of DNs instead of "True" or "False". And combine it with a list of undesired Group-DNs in AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS_EXCEPT.

Edit: We've had a pretty obvious configuration issue in our deployment, soooo... MIRROR_GROUPS is working flawlessy now. :)

@moonrail commented on GitHub (Jan 28, 2021): We are also facing this issue. We've started on 2.10 with a blank installation and neither `AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS`, `AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS_EXCEPT` or `AUTH_LDAP_FIND_GROUP_PERMS` are currently working. As @PieterL75 we've tried numerous combinations of DNs, plain "True" on `AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS` and multiple manually created, DN-equal, groups, but no luck. While testing, we've debug-logged django-auth-ldap & Django and ran Netbox itself in debug-Mode, but no error messages were thrown on logins. Logs show, that all infos on a DN are found and processed. @PieterL75 If `AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS` would be working, you could define Groups to mirror, if you provide a list of DNs instead of "True" or "False". And combine it with a list of undesired Group-DNs in `AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS_EXCEPT`. Edit: We've had a pretty obvious configuration issue in our deployment, soooo... MIRROR_GROUPS is working flawlessy now. :)

adam commented

@tyler-8 commented on GitHub (Feb 1, 2021):

Mirror groups does seem to workaround this issue (and other LDAP issues I've had) - however I'd recommend also setting AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS (docs) to a list of the groups you want NetBox to mirror, otherwise you'll get unrelated LDAP groups being created in NetBox. That setting should probably be added to the NetBox docs as well.

I'd initially not used the group mirroring since the django-auth-ldap docs had described it as less ideal. In the past I'd solely relied on AUTH_LDAP_FIND_GROUP_PERMS since I was manually creating the NetBox-specific groups in NetBox to line up with the LDAP groups.

However - in NetBox's case it mirroring does have advantages; API tokens will work for LDAP authenticated users, and as established in this thread, it works with the new permissions model without having to create a custom LDAP handler (though I imagine there will be some users that really don't want to mirror groups for good reasons and then will need a custom handler).

@tyler-8 commented on GitHub (Feb 1, 2021): Mirror groups does seem to workaround this issue (and other LDAP issues I've had) - however I'd recommend also setting `AUTH_LDAP_MIRROR_GROUPS` ([docs](https://django-auth-ldap.readthedocs.io/en/latest/reference.html#auth-ldap-mirror-groups)) to a list of the groups you want NetBox to mirror, otherwise you'll get unrelated LDAP groups being created in NetBox. That setting should probably be added to the NetBox docs as well. I'd initially not used the group mirroring since the `django-auth-ldap` [docs](https://django-auth-ldap.readthedocs.io/en/latest/permissions.html?highlight=mirror#group-mirroring) had described it as less ideal. In the past I'd solely relied on `AUTH_LDAP_FIND_GROUP_PERMS` since I was manually creating the NetBox-specific groups in NetBox to line up with the LDAP groups. However - in NetBox's case ~it~ mirroring does have advantages; API tokens will work for LDAP authenticated users, and as established in this thread, it works with the new permissions model without having to create a custom LDAP handler (though I imagine there will be some users that really don't want to mirror groups for good reasons and then will need a custom handler).

adam commented

@github-actions[bot] commented on GitHub (Apr 14, 2021):

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. NetBox is governed by a small group of core maintainers which means not all opened issues may receive direct feedback. Please see our contributing guide.

@github-actions[bot] commented on GitHub (Apr 14, 2021): This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. NetBox is governed by a small group of core maintainers which means not all opened issues may receive direct feedback. Please see our [contributing guide](https://github.com/netbox-community/netbox/blob/develop/CONTRIBUTING.md).

adam commented

@igor-raits commented on GitHub (Apr 23, 2021):

Please don't close it as it is real issue.

@igor-raits commented on GitHub (Apr 23, 2021): Please don't close it as it is real issue.

adam commented

@jeremystretch commented on GitHub (Apr 23, 2021):

@ignatenkobrain would you like to volunteer to work on this?

@jeremystretch commented on GitHub (Apr 23, 2021): @ignatenkobrain would you like to volunteer to work on this?

adam commented

@tobiasge commented on GitHub (Jun 10, 2021):

I have created PR #6580 which fixes this issue in our environment.

@ignatenkobrain @tyler-8 Could you try to run your system with the changes and verify if they work for you?

@tobiasge commented on GitHub (Jun 10, 2021): I have created PR #6580 which fixes this issue in our environment. @ignatenkobrain @tyler-8 Could you try to run your system with the changes and verify if they work for you?

adam commented

@jeremystretch commented on GitHub (Jun 10, 2021):

LGTM from the NetBox side but will wait for confirmation from others.

@jeremystretch commented on GitHub (Jun 10, 2021): LGTM from the NetBox side but will wait for confirmation from others.

adam commented

@tyler-8 commented on GitHub (Jun 10, 2021):

If you can wait a couple days I'd be happy to test out the change.

@tyler-8 commented on GitHub (Jun 10, 2021): If you can wait a couple days I'd be happy to test out the change.

adam commented