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<title>What is the difference between an Authorization ID and a Authentication ID? — Cyrus SASL 2.1.27 documentation</title>
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<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../manpages.html">Man pages</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../manpages.html#library-files">(3) Library Files</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl.html"><strong>SASL</strong> - SASL Authentication Library</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_authorize_t.html"><strong>sasl_authorize_t</strong> - The SASL authorization callback</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_auxprop.html"><strong>sasl_auxprop</strong> - How to work with SASL auxiliary properties</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_auxprop_add_plugin.html"><strong>sasl_auxprop_add_plugin</strong> - add a SASL auxiliary property plugin</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_auxprop_getctx.html"><strong>sasl_auxprop_getctx</strong> - Acquire an auxiliary property context</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_auxprop_request.html"><strong>sasl_auxprop_request</strong> - Request auxiliary properties from SASL</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_callbacks.html"><strong>sasl_callbacks</strong> - How to work with SASL callbacks</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_canon_user_t.html"><strong>sasl_canon_user_t</strong> - Application-supplied user canonicalization function</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_canonuser_add_plugin.html"><strong>sasl_canonuser_add_plugin</strong> - add a SASL user canonicalization plugin</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_chalprompt_t.html"><strong>sasl_chalprompt_t</strong> - Realm acquisition callback</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_checkapop.html"><strong>sasl_checkapop</strong> - Check an APOP challenge/response</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_checkpass.html"><strong>sasl_checkpass</strong> - Check a plaintext password</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_client_add_plugin.html"><strong>sasl_client_add_plugin</strong> - add a SASL client plugin</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_client_done.html"><strong>sasl_client_done</strong> - Cleanup function</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_client_init.html"><strong>sasl_client_init</strong> - SASL client authentication initialization</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_client_new.html"><strong>sasl_client_new</strong> - Create a new client authentication object</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_client_plug_init_t.html"><strong>sasl_client_plug_init_t</strong> - client plug‐in entry point</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_client_start.html"><strong>sasl_client_start</strong> - Begin an authentication negotiation</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_client_step.html"><strong>sasl_client_step</strong> - Perform a step in the authentication negotiation</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_decode.html"><strong>sasl_decode</strong> - Decode data received</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_decode64.html"><strong>sasl_decode64</strong> - Decode base64 string</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_dispose.html"><strong>sasl_dispose</strong> - Dispose of a SASL connection object</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_done.html"><strong>sasl_done</strong> - Dispose of a SASL connection object</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_encode.html"><strong>sasl_encode</strong> - Encode data for transport to authenticated host</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_encode64.html"><strong>sasl_encode64</strong> - Encode base64 string</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_encodev.html"><strong>sasl_encodev</strong> - Encode data for transport to authenticated host</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_erasebuffer.html"><strong>sasl_erasebuffer</strong> - erase buffer</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_errdetail.html"><strong>sasl_errdetail</strong> - Retrieve detailed information about an error</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_errors.html"><strong>sasl_errors</strong> - SASL error codes</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_errstring.html"><strong>sasl_errstring</strong> - Translate a SASL return code to a human-readable form</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_getcallback_t.html"><strong>sasl_getcallback_t</strong> - callback function to lookup a sasl_callback_t for a connection</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_getconfpath_t.html"><strong>sasl_getconfpath_t</strong> - The SASL callback to indicate location of the config files</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_getopt_t.html"><strong>sasl_getopt_t</strong> - The SASL get option callback</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_getpath_t.html"><strong>sasl_getpath_t</strong> - The SASL callback to indicate location of the mechanism drivers</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_getprop.html"><strong>sasl_getprop</strong> - Get a SASL property</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_getrealm_t.html"><strong>sasl_getrealm_t</strong> - Realm Acquisition Callback</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_getsecret_t.html"><strong>sasl_getsecret_t</strong> - The SASL callback for secrets (passwords)</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_getsimple_t.html"><strong>sasl_getsimple_t</strong> - The SASL callback for username/authname/realm</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_global_listmech.html"><strong>sasl_global_listmech</strong> - Retrieve a list of the supported SASL mechanisms</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_idle.html"><strong>sasl_idle</strong> - Perform precalculations during an idle period</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_listmech.html"><strong>sasl_listmech</strong> - Retrieve a list of the supported SASL mechanisms</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_log_t.html"><strong>sasl_log_t</strong> - The SASL logging callback</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_server_add_plugin.html"><strong>sasl_server_add_plugin</strong> - add a SASL server plugin</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_server_done.html"><strong>sasl_server_done</strong> - Cleanup function</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_server_init.html"><strong>sasl_server_init</strong> - SASL server authentication initialization</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_server_new.html"><strong>sasl_server_new</strong> - Create a new server authentication object</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_server_plug_init_t.html"><strong>sasl_server_plug_init_t</strong> - server plug‐in entry point</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_server_start.html"><strong>sasl_server_start</strong> - Begin an authentication negotiation</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_server_step.html"><strong>sasl_server_step</strong> - Perform a step in the authentication negotiation</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_server_userdb_checkpass_t.html"><strong>sasl_server_userdb_checkpass_t</strong> - Plaintext Password Verification Callback</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_server_userdb_setpass_t.html"><strong>sasl_server_userdb_setpass_t</strong> - UserDB Plaintext Password Setting Callback</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_set_alloc.html"><strong>sasl_set_alloc</strong> - set the memory allocation functions used by the SASL library</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_set_mutex.html"><strong>sasl_set_mutex</strong> - set the mutex lock functions used by the SASL library</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_seterror.html"><strong>sasl_seterror</strong> - set the error string</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_setpass.html"><strong>sasl_setpass</strong> - Check a plaintext password</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_setprop.html"><strong>sasl_setprop</strong> - Set a SASL property</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_user_exists.html"><strong>sasl_user_exists</strong> - Check if a user exists on server</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_usererr.html"><strong>sasl_usererr</strong> - Remove information leak about accounts from sasl error codes</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_utf8verify.html"><strong>sasl_utf8verify</strong> - Verify a string is valid utf8</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../reference/manpages/library/sasl_verifyfile_t.html"><strong>sasl_verifyfile_t</strong> - The SASL file verification</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../auxiliary_properties.html">Auxiliary Properties</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../auxiliary_properties.html#auxiliary-properties-and-the-glue-layer">Auxiliary Properties and the Glue Layer</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../auxiliary_properties.html#passwords-and-other-data">Passwords and other Data</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../auxiliary_properties.html#sasldb">sasldb</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../auxiliary_properties.html#ldapdb">ldapdb</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../auxiliary_properties.html#sql">sql</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../auxiliary_properties.html#user-canonicalization">User Canonicalization</a></li>
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<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html">Authentication Mechanisms</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#mechanisms">Mechanisms</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#anonymous">ANONYMOUS</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#cram-md5">CRAM-MD5</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#digest-md5">DIGEST-MD5</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#external">EXTERNAL</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#g2">G2</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#gssapi">GSSAPI</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#gss-spegno">GSS-SPEGNO</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#kerberos-v4">KERBEROS_V4</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#login">LOGIN</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#ntlm">NTLM</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#otp">OTP</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#passdss">PASSDSS</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#plain">PLAIN</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#scram">SCRAM</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#srp">SRP</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#non-sasl-authentication">Non-SASL Authentication</a></li>
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<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../authentication_mechanisms.html#summary">Summary</a></li>
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<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../pwcheck.html">Pwcheck</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../pwcheck.html#auxprop">Auxprop</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../pwcheck.html#auxprop-hashed">Auxprop-hashed</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../pwcheck.html#saslauthd">Saslauthd</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../pwcheck.html#authdaemon">Authdaemon</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../pwcheck.html#alwaystrue">Alwaystrue</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../pwcheck.html#auto-transition">Auto Transition</a></li>
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<li class="toctree-l2 current"><a class="reference internal" href="../faq.html">Frequently Asked Questions</a><ul class="current">
<li class="toctree-l3 current"><a class="current reference internal" href="#">What is the difference between an Authorization ID and a Authentication ID?</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="crammd5-digestmd5.html">Why do CRAM-MD5 and DIGEST-MD5 not work with CyrusSaslauthd?</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="openldap-sasl-gssapi.html">How do I configure OpenLDAP +SASL+GSSAPI?</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="plaintextpasswords.html">Why does CyrusSasl store plaintext passwords in its databases?</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="rfcs.html">RFCs and drafts</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="upgrade-saslv2.html">Why am I having a problem running dbconverter-2 to upgrade from SASLv1 to SASLv2?</a></li>
</ul>
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<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../resources.html">Other Documentation & Resources</a></li>
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<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference internal" href="../../developer.html">Developers</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../appconvert.html">Converting Applications from v1 to v2</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../appconvert.html#tips-for-both-clients-and-servers">Tips for both clients and servers</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../appconvert.html#tips-for-clients">Tips for clients</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../appconvert.html#tips-for-servers">Tips for Servers</a></li>
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<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html">Application Programmer’s Guide</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#introduction">Introduction</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#about-this-guide">About this Guide</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#what-is-sasl">What is SASL?</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#background">Background</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#how-did-the-world-work-before-sasl">How did the world work before SASL?</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#sasl-to-the-rescue">SASL to the rescue!</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#briefly">Briefly</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#what-is-the-cyrus-sasl-library-good-for">What is the Cyrus SASL library good for?</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#what-does-the-cyrus-sasl-library-do">What does the Cyrus SASL library do?</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#what-doesn-t-the-cyrus-sasl-library-do">What doesn’t the Cyrus SASL library do?</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#client-only-section">Client-only Section</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#a-typical-interaction-from-the-client-s-perspective">A typical interaction from the client’s perspective</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#how-does-this-look-in-code">How does this look in code</a></li>
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<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#server-only-section">Server-only Section</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#a-typical-interaction-from-the-server-s-perspective">A typical interaction from the server’s perspective</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#id1">How does this look in code?</a></li>
</ul>
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<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#common-section">Common Section</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#callbacks-and-interactions">Callbacks and Interactions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#security-layers">Security layers</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#example-applications-that-come-with-the-cyrus-sasl-library">Example applications that come with the Cyrus SASL library</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#sample-client-and-sample-server"><cite>sample-client</cite> and <cite>sample-server</cite></a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#cyrus-imapd-v2-1-0-or-later">Cyrus imapd v2.1.0 or later</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#imtest-from-cyrus-2-1-0-or-later"><cite>imtest</cite>, from Cyrus 2.1.0 or later</a></li>
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<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#miscellaneous-information">Miscellaneous Information</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#empty-exchanges">Empty exchanges</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/programming.html#idle">Idle</a></li>
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<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/plugprog.html">Plugin Programmer’s Guide</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/plugprog.html#introduction">Introduction</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/plugprog.html#about-this-guide">About this Guide</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/plugprog.html#what-is-sasl">What is SASL?</a></li>
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<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/plugprog.html#common-section">Common Section</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/plugprog.html#overview-of-plugin-programming">Overview of Plugin Programming</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/plugprog.html#use-of-sasl-utils-t">Use of sasl_utils_t</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/plugprog.html#error-reporting">Error Reporting</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/plugprog.html#memory-allocation">Memory Allocation</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/plugprog.html#client-send-first-server-send-last">Client Send First / Server Send Last</a></li>
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<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/plugprog.html#client-plugins">Client Plugins</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/plugprog.html#server-plugins">Server Plugins</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/plugprog.html#user-canonicalization-canon-user-plugins">User Canonicalization (canon_user) Plugins</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/plugprog.html#auxiliary-property-auxprop-plugins">Auxiliary Property (auxprop) Plugins</a></li>
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<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/testing.html">Testing</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/testing.html#testing-the-cmu-sasl-library-with-the-included-sample-applications">Testing the CMU SASL Library with the included sample applications</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l4"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/testing.html#example">Example</a></li>
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<li class="toctree-l3"><a class="reference internal" href="../developer/testing.html#running-the-testsuite-application">Running the Testsuite application</a></li>
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<p class="caption"><span class="caption-text">IMAP</span></p>
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<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference external" href="http://www.cyrusimap.org">Cyrus IMAP</a></li>
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<li>What is the difference between an Authorization ID and a Authentication ID?</li>
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<div class="section" id="what-is-the-difference-between-an-authorization-id-and-a-authentication-id">
<h1>What is the difference between an Authorization ID and a Authentication ID?<a class="headerlink" href="#what-is-the-difference-between-an-authorization-id-and-a-authentication-id" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h1>
<p><strong>Authentication</strong> is the act of proving who you are. “Hello, I’m Dave. To
prove it, here’s my password: Foo.”</p>
<p><strong>Authorization</strong> is the act of deciding
whether to grant access to resources.</p>
<div class="highlight-default"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="s2">"I'd like to read Kellie's mail for her."</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>In the example, I’m trying to read my wife’s mail. I supply my own
username as the “authentication identifier”, my own password (Or
biometric scan, or whatever else is required to prove I’m really me,
with whichever mechanism is in use), and my wife’s username as the
“authorization identifier”.</p>
<p>At no point need I know my wife’s password - instead, either Kellie or
an administrator needs to explicitly state that I am allowed in “as
Kellie”. Once I’ve logged in, all the access checks are done against
Kellie, not against Dave, because I’m acting for her. To all intents and
purposes, after the authentication exchange itself, the server can
simply forget about who authenticated - it’s not important any more -
and concentrate on who needs to be authorized.</p>
<p>Another, more common example of the use of differing authentication
identifiers and authorization identifiers is in the design of many proxy
systems. You authenticate perfectly normally to the proxy, authorizing
as yourself. The proxy then authenticates to the master as itself, but
supplies you as the authorization identifier, thus getting all the right
access checks done at source, but not having to have access to your
authentication credentials. Finally, some mechanisms don’t support
passing a distinct authorization identifier, and for most its optional,
and defaults to the case that most people are familiar with, where
authorization and authentication identifiers are the same.</p>
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