basic_ncsa_auth(8)

NAME
basic_ncsa_auth - NCSA httpd-style password file authentication helper for Squid

SYNOPSIS
basic_ncsa_auth passwd file

DESCRIPTION
basic_ncsa_auth allows Squid to read and authenticate user and password information from an NCSA/Apache httpd-style password file when using basic HTTP authentication.

This password file can be manipulated using htpasswd.

This authenticator accepts:
 * Blowfish - for passwords 72 characters or less in length.
 * SHA256 - with salting and magic strings.
 * SHA512 - with salting and magic strings.
 * MD5 - with optional salt and magic strings.
 * DES - for passwords 8 characters or less in length. NOTE: Blowfish and SHA algorithms require system-specific support.

OPTIONS
The only parameter is the password file. It must have permissions to be read by the user that Squid is running as.

CONFIGURATION
    basic_ncsa_auth /etc/squid/squid.pass

basic_ncsa_auth must have access to the password file to be executed.

KNOWN ISSUES

DES functionality (used by htpasswd by default) silently truncates passwords to 8 characters. Allowing login with password values shorter than the one desired. This authenticator will reject login with long passwords when using DES.

AUTHOR
This manual was written by Amos Jeffries <amosjeffries@squid-cache.org>

Based on original documentation by Rodrigo Rubira Branco <rrbranco@br.ibm.com>

COPYRIGHT

 * Copyright (C) 1996-2026 The Squid Software Foundation and contributors
 *
 * Squid software is distributed under GPLv2+ license and includes
 * contributions from numerous individuals and organizations.
 * Please see the COPYING and CONTRIBUTORS files for details.

This file is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this file; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA

QUESTIONS
Questions on the usage of this program can be sent to the Squid Users mailing list <squid-users@lists.squid-cache.org>

REPORTING BUGS
Bug reports need to be made in English. See https://wiki.squid-cache.org/SquidFaq/BugReporting for details of what you need to include with your bug report.

Report bugs or bug fixes using https://bugs.squid-cache.org/

Report serious security bugs to Squid Bugs <squid-bugs@lists.squid-cache.org>

Report ideas for new improvements to the Squid Developers mailing list <squid-dev@lists.squid-cache.org>

SEE ALSO
squid(8), htpasswd(1), GPL(7),
The Squid FAQ wiki https://wiki.squid-cache.org/SquidFaq
The Squid Configuration Manual http://www.squid-cache.org/Doc/config/